I'm just new to Alibaba and recieved a few messages like above. I did a check in the UK about one of the companies and find out that this company does'nt exist. So I am happy to read this article.

 

 

 

Quoting from [Safe Trading Admin]:

I have noticed that whenever i post a buying lead and check "allow verified members to contact me only" that i get a host of responses from free members and spammers.

In other words; Alibaba is inefficient at protecting my buying lead.


Spammers will research the product you are trying to buy, then find a Chinese company selling that product, as well as the approximate prices of what you are trying to buy.

They will introduce themselves as being an employee of that company.

After that, they often ask for sample money or offer you a lower price on the item you are trying to buy just to get you hooked.

This has happened to me twice, and there are a few ways to get around the problem.

First of all a spammer cannot give you the same phone and fax numbers as the supplier he said he works for.

Always check to see if his phone numbers are consistent with the company he said he works for.

Most spammers have a yahoo, or gmail email account.

If the company he says he works for has a domain why would the spammer use a yahoo email address?

Thirdly when spammers ask for sample money they have to give a personal account versus the real company account that you think you are dealing with. 

If you do decide to send money to individuals make sure that the account matches the company account,  and make sure the person sending you emails or replying to your buying leads on Alibaba works for that company.

Ask for his Chinese name and do the research.

I find that Alibaba nowadays has too many vendors that are not manufacturers, and the whole website is turning into a very unsafe place to trade...Since most people want to buy direct from manufacturers this is becoming a real problem, to me at least..

 

I agree with you totally... I faced a similar experience once but it was from a Cameroon company.. They followed my terms of trading but in the end, they request monye just to get "clearance letter" from government.

I was lucky because I double check the sources (Bank of Cameroon) and noticed that the mailing adress is different. Phew!

However I would like to congratulate Alibaba for upgrading its service. We can trace the sender's IP address in the message. The funny things are those scammers like to use European addresses and companies but their IP clearly stated that they are from Cote DAvoire, Nigeria, Cameroon etc. It makes me lough sometimes.

But, unluckily, I'm also a free member although I run a legitimate business. May be my company is also being suspected...

Man! Why can't they do business honestly!...

Checking theemail headerswould sort the matter please check every email header that comes uninvited