How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of the Scam?

As you are aware, the world is a place of great opportunity. Opportunities of many things. Like most of us, We make this opportunity in the form of business to business by using the Internet and the great site of Alibaba.com to make us successful....Well, on the other side of the coin, you have the people who find opportunity in the form of Scamming (Lying&Cheating) all the hard working people; which are you and I out of our money!

These people - commonly called Scammers - have many ways to get ahold of our money...they use forged documents from banks, forged/fake checks, fake identity and passports, and of course use the internet sites posing as potential buyers to receive Proforma Invoices (which they get your account information from and then steal your Company Identity, even possibly your identity to use in new crimes) from suppliers, etc.

Most of these people are professionals at it, and make thousands of dollars a year preying on the good trust of some person who believes they are a real buyer or person in need.

Now let me explain the 2 most common ways for this Scammer to get your trust...

1. You receive an introduction letter via email...In this letter they usually tell a story about a person who dies and the family is in great danger or wants to leave the country, etc. There is always a story about the person who has died, that they were from a wealthy family or government official or big businessman. Then their letter goes on to say that there is a large sum of money, which was hidden away or put away in a foreign bank, etc. and that the current family cannot transfer it safely out of the country without outside help. This is where you come in.....They propose to you that transfer the money into your account and keep it safe for them to pick up in the future from your country. For doing this, you will receive between 20-30% of the total amount of the money they propose to transfer into your account.
   

   Now, this is where the Scam begins....Once you say Ok to the proposal, They will provide you with a wide array of forged documents and other information so that you can verify that this is real. They sometimes provide checks for a certain amount so that they build your confidence, etc. They checks will clear in your bank with no problems. Once they receive your trust, They will ask for your complete banking details so that they can wire you the total money transfer....and when they have that information, they will strike! They have access to your account now, and will try to withdrawal all your money in your account....If they are the patient kind of scammer, They will wait and lure you into their trap a little more before they take all your money, telling you that there are costs involved for the transfer, including legal fees, etc, and that these fees must be paid before they can send the money into your account....So if you want to receive that 20-30%, you will have to pay these fees, etc or the deal cannot go through....

   That is where you begin to lose a lot of money...because you keep sending the funds to pay this fee and that fee, all the time they are reassuring you that the money will be sent soon, never once showing that the money was never there and that they are all doing this to get your hard earned money...

   Eventually, they will try to get your money through your account withdrawal, and they will get some before your bank alerts you....but all those fees you paid, are where the Scammer really makes his money, and he/she has long disappeared without a trace before you can do anything about it, probably using a new identity from the previous person he just scammed!

   There are variations of the Scam as well...Sometimes they use a Religious attitude to make you feel pity and send them money, and many more ways as well.

   I will give you some tell-tale signs on how to spot a scammer letter in a little bit....but now onto the 2nd type of method used!

2. This method is widely used on many tradeboards on the Internet, even Alibaba.com...Hence why it is most important for myself to explain this method to you so that you don't fall victim to it!
   

   You receive an Email or Inquiry from a potential buyer...The person requests a price list along with full details/specifications, and is eager to see samples. Everything seems like a normal buyer inquiry...You send them the information they request and await their reply. They then request samples, at which time you inform them the price, etc.

   And this is where the Scam begins...They request a Proforma Invoice, which is normal for business...but then again it's deadly in the hands of a scammer...Now it's off to the two choices the Scammer has to get your money or products for free...

   A. They inform you that they can only send you payment by Check or Credit Card...If you accept these ways you are in big trouble...as you have just been scammed...You might feel that you have no problems, because the check went through and the credit card was accepted, but you will in the future...because 99% of the time those checks are forged from someone else's account and the credit card numbers were stolen, and when the owner finds out they will recall the money...Hence you lose your merchandise costs, etc.

   B. They receive your Proforma Invoice, which is what they love to get...just as much as a kid enjoys eating candy! Because on that Proforma Invoice is all the information the scammer needs to take your identity, try to withdrawal your funds, and purchase samples using your good name and business reputation to aid his scam business for the next victim!

   You will never hear from any of these people once they scam you...well not with that name again anyways...They'll probably contact you using a new identity and a new story or company and see if they can get your money and merchandise again...

   Its a sad but true situation that needs to be addressed and that is why Alibaba.com has asked me to inform you so that you don't fall victim to these methods!

   You might ask, "How does this man know what he is talking about?"....Well fellow Alibaba.com members, let me say because it happened to our company's President family! They lost over USD$500,000.00 from the Method #1, as described above but with an added little twist, because our Scammer visited us in person! He made us feel very confident and trusting, and then played the Fee traps, and eventually withdrew money from our accounts as well...He was gone before we had any idea what was going on until it was too late. We have been hunting for this man for over 1 year now, but we know we will never find him...it is a sad reality...

   That is why I feel so compelled to tell you about the scammer methods as described above....and now, Let me show you how to determine a scam letter/inquiry so that you can delete it before it causes you harm!

1. Titles/Subjects of these letters are usually as follows:
   
   Beneficial Relationship!
   
   Mutual Business!
   
   Business Relationship!
   
   In the Name of God, Help Us! (Notice the use of Religion in the title)
   
   *persons name* needs your help (Sometimes they use their Fake name in the title)

2. The majority of these letters are from Nigeria and other African countries. These are very poor countries and many people use Internet Cafes there to send out letters all around the world. Sometimes you will receive these from larger areas like the UK, but the person will tell you they have fled from Nigeria or some other African country there and are awaiting release from a Political Asylum camp, hence they use #3 as below.

3. The person always gives you a Mobile Phone/Satellite Phone number. They do this because it is easily thrown away or changed with a new SIM card.

4. The person who sent you the inquiry is insisting on large volumes ordered without even seeing a sample and just wants the Proforma Invoice sent so that they can get approval by their government. Do not believe this...They only want the Proforma Invoice to take your money!

Suggestions to ensure you won't be Scammed

1. Any letters as described in Method #1 are all Scam Letters....These are used to find good business people or decent trusting hard working people and steal there money! The best thing for you to do is DELETE the email or forward it to your local police or Fraud departments in your country. Also, If you receive one from a member of Alibaba.com, forward it to the great staff at Alibaba.com, as they are very appreciative & determined to catching these people!
   
   

2. Never send a Proforma Invoice by Email...This can be copied and edited/used by the scammer to send to other people...Always send your Proforma Invoices by Fax. Make it your new policy...Fax only!

3. Insist on receiving a Complete company profile from any new business clients that send you an Inquiry/Email...When you have this information, you can contact your local government embassy or Chamber of Commerce in that buyers country and verify the information to be correct. The safest way to ensure you are getting the best in buyers, is when the buyer or supplier is TrustPass certified...You can always trust in Alibaba.com for ensuring great trade leads this way!

If you stick with the above suggestions as well as use your head before jumping into a situation, I know that you won't get scammed!

I hope that I have opened your eyes to this terrible situation and that you can now have a clearer understanding on what to do and not do in regards to Scammer letters and doing business online.