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Why I Don’t Source Brands For Parallel Or Grey Export From China.

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Drafter at work : Drafters pay careful attenti...

Drafter At Work (Model Used For This Image)

Just why won’t I source iPhones, XBoxes, and the like, from China?

Well, I’m going to keep this brief, and to the point, and use Microsoft™ and Apple™ as examples, since they’re really very commonly sought after brands.

The Russian and other Caucasian mafias are very organised, and have a lot of funding behind them.

Consequently, having a technician take a piece of equipment, such as an Xbox or iPhone, apart, and making technical drawings of the product, isn’t really a matter which presents them with any great difficulty.

Having business cards made claiming they represent Microsoft™ or Apple™, presents them with equally as little difficulty.

Printing headed paper for letters, and bonded paper for business production and distribution RIGHTS licences, for the purpose of confirming that a company is being granted the RIGHTS, to manufacture and distribute, the Xboxes and iPhones they manufacture, under that licence, is no problem either.

Sending some men, and a beautiful female interpreter, to China to convince Chinese factory owners that they are genuinely being granted licences to manufacture and distribute “genuine Microsoft™ or Apple™” products, presents just as little difficulty.

Of course, when once they arrive in China, and some small, medium to large electronics company, in central China, in the middle of nowhere, is paid a visit by the mighty Microsoft™ or Apple™ corporations’ representatives – then they are, of course, deeply humbled and just can’t believe their luck; whilst afterwards,  it takes them at least a fortnight to stop smiling at themselves, and they will never tire of boasting of their new connection with the mighty Microsoft™ or Apple™ corporations.

After wining and dining their esteemed and honoured guests, they then find themselves being presented with the license to manufacture and distribute on behalf of these great names.

It’s like being granted a license to print money!

Within months their goods are being bought and sold in China, and then sent abroad to small buyers, purchasing through the internet, looking to make a buck by buying cheaply from China.

Of course, the reality is that a genuine REGIONAL MANUFACTURER or DISTRIBUTOR, would never dare risk losing their license by selling outside of their geographically acknowledge sales region.

Meanwhile, the Chinese manager producing the goods, hasn’t the slightest idea that he’s producing fakes. He thinks it’s all real. After all, the people who came, where all foreign, white, big, wore expensive clothes, shoes, and watches, and stayed in the most expensive suites in the most expensive hotel in town.

They even had business cards, letterheads, secret plans and technical drawings, and bonded licence paper, and a company seal.

What is there to doubt? How could the factory owner possibly doubt them?

And I bet this goes on in other countries such as India, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

I suppose you can now see why I won’t touch named brands in China for the purposes of export.

It simply isn’t worth the risk to me, my reputation, to you, or your clients.

If you want the genuine goods, then speak to the OFFICIAL Microsoft™ or Apple™ DISTRIBUTOR (or whatever brand) for your particular geographic region. A quick visit to their websites should provide you with that information.

Do yourself and your clients a favour.

Why do you think you’re going to get them cheaper here?

Safe Trading!

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Originally posted 2009-31-12 13:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Popularity: 9%

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A German Company Discovers The True Meaning Of “Ripped-Off”

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

A Shockingly Interesting And Extremely Cautionary Tale From China.

Jamil Anderlini, in the Financial Times, published on July 27 2009, presented an article entitled “A cautionary tale from China“.

Well, as you know I live and breathe in China, and so felt more than a little compelled to read the article.

What I first noticed, after having read it, was how quiet the Chinese media had kept it – no surprises there I guess.

My next thought was, how dumb the victim, one Mr. Klaus Hilligardt, had been by entrusting his personal life, money, and home, and more particularly his business into the hands of his chosen Chinese managers; not a particularly wise move, as you will discover as the story unfolds.

The victim had his whole company stolen from under his very nose. I mean the guy didn’t even have absence from China as an excuse, as he was resident here for virtually all of the time preceding the eventual disappearance of his company.

Victims aren’t made – they’re born!

And this is a point I keep trying to make to those of you who read me here, and to those of you who email me in the hope that I can get your money back, and which you just kind-of gave away to someone on the other side of the planet. OOPS!

Basically, the Chinese management team of this company, which runs all the major advertising hoardings in China, predominantly on the underground, and national rail lines, set up there own ghost company, which included a logo not unlike the actual company they worked for; the senior Chinese manager, then sold the rights to the new company to take all their clients, and establish themselves as the new market leaders, using money from the victim’s own company to do so, whilst still being paid a salary from the victim’s company – I MEAN, SHAME JUST HAS NOWHERE TO HIDE IT’S FACE IN SHAME!

Image Copyright Financial Times Newsaper Group

Image Copyright Financial Times Newsaper Group

This is assault, battery, rape, and then being peed and shat on for extra measure, before being poked in the eye with a pointy stick, just when you thought it was all over.

In the end, the German managers from the parent company flew over to China, and ran a raid with the police, on the offices, into which the Chinese management had barricaded themselves, before arresting them and hauling them of for intense questioning.

Now, why am I telling you about this? Just because it happened in China? No! I’m telling you because the victim had several years of experience in Asian countries, but failed to learn the language, or the culture, and allowed himself to be walked up the garden path and given a damned good seeing to under the shady apple tree behind the garden shed.

My point?

Very simple. You need me.

China has been my home for the past 8 years, and has been a better home to me than my native England, in many ways, and I am very grateful to her for that.

But still, this is the Wild-East folks, and you greenhorns gotta watch out for Los Banditos Chino, because they can be pretty mean  Hombres to deal with.

Safe Trading!

Here’s a link to the original article for which you may have to sign up to a free membership to read: www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e4103832-7a87-11de-8c34-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1#

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 06:12:20. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Popularity: 98%

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More Dirt On Esources.co.uk – Just How Grubby Is Their Laundry?

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Is Esources.co.uk Being Used As A Means Of Collecting Credit Card, And Personal Details Necessary For Identity Theft?

Here’s something new on the Esources scam trail. I happened to be reviewing the key words used by visitors coming to the blog this evening, and saw a particular string, which I followed, and which brought me to an excellent resource known as FraudWatchInternational.com, and under the section: Home > Fraud Education > Fake Jobs (Money Mules), I found a note on our old friend Stefano Carboni’s company, Esources.co.uk, entitled: Esources Limtited UK – Fake Job (Money Mule Scam).

What’s a “Money Mule”? I hear you asking.

Well, our splendid friends at WikiPedia provide us with a simple and concise explanation, or definition, of the term, as follows:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A money mule is a person who transfers money and reships high value goods that have been fraudulently obtained in one country, usually via the internet, to another country, usually where the perpetrator of the fraud lives. The term money mule is formed by analogy with drug mules.

The need for money mules arises because while a criminal in a developing country can obtain the credit card numbers, bank account numbers, passwords and other financial details of a victim living in the first world via the internet through techniques such as malware and phishing, turning those details into money usable in the criminal’s own country can be difficult. Many businesses will refuse to transfer money or ship goods to certain countries where there is a high likelihood that the transaction is fraudulent. The criminal therefore recruits a money mule in the victim’s country who will receive money transfers and merchandise and resend them to the criminal in return for a commission.

I then came across the following site: http://www.banksafeonline.org.uk/moneymule_explained.html, where they present a lovely interactive graphic of how the scam works, and a very plain English overview of the scam in action, and include such warnings as:

“Remember that even if you have nothing to do with the actual extraction of funds from another person’s account, by allowing your account to be used to receive and transfer such funds, you will be acting illegally.”

Therefore, one might actually conclude that Mr. Carboni isn’t satisfied with swindling people out of their payments through his scam-site, esources.co.uk, but is actively attempting to engage people into placing themselves in a criminally damaging position, in the pursuance of satisfying his need to feed his greed, and his swindling addiction. I mentioned in an earlier article that similar letters from his company were lodged on file at www.data-wales.co.uk under the Representative Fake Cheque Scam.

www.banksafeonline.org.uk go on to explain the steps involved:

  1. Fraudsters contact prospective victims with “job vacancy” adverts via spam emails, letters, newspaper job adverts, Internet chat rooms or job search web sites. Jobs are usually advertised as a “financial manager” and suggest that no special knowledge is required.
  2. The fraudsters convince the victim to come and work for their fake “company”. Some fraudsters even ask mules to sign official-looking contracts of employment.
  3. Once recruited, money mules will receive funds into their accounts. These funds will have been stolen by the fraudsters from another account that has been compromised.
  4. Mules are then asked to take these funds out of their account and to forward them overseas (minus a commission payment) typically using a wire transfer service. Acting as a mule is an illegal activity. When caught, money mules often have their bank accounts suspended, containing *all* of their money.

Of course, having your bank account, and the assets therein frozen, will be the least of your worries; one would assume you’d be more worried about the possible prison time you may have to serve.

Certainly in Australia, the Australian Federal Police, as cited on the Australian Bankers Association website, state clearly that the penalty for being a Money Mule is up to a maximum of 20 years in prison; whilst in the US, according to the US Department of Justice, you could be facing a possible 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and up to five years of supervised release.

At the present moment, I am unable to furnish a penalty for the UK, but can state that it obviously is illegal, and that you will have your account, and assets frozen, you will be liable to repay the monies you earned, and perhaps more, to the actual victims, you will serve some time in prison, and you will carry both a criminal record, and shredded credit rating for the rest of your life.

So, this is no laughing matter, and Mr. Carboni seems to be entangled in this, along with his “company” Esources.co.uk, and quite possibly his alternative site Wholesaledeals.co.uk, by virtue of being under the ownership of the same individual.

Here is the extract from FraudWatchInternational, and the link to the page direct, and I’ll leave you to make your own opinions, and to draw further conclusions, as to the legality of the man and the “companies” he represents. Please, also take note that in the email, right at the beginning, the author states that Esources is a Ltd. company, but in actuality it is not registered as such in the UK.

“The following is an example email for this fake job, otherwise known as a money mule scam. Please forward all fake job emails to scams@fraudwatchinternational.com

Dear Sir/Ma.

Esources Limtited UK (http://www.esources.co.uk) is in search of a book-keeper/company representative in the U.S.A/CANADA. This project has been developed in a way not to affect your present job nor bring you any form of stress but in order to help take care of those extra costs while you work for us. Esources is a small company thats deals in whole sales of T-Shirts, Cardigans,Ladies Tops,Kids wear & Silver Jewellery . We offer exceptional customer service and quality at discounted prices!. Everything in our catalogue is priced in UK/US funds. You can check to see from our web-site.

Recently It came to my knowledge that there are a lot of lapses in
handling funds coming from our clients in the USA which come in forms of Cashiers checks,Company checks and Money Orders which are not readily cashable outside the United States. So we need someone in the U.S.A to work as our representative and assist us in processing the payments from our various clients which come in on a weekly,monthly and annual basis.This is why we decided to employ a representative over in theU.S.A to help us receive our payments at your contact address you shall be providing us,in order to process our payment from our clients.

All you need to do is receive these payments from our clients in the U.S.A get it cashed at your banking institution. You are entittled to(10% of each payment) that you process. After payment must have been cashed and deducted your working fee. You will send the remaining fund to us. Our payments will be issued out in your name as we will inform our clients to do. Therefore the following details would be needed: I would require you to send me an email with the following details:

1)Your Full Name:
2)Contact Address,City,State & Zipcode:
3)Home & Cell Phone number:
4)Age:
5)Occupation:
6)Sex(Male/Female):

Reply to: jeannettehintz@aol.com

We would forward these informations to one of our clients and they will start making payments to you as the company’s representative in the states . Once we have all your details in our records.We would notify you as soon we confirm that one of ourcleints is mailing payment across to you.

I await your urgent response.
Warmest Regards.
Jeannette Hintz.
Head Of Human Resources.
eSources.co.uk”.

Finally, look at that lovely line in the email, “We offer exceptional customer service and quality at discounted prices!

What a load of rubbish! Obviously Mr. Carboni’s idea of “…exceptional customer service…“, doesn’t run as far as actually having an operating telephone, where customers can contact him, or his representatives; wherever he is, and wherever his “company” is, as all we have are mailing addresses, and a website! There is no physical presence, and no means of direct contact, other than email.

A parting thought: Might you be in danger of identity theft, if you’re paying for membership to either of Mr. Carboni’s websites. After all, you’re giving him a huge amount of personal information, not to mention your  credit card details. Just think about it for a moment.

Safe Trading!

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 01:40:20. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Did You Do it To Yourself? And Are You Still Doing It?

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Scammed or Self-Inflicted Wound?

It’s my personal opinion that many people who get themselves scammed in China, or elsewhere for that matter, do so almost willingly.

When I say “willingly“, I don’t actually mean that they say, “Hey! Mr. Scammer, please take my money from me!“ Although, when one looks at it from a certain direction, it may appear to be almost a silent agreement to such.

The Addictive Brain!
The Addictive Brain!

But, what I really mean, is that it’s reminiscent of the behaviour of a drug addict; because one knows one shouldn’t, but one nevertheless goes and does it anyway.

People usually KNOW a few things before a scammer closes on them.

1. They know that the deal is too good to be true.

Which quite frankly, in and of itself, should be ringing every alarm bell in their nervous systems.

2. They know that they are ignoring the warnings that their whole life’s experiences are sending them.

Yes, they just feel the truth of it in the seat of their pants – that something isn’t quite right. But, like the risk takers we humans are, ike the eternal optimists that we are – we persist with it and even ignore our own selves.

3. They know they should not send that money.

By this point, these people are really like junkies trying to withdraw from drugs. “I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t help myself. I just need to do it. Just once more. I’m sure I’ll get lucky this time!“

Don't Play Russian Roulette With Your Money!
Don’t Play Russian Roulette With Your Money!

We use most of our senses, to avoid being set on fire, to smell the foods we eat, and perhaps the dog poop behind the sofa; we use our ears and eyes to stop us being run over by a car or truck, as we cross the road.

But, then we go and send $ 5,000 to some girl called “Minky” on the other side of the planet!

I mean – HEY! That isn’t even a real name,; and I don’t mean a fake or false identity. I mean not real as in the same way that I don’t have “kizu-maliki-shopytoof” in my kitchen; primarily because no such thing exists, not unless by sheer fluke I’ve named a real kitchen utensil in some obscure language.

Surely the fact they can’t even get a regular name together must tell you something about the SERIOUSNESS of the people you’re dealing with.

I’m reminded of those people who call those telephone sex lines (whatever they are), and some grotesque woman is sitting there pushing Twinkies, or another brand of sweet and sticky thing, down her throat like a factory production line, weighing in at 437 lbs (at 5 feet 3), and has to walk with the aid of sticks due to her medically gross obesity, is telling you her name is “Yvette“, and that she’s tall, slim, has diplomas in dance and theatre, is wearing a black negligee, likes you much more than anybody else who calls, because you’re almost like a real friend, and that we really should meet one day, but now she’s feeling really wet for you, and would you like to….

Ahem! Well, I’m sure you get the picture.

These “victims” have a sense that it’s going to happen, but still they press on, gritting their teeth in the hopes of a win.

Now, that’s what I call optimism!

Yes, these people know it’s going to happen. If not actually GOING TO, then certainly VERY LIKELY TO.

That’s what makes the scam almost a self-inflicted wound!

We're All Gamblers In One Way Or Another!
We’re All Gamblers In One Way Or Another!

Honestly, the inside of these peoples’ heads must look and sound exactly the same as that of a gambler with his last dollar – there he is standing in front of a fruit machine, and trying to decide whether to buy some food to eat, or slip it into the slot.

Of course, the decision was already made before he’d even thought of the question. Because our human sense of risk, or addiction, tends to walk about three paces in front of all other thought processes we’re experiencing.

Our sense of risk rides along like a surf board on the wave of every other thought we have. And it is because of this that our addiction will always finish ahead of everything else we think, do, taste, or feel.

It lives on the top of that wave, and everything else rests in its’ shadow.

We tell alcoholics that the first thing they need to do is understand that they HAVE A PROBLEM, before they can address it.

The same is true here.

In the same way as those guys calling on those sex lines, often the people who lose out here and elsewhere, are simply deluding themselves. They actually make the job of being a scammer easier.

Just remember this. A scam can only occur when one party wants something for nothing; all the other party is doing is giving you nothing for something.

Try to cut corners and you’ll cut your own throat.

There is no secret way; no special way; no something to which you aren’t privy.

There is simply a right way and wrong way. The first will bring you benefits, and the second will bring you misery.

You’ll simply lose the dollars, whilst trying to save the cents.

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 00:51:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Popularity: 16%

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Trading Safely With China

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

How To Trade Safely With China.

You want to trade with China, but you don’t feel safe. So what’s new?

Trading with China can be a very profitable way to do business, particularly for the small business or entrepreneur.

Beware Of The Dragon In The Machine!

Beware Of The Dragon In The Machine!

However, the safety of your transaction, and the possibility that you may, sooner rather than later, be a victim of cyber-fraud should be something which worries you very much, as is evidenced by the rise of cyber-fraud between China and the west in recent years. This eventuality is evident all over the internet on BBs and trade-sites where people are lodging their impotent complaints of having lost to the cheats of China.

There are, however, steps you can take to ensure the safety of your transactions, and to seriously mitigate your risk. The following information could help you save your investment, heartache, stress, and the personal shame and embarrassment – all of which will accompany such a loss.

So, what does a Chinese scam look like? What form does it take?

Well, before I go into this in any depth allow me to say that the majority of people out there attempting to trade with China seriously need to reconsider their approach in recognising or determining with whom they are dealing.

The Internet Is A Petrie Dish For Scammers!

The Internet Is A Petrie Dish For Scammers!

The one thing all of us should be aware of, is that the internet is infested with scammers in the same way that a homeless dog is infested with fleas; it’s an electronic Petri dish which breeds scammers on a vast and multitudinous scale.

Indeed, it would not be short of the mark to say that the internet is the most dangerous place to perform business.

Therefore, the first thing you need to understand is that the people who are going to scam you are very savvy and clever, running highly organised schemes of mass deception, which have been carefully designed and implemented to trick and mislead you. These people are professionals at what they do. And their systems become more highly tuned with every successful scam, as they learn from their experience as they go along.

Over the years I’ve read a lot of hard-luck stories written by victims and posted broadly across the internet. Sadly the majority of them leave me with a “Huh?” of disbelief at their naiveté.

Here’s what the scammer knows:

  1. There is always someone wanting products cheaply; even more so in the current financial climate.
  2. “If you build it, he will comeIf they build a website offering incredible prices, then people will visit.
  3. If you like the incredible price you will email.
  4. S/he knows that a little polite conversation on MSN will further reel you in.
  5. They know and understand that the medium in which these frauds and deceptions take place is called the World Wide Web; and just like a real spider’s web, the spider (the scammer) patiently lies in wait for the flies (which is you).
  6. S/he knows that the law of averages is on their side, and not on yours.
  7. They know that they live in a hugely populous nation laden with heavy bureaucracy, and that chasing them up will be almost impossible for you.
  8. They know that it is easy for them to disappear, and setup the same web of deceit again elsewhere.
  9. They know and understand desperation.
  10. Lastly, they know that you want something for nothing (or at least at a ridiculously cheap price) – and so they give you nothing for something.

All of the above gives them a massive sense of self-confidence, and which in itself, provides them with more backbone than you could imagine.

Here’s what you know:

  1. Wow! This is an incredible deal, I was really lucky to find this.
  2. I can’t believe my luck.
  3. You feel a little nervous about the deal, but you just have to take the risk, and so you convince yourself that it’ll be O.K.
  4. You send the money, and then s/he stops communicating with you, or they begin to prevaricate, or even say they need extra money for your goods to clear Chinese customs.
  5. You received a tracking number that doesn’t work.
  6. You can’t believe what a complete and utter idiot you have been.
  7. You think, “How did I not see this coming?”
  8. You realise you did see it coming, but decided to ignore your own instinct because you thought that if it is real you will have found a great supplier at a great price.
  9. You’ve lost your money!
  10. You suffer a huge amount of personal pain, grief, humiliation, a deep sense of shame, and a sensation akin to having been raped.

You can save yourself a lot of heartache, misery, embarrassment, and personal shame by performing necessary Due Diligence before transferring any monies.

Otherwise, you may just find you’ve given away a lot of money, with little effort, to a stranger you’ll never trace on your own.

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 04:32:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Popularity: 20%

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Reiteration – China – A Popular Misconception

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

China – A Popular Misconception.

Further, and more recent email requests for Wiis and Amazon Kindle 2 E-Book Readers, and similar products, have forced me to reiterate a point I have made on many forums before.

There seems to be a common misconception that one can simply buy any branded product directly from China; I have to tell you that in most cases this simply isn’t true.

If you wish to buy the product you want, you will have to go through an authorised dealer or distributor in your own country.

Although a large majority of hi-tech toys, gadgets, and games are produced here in China; they are produced here to be legally exported to traders and dealers who have sole right of distribution in your country, or their other respective countries – not to be sold freely from China to anyone who wants them.

Consequently, the only thing you will find here are knock-offs – or FAKES.

So, all I can say to you is, that unless you can find those legal distributors in your own country, through a request to the parent company, or producer, then I’m afraid you will only ever be cheated.

That will occur in one of two ways:

1. They’ll just take your money.

2. They’ll send you fakes of either very good to crap quality (and don’t expect to get a real warranty).

Is this sinking in yet?

Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t buy from China.

It just means that you will have to forgo the famous brands, and choose some of the excellent, high-quality, OTHER brands (or no-name brands to you), and which are available for legal export to your country, and for which you can get very good deals and make a very decent mark-up when you sell them.

Customers don’t want them?

Then buy some anyway, and TEACH your customers to want them.

That’s how brand names became brand names – and that’s how a true salesperson works.

It seems that the art of SELLING has been forgotten and replaced by the lesser art of TRYING TO MEET DEMAND or just jumping into the current trend or wave.

Don’t try to meet demands – try and educate clients and GENERATE NEW DEMANDS.

It used to be called – BREAKING A NEW MARKET.

Responding to demand is easy, everybody and anybody can, and are doing this – breaking a new market, and REALLY selling, is a very profitable skill.

In other words – Don’t follow fashions – SET THEM!

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 01:00:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Popularity: 12%

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Games Consoles, XBOX, iPhone Products From China

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

China – Games Consoles And The Scam

More than a few people have discussed XBOX and Games Consoles, and I’ve often been asked about sourcing them.

I’d like to make specific mention of this issue briefly here.

The Parallel or Grey Importing of Goods.

Scammers Love You, Because You Love This!

Scammers Love You, Because You Love This!

I’ll talk about parallel or grey importing using computers as an example first, and then follow on to briefly discuss games consoles and Xboxes.

Brand name electrical goods and computers CAN be found here in China.

However, when you start trying to take them from China (or anywhere else) into other countries, then you fall into an area known as parallel or grey importing. Many companies are now really cracking down on this, particularly SONY for instance, in co-operation with the EU, there has a been a dramatic increase in seizures of goods at ports.

Scammers Love Your Money - And You Love To Give It To Them!

Scammers Love Your Money - And You Love To Give It To Them!

The parallel or grey market is the trade of something legal through unofficial, unauthorized, and usually unintended distribution channels.

For example: To export anything made by Dell™ in China, to the US, would be considered by Dell™ US to be poaching on their territory.

Sometimes the practice of parallel or grey importing is illegal, but not always so.

Many of the parties concerned with the parallel or grey importing of a good are usually the authorized agents or importers, or other retailers of an item in the target market. More often than not this is the national subsidiary of the manufacturer, or one of its related companies. In response to the ensuing damage to both their profits and their reputation, many manufacturers, and their official distribution chains will very often seek to restrict the parallel or grey market.

Such responses can breach competition law, particularly within the European Union.

Competition law, in the United States is known as antitrust law.

Refusal to Honour Warranties

Manufacturers have the right to refuse to honour the warranty of an item purchased from parallel or grey market sources, on the grounds that the higher price you should have paid on the non-grey market reflects a higher level of expected service.

To The Scammer, 'You' Are The 'Apple' of Their Eyes!

To The Scammer, 'You' Are The 'Apple' of Their Eyes!

Additionally, companies may provide the warranty service only from the manufacturer’s subsidiary only from within the intended country of import, and not in the diverted third country to where the parallel or grey goods are ultimately sold by the unauthorised distributor or retailer.

Are you prepared to make money at any cost?

Are you the kind of person who’d sell grey or parallel goods to someone, irrespective of the effective lack of any genuine warranty on those goods?

Do you not care about the end user, your client, and your own reputation?

Because, if your answer is ‘yes‘ to the first two questions, and ‘no‘ to the third one, then I really don’t see much difference between you and the scammers.

In my opinion, if you’re buying grey or parallel, then you’re obviously a bit shady yourself.

The response by scammers to the grey market is particularly evident in the electronic goods market, where I hear people crying loudly at having been ripped and burned regularly!

Have You Got Money To Burn?

Have You Got Money To Burn?

Yes, it seems to be the people endeavouring to buy games and game consoles, along with iPhones etc., who are the one’s who get burned most frequently by the scammers.

Just by virtue of wanting these goods grey or parallel, you put yourself at the scammers table, and if you’re unlucky (which you most probably will be) you’ll find yourself on a scammers dinner plate too.

If that’s you, or you’re thinking about entering this line of business, then I suggest you find another product line to trade in, one that you can get direct from a good OEM/ODM in China.

Remember, the scammers love those who love to buy grey!

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 05:31:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Quick Checklist – How To Spot A Scam

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Quick Checklist For How To Spot A Chinese Scam Site.

The following six red rags are simply a list of indicators, which in isolated terms, may or may not mean anything; however, when found all together, should ring some alarm bells. As with anything in business or life, the whole is greater than the sum of its’ parts.

1. The Site.

The website has an absence of any Chinese version for its’ own pages.

This means they’re targeting only one group of prospects – foreigners.

That is to say, people who will not stand a hope in hell’s chance of chasing them up after the bolt is shot.

In my experience, companies in China that have Chinese and English versions of their pages are usually genuine, as they’re making themselves accessible to the home market too; particularly for companies dealing in electronics, phones, and computers.

An absence of such, may, but not always, indicate a potential scam site.

O.K. our website only has English, but we deal with requests from foreigners, and we seek-out suppliers. Suppliers seldom seek us out; although, we occasionally have a Chinese company approach us with an offer and  an introduction.

2. Contact Information.

All the email addresses are ‘Hotmail‘ or ‘Yahoo‘; there is a distinct absence of a company email address.

This in and of itself doesn’t carry too much weight, as many genuine Chinese companies operate with private email addresses.

However, it is a common enough marker amongst the scammers.

You can also try running a quick check on the company’s name and address, via the online English language page of the Yellow Pages for China, found at: www.yp.net.cn/english/.

If they have no listing, then there’s a good chance they aren’t a genuine company; either that, or they’re a SOHO (Small Office Home Office), and use their home as an office, as they usually never come face-to-face with clients, and have no need of an office as such.

However, this wouldn’t usually be the case for a technology company, as they’d normally have to have an official office, and storage facilities out of mere necessity.

3. Company Registration Number.

Of course, as a legally registered business entity, they’d need to have a business registration number.

When once you have that number, you can go to the following Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) page, for contact details of the Local Administrations office, and try to get the data for the government business registration office in the city, and the province where they claim to be registered. You can then email, fax, or phone requesting to know if this number matches a genuine business.

MOFCOM Local Administration Contact Page: http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/topic/chinainvest/localguide/200702/20070204378447.html.

Sadly however, the Ministry’s own website is very poorly put together, as you yourself will note upon visiting it, and a search for the contact data for the appropriate office may not actually work; neither does the page display correctly. I have informed the Ministry of this fault, as have others, but to no avail.

This is something I’m in the process of changing by putting together my own listing, and which I shall make available to registered users of Safely Sourcing China, and collated on a provincial, and city level.

The inaction of the Ministry to properly display this data, and its’ accompanying suspicion which is cast upon the Ministry itself, seems to have escaped them.

4. Unbeatable Offer.

This one is a complete no-brainer; if the price seems to good to be true – then it’s a scam.

5. Payment.

Ask if the company will accept an L/C (Letter of Credit); if they only take Western Union, PayPal, and the likes, then they’re more than likely a scammer.

6. IP Check.

Run an IP address check on the company and see how many other web addresses they have registered to them.

Personally I’ve come across guys with upwards of 2 or 3 hundred websites connected to them as the registrant.

Go here and type the web address, MINUS the WWW bit, into the box: whois.domaintools.com/.

This last one is a definite NO-NO. If you see they’re registered to a cartload of websites, just turn your back, shake the dust from your sandals, and leave.

And that’s about it for your basic checks; more to come in the future.

Trade Safely!

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 01:20:19. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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China’s Money Mules – And Why You’ve Lost It For Good

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

China Scam – Money Mules – And Why You Will Never See Your Money Again.

I’d like to point out to you, in very clear and marked terms, just why it is you will never see your money again, should you happen to lose to a scam in China; particularly those of you who lose money to companies whilst trying to buy iPhones, Nintendo, etc.

Last week, I wrote about Mr. Stefano Carboni’s apparent involvement in the money mule scam; that is, getting other people to transfer funds through their personal bank accounts, as a means of laundering it to a final destination.

Then only this week, I discover, through certain of my contacts here in China, the reason you won’t ever see your money again is based on similar grounds.

Here is how it works:

There are approximately 300 million agricultural workers in China, and approximately 40 million migrant workers travelling from city to city in attempts to find some kind of living. So, no shortage of potential mules!

A quick review of salaries in China may provide you with a glimpse at the motivation behind the actions I’m about to describe.

A Chinese Farmer

A Chinese Farmer

In 2007 the average farmer in China earned around 4,140 RMB (Yuan) or approximately $605 USD per annum; the average salary for a construction worker in China is approximately 1, 064 RMB (Yuan) or $122 USD per month; whilst the average factory worker is earning around 1,100 RMB (Yuan) or $ 160 USD per month.

As can be seen, by the above figures, the 300 million farmers in the agricultural sector earn less than 30% of what construction and factory workers can earn in a year.

This fact is widely known in China, and it is to this sector of the community that the scammers go with their offer.

So, what is their offer?

It’s very simple, actually.

They say to the peasant farmer, something along the lines of, “Look we have all these foreign clients, but we don’t want to pay tax and stuff, and so we need an alternative account for the funds to be transferred to, as a means of avoiding the tax. You open a bank account for us using your ID, our foreign clients transfer funds to it, and then move the funds on to another account, the details of which we’ll give you (usually Taiwan); and we’ll pay you a nice fat commission, and you and your family will be much better off. Your child will be able to go to a better school, and then on to university, and the whole future of your family will be changed for the better – forever.”

Of course, from Taiwan, the money is then transferred to other destinations.

So, the peasant, knowing a good thing when he or she sees or hears one; and who is always willing to make extra money for the family, says, HaoDe!orHaoLe! (Good! or Fine with me!).

I mean, why wouldn’t they? People in the West do exactly this when they get involved in fake cheque scams, and act as money mules for a variety of mafias.

In actuality, the Chinese peasant farmer, quite probably has a better excuse than the greedy money-grabbing buggers in the West, who regularly sign up for this kind of business, as their lifestyles are a millennia apart, and is clearly documented and attested by many more than myself.

So, personally speaking, I can’t really blame them; you make your own decision on that.

Anyway, of course, eventually the whole thing gets tumbled, and the account closes, and the scammers recruit another peasant farmer, and start the whole operation again, with barely a blip in their action.

The previous peasant farmer account holder is questioned by the police, and the police learn nothing, as the peasant farmer was him or herself duped anyway, and has absolutely no idea of the true identities of the people they’ve been dealing with.

And, naturally, a physical description isn’t going to help much.

I understand that to many foreigners, everyone may look the same here, but, that isn’t true, of course. People here do have very distinct personal physical attributes.

However, without wishing to sound racist, and by sticking to reality, whether it pleases us to do so or not, the general physical characteristics are certainly much of a muchness; in as much as hair, skin, and eye colour, or whether he or she looked like an East European, had a certain Latino appearance, or shocking red hair and green eyes.

I mean, can you imagine the interrogation of the peasant?

Policeman 1: So, what did this man look like?

Peasant: Well, he was maybe 30 years old, about 5 feet 6 inches, had short black hair, yellow skin, slanted dark brown eyes, and a wide or flat nose.

Policeman 1: O.K., So we can rule out all the women and men under 30 years of age in the country. That just leaves the rest of the population. Hold on! What Kind of accent did he have?

Peasant: He sounded like he came from Henan Province to me.

Policeman 1: Ah ha! From Henan you say. Well, that’s a lucky break for us, as there are only 100 million people in Henan. So, if we discount all the women, that brings us to about 70 million males.

O.K. that’s god, that’s good… Then we discount those under 30 years of age. and those above 40 years of age… Let me see… Yes…, that leaves us with only… Great Scott! Only 21,000,000 men to search through; By George! We’re on to them now. You can tell Mr. Stupid Bugger in England, that we’ll soon have his $300 dollars back for him.

Policeman 2: But, Sir. What if the perpetrator doesn’t live in Henan anymore, and is living… well… …somewhere else in China?

Policeman 1: Damn it, Caruthers, you’re right! Stop that telegram to Mr. Stupid bugger in England. Now, (He paces the room thoughtfully, clenched fist, arms folded and thumb to top teeth, looking into nothingness on the floor before him) Mmmm… yes… Yes, this really puts the cat amongst the pigeons. I think this may take a little longer than I at first thought.

And that’s it basically.

A Submarine In Your Bathtub

A Submarine In Your Bathtub

That’s why, if you lose your money here, the chances of you  ever seeing it again, are about the same as you taking a bath, and a nuclear submarine surfacing in it, raking you with machine-gun fire, stealing your rubber duck, submerging, and then going back to base for debriefing, a plate of hot and crispy cod and chips (fries) with brown sauce, washed down with a warm cup of  hot cocoa, and all before bed-time.

Now, if you’re sensible, then you’ll go back to the OLD FASHIONED WAY of doing things, and hire an agent, like me, to protect your interests, and to ensure that you don’t find yourself taking a bath with a submarine.

The choice is yours. You’ve been warned. Again!

Safe Trading!

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 04:05:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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