Fraud Prevention: Case Study 9 - Supplier Sent Wrong Products and Disappeared

Problem:

“A few days ago, I posted a Buy Offer for Mobile Phones. I was contacted by a Chinese supplier with extremely good rates. I couldn't resist the offer and ordered 5 phones as my initial order for testing. It cost me USD $575 including shipping and handling. I sent the payment through Western Union. I received my order via EMS and it contained two pairs of beat up old shoes”.

Evaluating this Case:

1. Don't let an appealing price tag lead to an impulse buy. The price is an important factor to determine whether a particular product will be genuine or not. If you come across a price which is really low and too good to be true, like 50% lower than the regular price, then the chances are the transaction will eventually turn into a fraud. It is advisable to do a background check. Check out their website and see how old it is, call them to verify their phone number, verify their bank account details, company registration information, and so on. It is also advisable to get in touch with the embassy of your country, located in supplier's country to acquire information about the supplier.

2. Western Union is a service that quickly transfers your cash from one location to another. However, it is not advisable to use this service to send money to suppliers as it is not intended for such transactions and it does not offer any security to buyers. Experienced buyers prefer to use an escrow payment service, especially when they place their first order with a new supplier, as it helps protect your money.

3. When you place an order using an escrow service, open up the parcel in front of the courier and check the products as soon as the parcel arrives. You must tell the courier to stay and wait until you verify that you have received the correct order. If you don't receive all the items, or find some of them to be broken, or notice that the quality of the products is poor, then you must not accept the parcel and tell the courier to take it back.

4. You may accidentally receive the broken, incorrect or poor quality items. Get in touch with the supplier to find out if they sent it by mistake. If they did it deliberately, you can file a lawsuit against them. Also, report the incident to TradeKey.com.
 

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Fraud Case Studies:

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Fraud Prevention: Case Study 6 - First Meeting with the Supplier in Person

Fraud Prevention: Case Study 7 - Extremely Low and Attractive Price

Fraud Prevention: Case Study 8 - Be Cautious! Even with Old Trade Partners