About business with Indonesia - Part 2

I have experience in doing business in Indonesia since my wife owns a PT (Indonesian equivalent of Ltd. or Inc.) and we trade with my Netherlands based company regularly. As far as I know a CV (regional limited company) can't trade outside of its province, let alone import or export things. PD is local, CV is regional and PT is national/international. So is dealing with a PT a guarantee for good service? Certainly not. It totally depends on honesty of people. My experience tells me that businesses with a Chinese owner are more likely to be in it for the long term. The stereotype Indonesian businessman/woman will rather take $100 today then $1000 tomorrow and the mentality in the country is "you paid before you got the goods or service? Tough luck!". Quality is another issue as many traders will rather ship you rubbish on a trial order for that quick buck then provide quality to guarantee a long term business relationship. Going to Indonesia to take care of business is also not the way to success as you will get scammed by many as soon as you soften up for a moment or turn your back for a second. Don't get me wrong here as I love the country and I think the people are geberally very friendly and hospitable but business brings out the best and the worst in people. Micro-manage everything and don't let any part of your business be run by anyone except a trusted friend or family member in Indonesia is my advice. It's how the Indonesians do it themselves also so there is a good reason for it to be the way it is...
PT can only export with an export license. In practical terms this can be avoided or arranged by bribing the right official (in Indonesia almost everything can be bought for the right price) so it's not a guarantee either but why not ask for a copy of their export license? If they have it they spent at least a certain amount on geting it and the chances are higher that you deal with a legitimate company. I have been ripped off in Indonesia but I have also found many trustworthy people there. So please don't see all of this as a gloom and doom sort of story. Problem with Indonesia is that it's isolated and doesn't actively enforce legislation that's in place. Your rights as a consumer and trader are not as well protected yet as in other countries. Still if you want the lowest price then go to China as Indonesia can't compete (nobody can actually) with them. To get electronics from Indonesia is ridiculous as they import it from China and Singapore themselves. Anyone selling at a lower price then in China must be either stark raving mad or a scam artist.

Brand Clothing from China

Don't bother trying to import authentic brand clothing from China.


1. My company is an agent for an authorized resellers in Italy. They have 14 boutiques in Italy, Austria, Spain. They buy extra to wholesale world wide, this is how they can obtain sanitized invoices from the designer houses.

2. The terms and policy on my web site is the authorized resellers' terms and policy in Italy, I did not specify this on the site and it is causing confusion as to why my company is located in the US and yet payment is made directly to Italy, this is becuase I am their agent. I do not accept payment in the US. Due to many requests from US customers, we are stocking some items in the US for customers who wants to try out a small order before buying from Italy or customers who already are buying from Italy and want to supplement their inventory. My company accept credit card only. If I sell fakes, I will ask for a money order.

3. The average wholesale price of a small Gucci handbag, comestic bag is USD 150, medium Gucci handbag is USD300, all leather Prada is USD 400. We do not have any authentic designer handbag for USD 25. The cheapest item is Gucci key chains, USD 50.

4. My phone no. is a land line, not a cell phone. You can call and find out.

5. AOL was not free until this year. I have been using AOL before there was high speed broadbrand and have to pay for dail up by the minute in the 80's. I was paying $24.50 a month until AOl decided to switch it to free like yahoo, hotmail, etc. Even though I do not have to pay right now, I still get technical support from AOL. For people who signed up for free AOL this year, they do not get technical support.

6. I resent being acused that my company is a bridge to an Italian counterfeiter.

I hate fakes and do take responsibility, provide customers service, answer many questions, even questions on how to measure a handbag, how to write description for the handbags, how to sell the handbags. I do not have to answer many of these questions because it is not my job to teach customer who are new to this business how to sell their handbags, yet I do my best to answer all questions.

An agent is a full time job, it is not just sending in orders to Italy. It involves follow up to make sure customers are satisfied. If any customer is not satisfied with an order, refund is always given from Italy. The company I work with has been in business since 1989. If they sell fakes, they will not still be here today.


7. This is the definition of parallel import: Parallel importers ordinarily purchase products in one country at a price (P1) which is cheaper than the price at which they are sold in a second country (P2), import the products into the second country, and sell the products in that country at a price which is usually between P1 and P2.

If you think buying from the designer stores in Italy or the designer outlets at a 30% to 40% discount and ship it to the US is not parallel importing, you are wrong.

8. I do answer any question or inquiry in a very timely manner because the company I work with is an authorizied reseller of many designer brands. I know about the complexity of this business which many people do not know. For example, does any one know why there are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 on a Gucci contrallato card, and if you look closely, there is a missing spot on one on the number, it can be any number. This missing spot makes the number looks as if it is not printed correctly.

MONEY SCAMS: How to avoid getting ripped off

Scams take many forms: overseas lotteries, get-rich-quick schemes, work-from-home jobs and hundreds more, but the fact is that unless you've been ripped off in the past you probably don't know how to recognise a scam when you see one.

The people who design the scams are clever. Most scams look like the real thing and they appear to meet your need or desire. They often piggy-back off the reputation of schemes which are proven to be legitimate, for example, not all lotteries are fake, not all work-from-home schemes are rip offs. Unfortunately it can be extremely hard to tell the difference…so let's commence your education!

Firstly, let me clear up a couple of myths. Many people hold the belief that every business is OK because they are all vetted by some kind of government authority. This is false. While government agencies in Australia and most other developed nations work hard to shut down illegal scams, the scammers might rip off hundreds people before they are caught.

Another dangerous myth is that there are quick short cuts to "getting rich". People claiming to be millionaires regularly hold seminars or write e-books to explain how you can make a fortune by simply following their advice: perhaps it's a secret stock market plan, a way to make millions with real estate you don't own, or participating in online surveys from your own home computer.

Do any of the above scams sound familiar? You probably see them on the internet all the time. Ask yourself: if a person knew the secret to instant wealth, would they want everyone in the world to find out about it? And if they're already a millionaire, why would they spend all their time telling people about it…and why would they need to charge people money for it?

Keep in mind, however, that not all scammers go for the "get rich quick" headline. Some will entice you with a smaller but equally attractive proposition: the opportunity to quit your day job and earn the same money by working part-time from home. These scams run rampant on the internet and often start by only requesting a small outlay, of say $40 for which they will send you an e-book containing the secrets of wealth.

You might be thinking, "I'm willing to gamble $40 for the possibility of never having to work again! It's worth it." Once you hand over the $40 any number of things may then happen:

(a) You get nothing and never hear from them again
(b) You get information via email that is of little assistance
(c) Worse than that, they may start harassing you for more money, trying to convince you to "upgrade" to the next step or pay some kind of taxes or freight cost (telling you that you'll earn the really big dollars if you just pay them a little more). This cycle can go on forever and under the infamous "Nigerian Letter Scheme" people have been ripped off for tens of thousands of dollars.
(d) They may pressure you into giving them your bank account or credit card details for some seemingly legitimate purpose, e.g. to deposit funds into your account, or to keep your credit card details as "security".

Here is the shortlist of the most common scams to avoid:
· Overseas Lottery - an unsolicited letter, call or email telling you that you've won cash or prizes in a Sweepstakes or Lottery you did not enter.
· Chain Letters
· Pyramid Schemes - a business proposition where you pay a "joining fee" and the main activity is the recruitment of new members. These are illegal in Australia but some people will try to convince you that their scheme is not illegal because they have included some kind of dummy product that is changing hands.
· Ring Tone Scams - you might be attracted to an offer for a free or low cost Mobile Phone ring tone, but what you may not realise is that by accepting the offer you are actually subscribing to a service that will keep sending you ring tones - and charging you a premium rate. (e.g. $10 per week subscription fee) There are legitimate companies selling ring tones, but there are also scammers who will try to hide the true cost of taking up the offer.

Of course, there are many more. Too many for me to list here!

The golden rule is: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Now I know that this is a pretty negative mantra - those "positive thinking" and "life management" coaches would have a heart-attack if they heard me preaching such negativity! But they are not thinking about your best financial interests.

Here is how you should react if you receive a suspicious offer:
· In person: Say NO THANKS and walk away
· Via Phone: Say NO THANKS and hang up the phone immediately
· Via email: Delete the email immediately and don't click on any links
· Via post: Throw it away

If you are concerned about saying no because you think the offer could be legitimate, consider the following course of action.

Be especially wary of a salesperson that tells you that "you must take up the offer today". If the offer is legitimate, there's no reason the salesperson cannot give you some information to take home and examine at your leisure. If the offer comes from a Telemarketer, they should be happy to post you some information or give you a return phone number so that you can call back if you are interested at a later date.

Still interested in the offer? Log on to the Australian Government's Scam Watch website: www.scamwatch.gov.au (or other governmental "fair trading" website relevant to your location). This is actually an excellent website for anyone around the world and will help you identify whether the offer is a known scam.

OK, if you are still convinced that the offer is not a scam, then write down any questions you have. Take a friend or relative with you when you talk to the salesperson again (preferably the toughest, most analytical, least-easy-to-impress person you know!). Make sure you are completely satisfied with the answers to all of your questions and get everything in writing.

I'm not saying that every opportunity is really a scam. There are many legitimate lotteries, employment and investment opportunities out there.

If you come across a great investment, good for you! By completing all of the above steps you are doing your research - something EVERY investor should do.

But if, like many money-making opportunities, it turns out to be a scam, don't loose sleep over it. Making money takes time and on the SmartPiggy website you'll find heaps of simple, long-term proven strategies that will help you build wealth. It won't happen overnight, but you will get there!

Avoid Being Scammed With Online Work At Home Opportunities

Working at home online is expanding rapidly as is the Internet. There are thousands of options for net entrepreneurs who make money through creating web sites, offering web services, or selling products online. The market has expanded rapidly over the past few years as the Internet has grown and there is something that everyone will be interested in and profit from.

What Are Scams

Unfortunately, there are a number of people on the Internet that are out to scam you and take your money without giving you any value or what they promised. This is a real threat that prevents many people from pursuing creating an online business but is one thing that you should not let bother you. The key is to be careful with whom you deal with online and to do your homework before you make a purchase. The key is to identify the scams before you spend any money.

How to Identify the Fraudsters

Identifying the scams is very easy. You just need to make sure you get a number of unbiased reviews on the company or individual you are dealing with. A great way to get this information is to search the web on the company you are looking to make a purchase from and check what other users are saying about them. Make sure you are getting these reviews from an unbiased 3rd party or your information will be incorrect which could lead you directly into a trap. Use Google or Yahoo! to get the information you need quickly and for free.

You should also be sure to check the latest reviews on forums as they are the best place to get multiple reviews quickly.

Identifying scams will only take you a few minutes and could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars annually. Pretty soon, you will be able to identify the scams and help others save their time and money.

Places to Report Scammers

When you do read about somebody getting scammed or get scammed yourself, get back at the company and protect others by reporting them. You can report them to the FTC, Federal Trade Commission, so that they can deal with the matter legally, but be sure to visit forums and other online communities with users who may be interested in the product that the scammers offer and are subject to their trap to warn them about the scam so that they can save their time and money. After all, others are doing the same thing for you so you might as well return the favor. Reporting the company to the BBB or Better Business Bureau is also a good option. Just be sure to let others know of your experience.

Getting Refund from Scammers

If you do get scammed by scammers, be sure to get your money back. One good thing about online payments is that you do not have to use cash to buy products, but rather, must go through a third party payment gateway such as PayPal or eGold among others. These systems are well aware of the scams and do everything in their power to get the money to its rightful owner. So, if you have been scammed by someone online, be sure to make every attempt to get your money back. Contact your payment gateway support team or credit card issuing bank, tell them about your situation and open a dispute. They will take the time to look into the matter to assure that the rightful owner is awarded the money that they lost.

Legitimate Ways to Find Genuine Work At Home Jobs

There are legitimate ways to make money online, just be sure that you do not fall into any sort of trap. Always deal with reputable companies over other unknown programs and be sure to be very careful in what your purchase and who you purchase it from. To avoid scams, put the time that is required to research the company you are dealing with and be sure to get multiple opinions from multiple unbiased sources so that you can be sure you are not getting scammed. Also, check the BBB, Better Business Bureau, records to get official information about the company you are dealing with. If you are dealing with an individual, be cautious and make sure that they have a good reputation as you will not be able to find many reviews or anything in the BBB or another official resource.

Last but not least - Do your homework and you will be fine in your online endeavors.

Make Money Online - Defend Against The Latest Scam

First, let's do a little recap'. As I stated in the first part of the article, "Make Money Online - The Latest Scam Disclosed", "refund policy scammers" affect the websites that make money online by selling digital products by buying the product and asking for refunds, while keeping the product.

Now I will give you some solutions you can choose from. But, unfortunately, all of them have some bad consequences, aside the good ones. The best piece of advice anyone that makes money online can give you is testing.

First, the obvious solution: get rid of the refund policy. This way you won't have problems with these scammers anymore and you can continue to make money online without them bothering you. The bad thing is that this solution might reduce your conversion rate, but like I said before, test. You might be surprised of the results and see that the conversion rate stays almost, if not the same as you had before. This has happened to others.

Next, I will give you some tips to increase your conversion rate if you decide to go with the no-refund policy and thus help your make money online business.

One thing you can do to help increase the conversion rate, sometimes even more than it was before you got rid of the refund policy, is to place a text just before the order form telling people that you don't have a refund policy because of these scammers and you don't want your product to end up on their hands. This actually worked out great for others and they made had more sales than before.

Another thing, probably the best, is to use trials for both software and e-books. For e-books, just give them few chapters for free and, if they like it, they have to buy it. Some gave away one quarter of the e-book itself, others even one third. This is a great way to build up credibility. You can even state on your sales page, if you use clickbank for eg., that clickbank reads your e-book to make sure it's all in order before it's put up on their website. This way you kind of reassure people that they will get what they pay for and not just those chapters you give for free and the rest...crappy content.

There is yet another thing, but this, in my opinion, can only be used by people who already have a rather high credibility on the Internet (and probably know this already :) ). The thing you can do is use testimonials instead of refund policy. It works out great for the majority of make money online business owners.

Another solution people thought was a software to disable the product in case of a refund. But this might work with software, but definitely not with e-books, because they can easily be copied to another text document and, in the end, the scammer still ends up with it. This solution is still debated, because, from what I understood, at the moment, there isn't any software that can't be easily cracked.

Well, that's it. I really hope this will help you make money online and defend yourself against these scammers in the same time.

Russian Scam Brides: The Early Signs Of Scam And How To Protect Yourself

'Russian scam brides' is a never ending exciting subject of online publications. In this article, the burning questions and complaints about hot Russian brides are discussed.

Are Russian brides true or scam? Russian brides are TRUE! Unfortunately, there is always someone ready to empty the pockets of men who are overly eager for romantic adventures. Keep your eyes and ears open, so to say. Here are some stats about Russian scam brides: 0.1% of all applicants submitting their information to the Russian dating services are scammers.

Who are these Russian scam brides? They are a small group of people (they may not be even women) earning money this way on the Internet. They view relationships as more of a business enterprise. They send emails to all available singles through dating services. Just like email spamming, they are searching for their victims and following the rules of the game they play.

How can Russian scam brides be recognized?
Here are the top 4 early signs of scam.

• The letters a man receives are not specific. They tend to be generalized, not answering the exact needs of the given man. Direct questions about personal life are usually avoided, just some ready pieces of information.
  
  


• Scammers play to man's instincts, to whatever he wants to hear and see: beautiful model - quality appearance (usually false), sexy photos, "special love" they mention after a few letters... If a given man considers this speed strange, it is. Until you met in person, any claims of love should be suspect.
  
  


• The majority of scams involve money. The so called Russianwoman usually asks for financial support: terrible financial situation, telephone fees, Internet expenses, etc. Scammers are always mercenary, they usually look for the man's sympathy, for "what you can buy for me" (it is their job!).
  
  


• Close attention should be paid to the huge age difference. In this case the chances of being scammed only increase. For the sake of justice it should be said that some real good girls are attracted by the older men (security, stability). However, it is not surprising that Russian scam brides are likely to be involved with much older men.
  
  How to protect yourself from being scammed?
  Here are the top 4 effective, simple and easy techniques that can help you avoid being scammed.
  
  


• Never send money to strangers. The majority of scams involve money for travel to the man's country. Take common sense precautions: send her the ticket rather than money if you want her to come visit you. Keep your purse in your pocket, it's difficult to get scammed as far as you do it.
  
  


• Check out the girl's incredibly beautiful appearance, the photo may be false. Ask her for more photos that are not made in the studio.
  
  


• Ask for the girl's personal information (postal address, telephone, etc.) and see her reaction. Does she ask for gifts? It's wonderful! Find an agency that delivers flowers and gifts with photo confirmation. Scammers hate this, they love anonymity. This way will be verified not only her appearance but also her postal address and telephone number.
  
  


• A travel to Russia should be born in mind to meet your pretty Russian girl and her family. If the intentions are serious, of course. Thus the majority of burning questions will be answered and the initial information verified. And may be even more...
  
  Remember, 99,9% of pretty Russian girls are actual, REAL. They want to find love and build a family in spite of unfavorable demographic situation in Russia. The rewards of finding a suitable Russianwoman outweigh the risks. Use these simple precautions and you will be safe from Russian scam brides.

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Scams - The Top Ten You Need To Watch Out For

In 2005 the UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) launched a campaign in order to raise awareness of the most common ways in which people are conned. The OFT identified the top ten scams targeted at UK consumers.

These are listed below and, if you look through them, you will see some patterns emerging. It should help you avoid being scammed - online or offline.

WORK-AT-HOME SCAMS
Advertisements for paid work-from-home schemes and business opportunities are often scams. Would be home workers who apply are asked for money up-front to pay for materials. After payment no more is heard from the parent company.

Another variation on this is where the company does actually send out some materials for assembly. These materials are usually very inexpensive. When the assembled products are submitted they are invariably rejected as they "do not meet the necessary quality standards". This method also gives the scammers a second bite at the cherry as they often sell a further kit with instructions for the necessar quality improvements to ensure acceptance in future. Regardless of how good the quality is, the assembled items will never be accepted.

TELEPHONE LOTTERY SCAMS
Scammers impersonate representatives from a genuine lottery, such as the Irish Lottery or the Canadian Lottery. They make unsolicited telephone calls to their victims and advise them that they are going to be entered in a draw.

A few days later the victim receives another call to advise them that they have won a substantial amount of money. However, before they can receive their prize the victim must pay a fee for administration and taxes. The prize, of course, does not exist.

MATRIX SCHEMES
Often promoted online these schemes mainly involve websites which offering high cost electrical and electronic devices as free gifts in return for buying a relatively cheap product - for example a mobile phone charger. Consumers who buy the cheap product (take the bait) are then put onto a waiting list to receive their free gift.

The person at the top of the list receives their gift only after a predetermined number of new buyers sign up. The victims are usually encourage to hasten he process along by introducng their friends and family to the scheme. The large majority of people on the list never receive the prize.

PRIZE DRAW MAILINGS
The victim receives a notification by post that they have won a prize such as a holiday or a sweepstake draw. In order to receive the pize an administration fee or registration fee must be paid in advance. Once this is paid the prize will fail to materialise.


PROPERTY INVESTMENT SCHEMES
Potential investors attend a free presentation, the purpose of which is to persuade them to pay large amounts of money to enrol on a course which promises to make them a successful property dealer. Some schemes involve the offer of buying as yet unbuilt properties at a discount.

Others involve a buy-to-let scheme where the scammers offer to source, renovate and manage existing properties which they claim will provide good returns from rental income. The properties are often derelict and the tenants do not exist.

PREMIUM RATE TELEPHONE NUMBER SCAMS
The victim receives a notification in the post that they have won a prize - a holiday or a sweepstake. In order to claim the prize they need to call a premium rate number - usually beginning with 090 - which will incur high charges. Ofen there is a long recorded message and the prize simply does not exist.

INVESTMENT-RELATED SCAMS
The victim receives an unsolicited telephone call which offers the opportunity to invest in rare commodities such as diamonds, fine wines or shares. These investments are usually in areas which carry a high risk and where a high level of training, skill and experience is normally required.

The shares are not quoted on any conventional stock exchange. The diamonds, if they exist and are actually supplied, will be low grade and worth considerably less than the amount invested.

NIGERIAN ADVANCE FEE FRAUDS
This form of fraud has been around for many years. Many of the earlier scams originated from Nigeria, hence the name, but today similar variations can be seen from Iraq, Asia, Africa etc. The main requirement seems to be that the area should have recently had a war or some major political upheaval.

Today this type of fraud is mainly perpetrated via e-mail, but some traditionalist scammers may still use letters by post. The victim receives offer to share a large sum of money in return for using the recipient's bank account to transfer of the money out of the country. If bank account details are rovided, the scammers may empty the victim's account. Alternatively, the scammers may ask for money up front - usually for bribing corrupt officials in order to get the money out of the country.

CREDIT SCAMS
Another advance fee fraud, which often originates in Canada. Adverts are placed in local newspapers offering quick loans, even if the applicant has poor credit history. Applicants are told thattheir loans have been approved but they must pay an insurance fee prior to release. After the fee is paid, the victim will never hear from the scammers again and the loan amount will never be advanced.

PYRAMID SCHEMES
Pyramid schemes, sometimes called Ponzi schemes, offer a return on a financial investment which is based upon the scheme continuing to grow as new members join the scheme. The money from new investors is used to pay earlier investors - robbing Peter to pay Paul.

After a while the pyramid will collapse as it reaches the point where there are not enough new victims entering to pay off the earlier investors.

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Investing Wisely Avoids Scammers

When considering a bad credit auto loan, don't really focus on the word "bad." While the term bad does sound negative, in our credit card obsessed world more and more people are living beyond their means and ultimately can end up with a bad mark or two on their credit history. It really is the nature of the beast. Bad credit car loans may be your best alternative when you find yourself in a situation where you need a newer, more reliable vehicle.

What exactly is a bad credit auto loan? This is a financial tool that enables individuals with poor or bad credit to purchase a new or used car. Keeping in mind that poor or bad credit makes it incredibly difficult to obtain items via lines of credit, the bad credit auto loan is set up to assist a high-risk borrower with obtaining the necessary loan, but often at a sub-prime interest rate or with additional loan origination fees.

Selecting a lender and/or dealer wisely is the first step to deciding whether this type of loan is an option for you. Often individuals with a poor credit history will feel pressured and overwhelmed by the lack of opportunities for credit and will accept the first deal that is presented to them. There are dealers the will prey on just that reaction and so it is important to shop around and look for dealers or lenders that do not have bad reputations. Whether or not you have made past mistakes, this is still ultimately your money you are investing and you should shop around carefully and choose wisely who to trust it with.

Next, know how the math works when drawing up auto loan contracts. The loan is likely to have a higher interest rate attached to it, and the rate of depreciation is also a factor. Look at cars that are approximately two to three years old because they are in the best position to hold their value and provide the more preferable trade deals.

Finally, although it is easy to feel desperate when faced with the necessity for a car loan and trying to work within the confines a poor or bad credit rating, there can be a light at the end of the tunnel. The main thing is to not allow yourself to be taken advantage of. There are good sides to everything in the world of debt relief, even bad auto credit loans. It just takes a little care and homework to find them.

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Where Romance Scams Occur On The Internet

Romance scams occur in a number of places and websites on the internet,with various methods being used. The scammers target some particular sites where they know that they are likely to catch potential victims.

Some of the most popular types of websites that they target for romance scams are listed below:

1. Dating Sites: This is about the largest fishing grounds for victims.The scammers join dating sites,both paid and free ones, in order to hunt for victims. Few of these dating sites, if any at all does not have these villains as members. No matter what the owners try in the form of preventive or security measures, the scammers are up to the task and always manage to evade the rules. It is sad to note that some dating sites still have a non-challant attitude till date to the activities of scammers and have not taken adequate measures to prevent innocent people using their services from the antics of the romance scammers.

2. Chat Rooms: many free email hosts offer chat rooms as fora for users of their services. Unfortunately, scammers have turned this well intentioned facility into a bad one. The chat rooms are the places where they fish for potentisl scam victims. The scammers typically enter a chat room and try to strike up a conversation with anyone they so choose out of the people in the room. They could send instant messages to as many people as is possible,in the hope that a few would reply and chat with them. And they usually succeed with this.

3. Religious, charitable and other innocent sites:Although such innocent sites as these are set up in order to offer help to the needy, and to help humanity, they do not escape the attention of scammers. The very fact that these type of websites are set up for humanitarian or religious purposes makes the people there especially vulnerable to the scammers. Such people are typically unsuspecting and have their guard let down.

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5 Tips To Protect Yourself From Ebay Scammers

Ebay is the world's largest marketplace with millions of dollars of transactions taking place every day. As such it also attracts a fair number of unwanted personnel, ebay scammers.

Here are a few tips you should note when buying and selling on ebay to avoid falling into the traps set by ebay scammers

1) Payment Terms

Whether you are selling or buying anything on ebay, never agree to use Western Union or Money Gram for your transaction. It has been proven unsafe by numerous ebay users and it is also against ebay's safe payment policy.

2) Beware of Phishing

Phishing is when someone sends you a spoofed email asking for your personal details usually from a recognized company or authority. Usually, they will have a link asking you to submit your details on that webpage.

Do not submit any personal information regarding your ebay login account through it. If you are not sure whether it is authentic, call ebay and asked whether an email was sent to you. In all my years with ebay, they have never me an email asking to verify my ebay account login or credit card details or any of that sort. This also applies for Paypal.

3) Monitor Your Ebay Account

You need to monitor your ebay account closely for any suspicious activity. Examples may be any feedback left, transactions closed, auctions you have listed
Without your knowledge. Inform ebay the moment you suspected your ebay account is being compromised.

4) Second Chance Offers

This seems to be the new favorite scam with ebay scammers and I've seen a couple of them. If you receive a second chance offer for an item you recently bid, check it is from your ebay Messages inbox with the title "ebay Second Chance Offer for …"If it is, it is authentic. If the email is not in your ebay message inbox or the email title is different, then chances are it is from an ebay scammer. If you are not sure, contact ebay and ask to verify it.

5) Ebay Toolbar and PayPal SafetyBar

Ebay provides a toolbar which can determine whether you are on a legitimate ebay or paypal site. My advise is to install it since it's free. Paypal Safetybar can also detect scam emails in your inbox

By Following the five points above, you will reduce your chances of being scammed by a ebay con artist.

Technorati : ebay, fraud, scammers

Transneft fee scam from Russian Oil Sellers

To all buyers of Russian Oil Products:

Do not pay any upfront Transneft fee to Russian Sellers under no circumstances.

There is a well Russian organized crime network made of many so called Russian sellers or seller's mandates, most advertising on Alibaba.com.

Their contracts usually include Cell phone as seller's phone, fake bank account, fake SWIFT code, fake email addresses, fake bank officer who is usually an individual who is part of a scam.

All phone and email messages that the buyer sends to the seller's bank go to people working for the scam not to the bank.

Some of these companies are fictitious and do not even legally exist.

When they provide Transneft invoice and other documents, if you ask for verification, they will put you in contact with Transneft officials including the President of Transneft. These people are also part of the scam and no really who they claim to be.

They used to provide an invoice for payment to be wired to Alfa Bank in behalf of Transneft pipeline. They have people inside Alfa Bank to divert the money to them.

Nowadays, they use Russian Standard Bank with the money going to an individual who supposes to be a Transneft Trustee but is part of the gang.

The following companies are part of the scam: Alduke Holdings-Sibneftprom, Soyuz Corporation, Igion Oil, Icon oil & Gas, Rusneftprom, Zorin Energy Resources. Avoid individuals like Nikolai Gubin from Alduke Holdings, Andrei Shaika from Soyuz Corp and Rusneftprom.

They will object to you visiting MOscow to personally make payment to Transneft Bank then move to LC in exchange for PB/POP documents there.

No matter what you do, do not pay them upfront fees and do not accept any procedure where you have to pay large upfront sum to get the deal started.

Things to do to avoid these scams:

1.- Always contact your country's embassy in Moscow for help on screening Russian sellers.

2.- Ask your embassy to recommend a local lawyer to screen and verify any document that you receive from Moscow.

3.- Get your lawyer to invite you to Moscow to verify all documents issued by your seller and to visit your seller.

4.- Get the seller to move first by issuing PB from reputable Russian Bank with a major Foreign corresponding bank and Vessel Charter Party Agreement verifiable through your lawyer in Moscow. There is no scam without a Bank. Check the seller's bank listed on the contract. Bank uses their own mail server so if given bank email address shows a different mail server then be concerned. Call the bank. Bank officer should use a land line for their phone number not cell phone

Serious and sucessful sellers should not have any need to collect Transneft fees upfront from you once you show then preliminary proof of fund via BCL or soft probe. Only scammers want to see your money first, because their business is to collect these fees,not to sell oil. Furthermore, once you send them one payment, they tell you that they have a quota and that you need to send them more deals before they can accept your Pre-advice LC or issue PB. Even if you ask them to sign a promisory note to return the money in case of non-performance, they will do it because you have no way of collecting that money back from them. Do not accept any document from these people unless you have a way of verifying it independently. They are master forgeurs for all sort of refinery and government documents. Happy Trading !!!

Please don't be afraid to share your scam stories !!! Scammers use the same scheme over and over because their victims do not speak out

Your story will help weeding out scammers from the business. It is not just about the money, it is about detecting these scams soon enough to avoid wasting time.

Guilin Youlianshiye Co. - Chinese Purchase Center Scam

This is cute. We received a purchase contract from Guilin Youlianshiye Co. in Guilin City China for $234,000. They want to buy and they invited us there for the signing. They actually think we'll go


So how to spot this scam?



1. If the correspondance is done through Hotmail email accounts, the emails on the website (www.chinaglyl.com) are ALL Hotmail - then something is wrong! If a company can purchase $234K and can't afford a professional email address then they're full of #$%^!

2. Too Good To Be True Rule - If you think the order is just too sweet - it is!

3. Travel Demand - When a company refuses to close a deal if you don't travel to them to sign then something is wrong. We sell worldwide and the opposite is usually the case. If someone purchases from you they want to come and see where YOU manufacture - not the other way around. EVEN if they are Chinese...

4. Check All Credentials: Import License, Business Certificate, Ask for trade references.

5. NEVER make any sort of payment. No discussion until the initial payment is made and always as a wire transfer.

Copper cathode - Spot the Fraud

1. 914mm x 914mm x 12mm cathodes are not produced by any refinery on this planet

2. The DRC does not produce 99.99% cathodes

3. The DRC only produces 500mt a month through Somika and Gecamine. These facts are openly available on the internet

4. Copper cathodes are never sold in ports

5. Tanzania does not produce copper

6. Pictures of copper should reveal the white paint markings. This leads you back to the producer. A simple email to the security wing of the mine will tell you who the copper really belongs to

7. Copper is never sold at fixed prices

8. Copper is not sold at discounts from Africa. The real price is LME + $160 CIF

9. No copper is sold FOB

10. No Copper is sold FOB port.

11. Mines sell copper CIF as the responsibility is on them to deliver

12 No mines offer performance bonds. There are no mining contract on this planet that offer this brokers and scammers ploy

13. SGS do not do cathode inspections in any African port

14. Inspection in port- You will see MCM and KCM copper being loaded on a ship and end up paying your BG or TT for nothing

15. Unless your name is Samsung, LG or Pirelli you are not going to get a contract for anything over 1500mt a month.

16. Chinese buyers will not buy cathodes when their SME subsidises local copper sales. The SME copper is less than the LME price, so why would they buy premium price copper?

17. Brokers.....and you are all brokers and not sellers or mandates. There is not a mine on this planet that sells copper through brokers and pays them commissions.

18. If you are offered a commission to sell copper you are being offered a commission to participate in a scam. If it is a scam, do you think they are going to pay you a commission having such scruples?

19. Mines accept offers for their copper. They do not issue soft offers and full corporate offers.

20. Non LME copper is 99.96% and less and referred to as B Grade or PQ grade. The difference in price ranges from 2 - 7 % and not $3000 as these scammers have you beli

21. Country of origin - Africa = Fraud

22. Country of Origin DRC/Zambia = fraud

23. Country of Origin Tanzania = fraud

24. Transferable LC = Fraud
They will attempt to use the LC as a financial instrument and draw against it

25. BG = fraud
They will attempt to encash the BG while you are running around a port chasing non-existent copper and not in direct contact with your bank.
A Singapore "seller" tried this three times

26 All mines encourage the contract to be signed at the mine. Once you have signed a NCND insist on signing the final contract at the mine headquarters and not a legal office on another continent

27. Mines encourage buyers to view the stocks they have at the refinery. They discourage you from viewing stocks in ports. Mine visits are imperative to good business

28. Offers of anything over 1000mt. New contracts issued by mines are always cautious.
The mine is not going to forsake its major clients and customers for some unknown buyer off the internet

29 Mines will only sell free copper to known end users. This means that brokers and traders are precluded
The reason for this is mines have major clients in copper consuming regions and the last thing they need is a conflict of interest arising
This effectively is an arrow in the heart of people who believe that they can sell cathodes on the internet.
If you get an offer to buy, ask the person if they are the end user. You will get a response saying " No , I am the buyer's mandate" or some foolish response which typifies a broker

You want the truth. Read this carefully. 99% of the offers are fake and criminal. The brokers that make such offers are ignorant of copper sales and do not in fact know the name of the mine they represent and will use the NCND to hide behind this fact.

You will be conned if you do not heed this advice.

You will not buy copper

You will not sell copper

This is a fact

Moneygram over paypal?

Moneygram over paypal? Paypal may not be the best service available, but you can get your money back if scammed, whereas 'Moneygram" or Western Union has no recourse. From now on, I will only use escrow.com. I have found it is the most legit, safe way to do business. If a supplier refuses to use escrow.com, then I refuse to do business with them. If they are legitimate as they claim, they will want the same type of protection for their business as I do. USE YOUR COMMON SENSE! We put our money in banks because it is insured. So when dealing with COMPLETE STRANGERS over the internet, every precaution should be taken. NEVER send money to ANYONE unless you are using a SECURE payment option.

INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES based in Bwenin and Togo

Another thing is all the INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES based in Bwenin and Togo. All just the same, with variations!
First, in these countries they speak French.
Second their mobiles are from Nigeria.
Third: just do not believe anyone, unless they send you documents, a VAT number, and check through your country's Commercial Delegations, depending on the Ministries of your country.


You will avoid surprises.

How do scammers flourish? How do we stop them?

First off Alibaba.com is not a scam!!!! This is a B2B Marketing web site. China Suppliers and Trust Pass Members pay a fee for the ability to ADVERTISE on this site. This is not Ebay its not Taobao. There are no auctions here.

The scam has been around since man realized that there were greedy, not informed, not schooled, other human beings that were looking for something for nothing. We hear about email scams, lottery scams, and business scams. What is the single most thing that entices people to respond to these scams? MONEY - In the form of something for nothing or almost nothing.

Rule of thumb - If its to good to be true, IT IS.

Every product made has a minimum cost to produce. If you don't have a clue about a product or service you want to buy how can you make an informed decision?

EXAMPLE: Apple has been successful for many years. They come out with the iPod it costs X amount of dollars to produce. However to make money they must mass produce the item. They mark up the item 20-30% for sale on their own sites which becomes the MSRP. However, in order to market them around the world they sell them to authorized distributors for a 50% discount on the MSRP mark-up who in turn sells them to retailers or VAR's (Value Added Re-sellers) for a price around 7-12% of MSRP depending on quantities ordered. If you follow this progression of formula's you would find that a retailer would be making about 7-15USD on each 4GB iPOD they sold. Here again they are not making vast amounts of money from selling 1 or 2 but because they are selling hundreds. Also its a clear fact that most of them oney made in electronic's is on the accessories not the actual products themselves. Like replacement headphones docking stations, iPod surround sound.

This process is followed by all companies with Brand names that have no self distribution. Therefore if you see Name Brand items advertised for more than 10-15% off MSRP price you need to be highly suspect of the seller and exhaust all avenues in completing "Due Diligence".

STOPPING THEM

1.) Eliminate the greed in yourself.
2.) Be informed, know the product.
3.) Exhaust the available resources for confirming trade partners.
4.) Never do first time deals via the internet alone.
5.) Get a pre-shippment inspection done by a reputable service.
6.) Don't pay until you recieve the inspection. If they want 30% in advance tell them you need a factory audit first.

Inspections are honored by real suppliers and manufacturer's it also sends them a signal that you are a serious buyer. Lastly understand that you can not buy a branded product from anyone other than the manufacturer or factory authorized distributors and VAR's

New ways to identify scammers. 7 advices

This is how I normally do to identify scammers, with this, you should be ok for quite some time.


First of all, I do Google search with the name of the company and the word scam. Normally, there should be no page with the company listed with the word scam next to them but if you see at least one, maybe it is a scam. No need to have several pages, only one is neccessary.

Secondly, I go on a very good website, http://fraudchina.blogspot.com who have a list of all website and company listed as scam. They just saved me from sending sample to a scam company.

And thirdly, just ask people around on forums. I saw a mate who've done that.

Fourth steps is that you can verify the address they gave you and find out what's really on this. Go on www.whitepages.com and enter the address they gave you to find out if the address is really registered as their business address or at least at their names.

Fifth test is to ask them to phone you. Normally scammers won't do this but beware, some also tries to call you. Please be aware that some scammers uses call redirection which is call callback (I'm not sure of that) or they can use fax to email. Using this, they get number that are listed in U.S.A., U.K. or any European country where in reality, they are located elsewhere.

Sixth, always inquire about the mail address. This is a mistake scammers often made. Try to see whether the email address comes from a free mail server. Suppose you get a mail from economicdevelopment@mail2cameroon.cc, be sure this is a scam. The mail address (it truely exist and they tried to scam me) is not from the Cameroon government, but from a free mail server. This is how I caught my first scammer.

Seventh and last advice for the time being; JUST COME AND ASK ME. Yes, you can come and ask me and I'll help you. I've been for so much time victim of scammer, who fortunately failed in their attempts, that I've got some pretty much experience.

This is approximately all I can remember for the time being but again, if you need advices, feel free to contact me.

The problem of suppliers from China?

Everybody is writing about not trusting suppliers from China – what is exactly the problem? I have had good relationship with China suppliers but I am dying to know the details of the problems others experience –I might be able to help.


These are the problems and personal suggestions I have for the Chinese suppliers:

1. Oversupply - too many manufacturers and suppliers of the same product, causing gluts in supply, high competitiion and a downward pressure on price, compromising the quality of the product.

2. Fragmentation - the manufacturers of the various SEZ need cohesiion and unity, to share information with each other, to work in cooperation and compliment each other.

3. Brand names - China has short history of International brand names.

4. Advertisements - China has conservative ideas about propagating and soft selling their products. Spendings on marketing promotion, and working with US models can help to improve this weakness.

5. After-sales service - International warranty coverage and distribution network has rooms to improve.

6. Shipping and logistic systems has yet to realize to world class.

7. IP law and copyright regulations has to be enforced 100%, especially on software piracy and counterfeit brands.

8. Payment terms need to improve. Work with financial institutions and build up two-way trusts. Due deligence by third party has to be available for big transactions.

9. Transparency. Published company profile, lists of directors and shareholders, account report briefs, and track records have to be current, comprehensive and authenticated.

10. Technology and innovation. The interim measure is to work with imported technology, get licensing from brand names and to foster links between industries and technogy institutions and universities in the country. The long term solution is to have Research and Development centres to the different groups.

How can you import authentic NOKIA mobile phones from China?

It's strange that there are many Chinese Gold or Trustpass at Alibaba.com members claiming that they can export authentic NOKIA mobile phones in China. I called the sole/exclusive NOKIA manufacturer and distributor in China www.nokia.com.cn ( free call: 4008800123 ) and I was told that authentic NOKIA are not allowed to export to other countries at low prices. IN this case, how can you import real NOKIA from China with low prices? There must be something wrong. As far as I know, there are some small trading companies in Shenzhen, Guangzhou or Beijing processing some used NOKIA or second-hand Nokia series and labelled again and resell to other countries as brand-new NOKIA. Please be careful, everybody. You have to know where their factory is located exactly in China when you import such branded products from China, of couse, a Pre-shipment Inspection or a Factory Inspection is very necessary when your order is large enough.

3 out of 3 Gold / Trust Pass Members fail site Inspection

Last week I paid several factory visitations to some Shenzhen-based companies in China upon request of some foreign buyers.

All the three companies are Gold member or Trust pass members in Shenzhen, who all claimed that they were real manufacturers of electronics in China. I’m sure most of the foreign businessmen will be astonished at the result of my visitation in Shenzhen; here is the basic information from my visitation report:

Company One:
Declined my visitation on the pretext of goods shortage, but they promised to receive us before our departure to Shenzhen.

Company Two:
Received us at an office in a Hotel, there are 3 salespersons working in the office. We cannot even find a Logo on their company in the office and on the door. They are checked out to be a small offshore trading company in China.

Company Three:
This is the best one among the three. They are a registered small trading company in China, however, they do not have their own right to export ( I mean they do not have the Certificate of Import & Export issued by local government authorities ), they normally export their goods via Freight Forwarders, for which the buyer may bear some risks.

They registered only on 2005.08.26; however, they claimed themselves they registered in 1999 online. They do not have any factories at all. They cannot show me any quality control measures and after sale services in written forms; they cannot even show me a formal sales contract!!

My suggestion:

You’d better deal with larger trading companies or manufacturers directly for sake of better quality control in China. Lot of trading companies disguise to be a real manufacturer in China, so a factory visitation or inspection is very necessary for a large order in China! A factory visitation can tell you everything about the supplier and it’s one of the best way to verify your Chinese supplier!

What can a factory visitation performed by a local bring you?
As we all know, there are many false things on the web, which perplex us often when we are going to make a decision. The case is also true with buyers who are going to buy from oversea suppliers. Here I bet a factory visitation (better by a local person) is a second-to-none solution.

1.Genuine or False?
The local person can go and check the company (the potential seller) and all its factory registration information to see if it’s a genuine and serious enterprise. This is the basic thing that any buyer has to do before any sincere cooperation!

2.Production Competence (Throughput)?
The visitor can inquire about the factory’s producing ability (also known as throughput) with the director of Production Department. How much can they produce in a month or a quarter? By learning their production competence, the buyer can avoid the risk of a delayed delivery to some extent.

3.Quality Control?
The visitor can try to get to know the factory’s quality control system with the help from the director of Quality Control Department. He can also get to know more by inspecting their assembly lines or work shops. Good quality is always one of the crucial things that buyers are always pursuing.

4.After-sale Service?
After-sale service is also important for buyers. Here the visitor or inspector can make sure if the factory can offer good and effective after-sale services and also confirm if they can include after-sale services as one clause in the contract? After-sale services can keep you free from some troubles.

5.Export License?
Some suppliers do not really have export license. Here the visitor can check the supplier’s registration information with the local customs to see if it can really export directly to the buyer’s country. This is also one of the factors that can free you from being scammed. Other qualifications of the supplier can also be checked out by a local expert in this field in China.

Thank you for your attention, good luck, everybody!