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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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Posted in General Information, Scams And Scammers | 3 Comments »

SafelySourcingChina.Com Is Launched

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same – When Is A Blog Not A Blog?

Well, I decided that although I like the look of the blog here at yourchinatradingpartner.com/blog, and that WordPress has a great deal to say for itself, as a very manageable blogging tool; I just felt it was a wee bit slow.

I mean, you come to the YourChinaTradingPartner.Com page, and you get a very nice fast load. However, when you drop down a directory into the blog, I found it to very often take a monumentally long time to load the page, and it was driving me nuts.

So, to solve the problem, and generate a lot of new work for myself, I built an HTML version of the blog, and slapped it on its’ own host at www.SafelySourcingChina.com.

Of course, this has presented me, the novice, with certain issues, such as how to make an RSS feed of my new HTML version of the blog.

However, after a little searching I managed to find a way of doing it which suits me down to the ground. Indeed, once I’d organised my RSS, I then went and tried feeding it to FeedBurner, and it went through far more smoothly than the horror story that was my feeds, here on the blog, just a week ago, when i had to hire someone to sort it out for me.

CLICK! and I was done. I couldn’t believe how easy it was.

I’ll continue to post here, but I’ll also post the material on the new blog too, for those who prefer a speedier, if less glossy, access portal to my stuff.

If anyone’s interested in how to set up an RSS feed for their blog, then I suggest you simply go where I went, and all will be made clear.

Here’s the link: rapidfeeds.com

By the way, I just tried putting the annimated feed link bar in here from FeedBurner, but WordPress just wouldn’t have it, and I’ve had to rewrite, and delete this article 4 times to try and dump the scramble of code left here.

I like the UTILITY of WordPress, but I prefer the ease and speed of HTML. For me, WordPress has presented me with a number of issues, a few of which are still unresolved.

That’s it for now, folks.

UPDATE

I managed to get an HTML blog sorted quite nicely, but found updating feeds to be a bit of a drag, and so finally decided to move the WordPress version of the blog here, as you can now see, and have probably noted.

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 03:03:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Posted in Being In Beijing, Company News | No Comments »

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

Popularity: 59%

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A Comprehensive Source of China Links

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Possibly The Most Comprehensive Listing Of China Governmental And Non-Governmental Info-Sources.

When embarking on trading with China, both you and your company need as much top-level information as possible, and it should be equally wide in scope and readily available at the click of a mouse at any time, day or night.

And that’s where a small family-run product sourcing and due diligence company in Beijing, are seemingly outstripping their larger competitors, by presenting quite possibly one of the most comprehensive sources of information and links to Chinese governmental and non-governmental information sites of interest and information, with particular emphasis on due diligence and trading safely with China; all readily available in one place, and at the click of the mouse, for foreign businesses, traders, and entrepreneurs on the internet.

YCTP China Trading Links

YCTP China Trading Links

This small company is saving a lot of people a lot of hard footslogging, or better said – key tapping – by opening to the public their own carefully garnered resources to the public domain.

Indeed, they even outstrip companies such as Alibaba with the comprehensive and ‘all-in-one-place’ format of their links – literally at your fingertips.

Indeed, there are many pages offering information on the internet regarding product sourcing, due diligence, background checking, and lodging formal complaints with governmental or voluntary agencies. However, few sites offer such a broad and comprehensive range of informational links to relevant and pertinent Chinese authorities and government sanctioned trade and commerce sites, where you can find connections to genuine Chinese businesses who have registered themselves with governmental authorities. This in and of itself doesn’t necessarily make these businesses one-hundred percent genuine or risk-free. However, it certainly does minimise the risk of being scammed.

Sectional headings on the links page at www.yourchinatradingpartner.com include – China Business Resources: the links in this section cover a variety of journals and blogs appertaining to trading with China and are replete with useful information, inside tips, news, data, and current trends.

In the China Government Business resources section there are a string of excellent links to The Ministry of Commerce to the Peoples Republic of China (national) and its’ associated forums and complaints sections. In the Invest in China – Government Website section you can confirm the validity, or determine whether a company is legally registered in China. However, it currently only deals with those companies who have joined voluntarily and/or are foreign/Sino joint ventures.

In The Local Administration for Industry and Commerce Section you can check local branches of The Ministry of Commerce to the Peoples Republic of China to determine the validity of a business and whether or not it is a legally registered entity.

Other sections include links to the Bureau of Fair Trade for Imports and Exports, Department of Foreign Investment Administration, and the World Importers Net (Ministry of Commerce PRC), which is a trade promotion website under MOFCOM Public Information Service (MPIS), aiming at promoting international trade by providing both Chinese and overseas companies with trade information. It is an important part of the China national public information service system for international trade and economic cooperation, and is funded by the Chinese government; all services provided are free of charge.

Further very useful sites linked to by YCTP are the Department of Foreign Trade, China Customs & Excise, and The Mediation Centre of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade; where if something goes wrong with your transaction, and you have already tried to contact your Chinese business partner to resolve the issue without success, then you can refer your case to arbitration.

Another interesting and useful link is to the Trademark Office – State Administration for Industry and Commerce (CTMO); which department performs the registration and administration of trademarks nationwide.

CIETAC is now one of the busiest arbitration centres in the world.

CIETAC is now one of the busiest arbitration centres in the world.

Another immensely useful site is The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) which is the most important and permanent arbitration institution in China. Formerly known as the Foreign Trade Arbitration Commission, the CIETAC was set up in April 1956 under the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) to meet the needs of the continuing development of China’s economic and trade relations with foreign countries after the adoption of the “reform and opening-up” policy, the Foreign Trade Arbitration Commission was renamed as the Foreign Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission in 1980, and then finally settled down as the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission in 1988. Since 2000, the CIETAC is also known as the Arbitration Court of the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC).

The CIETAC independently and impartially resolves economic and trade disputes by means of arbitration and conciliation (mediation).

The CIETAC’s headquarters is located in Beijing with two sub-commissions in Shanghai and Shenzhen, respectively known as the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-Commission and the CIETAC South China Sub-Commission. In order to meet the needs of the development of the arbitration practices, the CIETAC also successively established 19 liaison offices in different regions and specific business sectors to provide parties with handy arbitration advice.

After nearly 50 years of continuous endeavour, the CIETAC is now one of the busiest arbitration centres in the world. With its arbitration practices and academic activities, the CIETAC has also made great contributions to the legislation of the Chinese arbitration law and the development of the arbitration practice in China. Not only does CIETAC maintain positive relations and cooperation with all the major arbitration institutions throughout the world, it also upholds a respectable reputation at home and abroad for its independence, impartiality and efficiency.

YCTP also include an introduction to CHINA – THE LAW; which although not exhaustive does direct readers to General Principals of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China, Model Arbitration Clause for Contracts with Chinese Companies, and The Ministry of Public Security of the P. R. China Information Network & Security, which deals more specifically with cyber-fraud, or cyber-crime.

Additional links included are those for government run or sanctioned trade links and resources, such as: China Commodity Net (CCN), which is funded by the Chinese government. China Commodity Net (CCN) is one of MOFCOM’s Public Information Service (MPIS) projects. As an important part of China national public information service system for international trade and economic co-operation, CCN aims to enhance cooperation and trade between the Chinese and overseas enterprises.

Other trade links include BizMatching – A government run and approved (Ministry of Commerce) trade portal, and China Market; this is a business portal recommended by the Chinese government.

In all, Your China Trading Partner provide a fascinating, deeply informative, and educational collection of links, which will prove to be an extremely valuable resource for any company, large or small, or any individual wishing to trade securely and successfully with China.

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 04:15:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Popularity: 22%

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Posted in Company News, General Information | 2 Comments »

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

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What Can Happen If You Lose On A Deal In China?

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

What Can You Expect To Pay For CIETAC To Arbitrate For You, Should You Lose On A Deal In China?.

So, you lost out, and were skinned and scammed by a company in China, and now you want to go to arbitration to get back what you’ve lost, as well as getting some justice from the “evil doers“, as Mr. Bush might say. So, what’s it going to cost you?

Well, the following is the CIETAC fee schedule for their arbitration services, which I’ve converted, as near as possible, to the corresponding USD values.

Now, remember, when you choose to go into arbitration you agree to abide by the arbitral outcome. That is to say, that should the judgement go against you then all of the following monies tabulated below, will be lost to you on-top of your actual current losses. And don’t go confusing Western Jurisprudence with that of China; it may very well go against you. Remember, this is another risk.

As clearly stated beyond the main table, there may be further “…arbitration fee(s) according to this Arbitration Fee Schedule, the CIETAC or its Sub-commission may collect other extra, reasonable and actual expenses pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Arbitration Rules.” Meaning, that whatever you’re charged in the initial schedule may also include further fees levied to your account to the value of 1,500 USD per additional charge, per additional “…reasonable and actual expenses pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Arbitration Rules.”

Of course, even should you win, the defendant may still hold you up by delaying payment for a variety of reasons, and causing you to resort to CIETAC again, at further expense, which you will then have to get CIETAC to levy back against the defendant. Or, of course, they may just shut up shop and disappear. This kind of tactic wouldn’t necessarily be unusual.

Now, let’s just take a look at a bare-bones example, without the extra fees, and see what we’re talking about here.

We’ll take the lowest level in the schedule as an example, and this is just waving the stick a little, to get an idea of how things could go.

So, you lost $150,000 to a company somewhere in some province, in China.

You go to CIETAC, and before anything happens (and at this point I think it only fitting to mention that there is about a 9 month backlog with CIETAC) you are charged a fee of $5,250, plus the $1,500 registration fee, which is charged at all levels. Therefore, you’re current total is now $6,750, and you’ve just finished the registration process alone.

Then there will be charges for phone calls, letters, and transport costs for an examiner to visit the defendant or their place of business, hotel costs, living cost etc.

So, let’s just consider transport, living, interview, and visitation costs.

Let’s just call that another $3,000, and remain in the conservative area of things. That would bring you up to around the $9,750 mark. Then there’ll be the weeks and months of back and forth, hither and thither, as nothing in this vein happens either quickly or directly in China.

In the meantime, you may see your charges rise by another $3,000, before you even get close to an arbitral decision; and by which time you will have shelled out, on top of your $150,000 loss, another $12,750, and you’ll be sweating and hoping it all goes your way, or else you’ve lost your initial loss of $150,000 plus another $12,750.

So, are you shaking in your boots? Quivering with anger and frustration?

You should be!

Before I present you with the CIETAC arbitration fee schedule, allow me to tell you that there’s another way around this, and that is – PREVENTION.

Your China Trading Partner

Your China Trading Partner

Very simply, you can contact us at Your China Trading Partner, and we’ll make a factory visit, do your Due Diligence, and arrange for your goods to be checked before leaving port.

For us to go visit the factory, and to have your goods checked at port before shipping, will cost you approximately another $850 to $1,000 on top of your costs; whilst of course, on our factory visit we’ll get your supplier to agree to the insertion of the CIETAC Arbitration Clause in your joint contract, and which states:

“Any dispute arising from or in connection with this Contract shall be submitted to China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration which shall be conducted in accordance with the Commission’s arbitration rules in effect at the time of applying for arbitration. The arbitral award is final and binding upon both parties.”

And thereby, offer you a little extra protection; additionally, of course, you can include in the terms of your L/C, that monies will not be released until goods have passed random quality checking, at their exit port prior to shipping.

Now, here’s a final question for you, before I introduce you to that fee schedule.

Doesn’t it make a lot more sense to spend another $850 to $1,000 on top of your costs, as insurance against the nightmare of losing your investment, and then having to go to arbitration with CIETAC?

I’m a little tired of hearing about all these losses, when I know that even if they can’t be completely dissolved, they can, at the very least, be seriously mitigated.

But, we live in a cost-cutting global mentality, and have done since the Thatcher and Reagan years; and people are silly enough to even cut costs on their insurance and investment security.

This is precisely the kind of mentality that makes dollars for the scammers, and no cents to me? Does it make cents to you?

Get the pun?

Now Here’s That Fee Schedule for you.

China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission

ARBITRATION FEE SCHEDULE

(This fee schedule applies to the arbitration cases accepted under Item 1 and 2 of Article 3 of the Arbitration Rules, and becomes effective on May 1, 2005)

Amount of Claim (USD).

Amount of Fee (USD).

150,000 USD or less.

 3.5% of the Claimed Amount, minimum 1,500 USD.

150,000 USD to 750,000 USD.

5,000 USD plus 2.5% of the amount above 150,000 USD.

750,000 USD to 1,500,000 USD.

19,750 USD plus 1.5% of the amount above 750,000 USD.

1,500,00 USD to 7,500,000 USD.

30,700 USD plus 1% of the amount above 1,500,000 USD.

7,500,000 USD or more.

90,000 USD plus 0.5% of the amount above 7,500,000 USD.

Each case, when being accepted, shall be charged an additional amount of $1,500 as a Registration Fee which includes the expenses for examining the application for arbitration, initiating the arbitration proceedings, computerizing management and filing the documents.

Where the amount of the claim is not ascertained at the time when application for arbitration is handed in, or there exists special circumstances, the amount of arbitration fee shall be determined by the secretariat of the CIETAC or its Sub-Commission.

Apart from charging arbitration fee according to this Arbitration Fee Schedule, the CIETAC or its Sub-commission may collect other extra, reasonable and actual expenses pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Arbitration Rules.

Safe Trading!

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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 come” If 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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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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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!” or “HaoLe!” (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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Posted in General Information, Scams And Scammers | 1 Comment »

Mr. Stefano Carboni And Wholesaledeals.co.uk

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Isn’t fate a strange and flirtatious creature?

Here I am being ripped-off by Mr. Stefano Carboni, and his “Trade Portal” eSources; when I check out search terms on my blog and see that someone has arrived at my pages through a search in Google for the following string, “stefano carboni scam“.

I think to myself, “Hello, what’s this?“, and follow the link to the Google search page where I find a number of links connecting Mr. Carboni’s name to the word “scam“, and not in a very positive way. Actually, in a very negative way.

Interestingly the first two listings are mine. One I published on the RipOffReport website immediately after I lost my first money to him in April; and the other directing people to my previous eSources article in this blog.

Another Of Mr. Stefano Carboni's Sites.

Another Of Mr. Stefano Carboni's Sites.

The third link connected me to a site called UK Fraud Forum, where I found an article simply entitled “wholesaledeals.co.uk“. In which article an individual describes his or her attempts to get the goods for which they’d payed £ 476.80. This individual had tried to email the site, for support, backup, and information; however this was apparently nothing but a send message function, not a real email address, and so simply bounced back.

Additionally, no one answered the phone, as is also the case with eSources, where they provide a phone number to make the page look legitimate, but don’t “offer telephone support“. Meaning, absolutely nobody to talk to at any point in the event of anything going wrong.

This person, then got on to the police, their bank, and also the Trading Standards Office, but eventually got Mr. Carboni’s attention by ordering goods to the value of £ 30,000, but didn’t complete the payment schedule section.

By which point, it had now been three weeks that this individual had ordered their goods, without them having arrived, and had been unable to attract Mr. Carboni’s attention by any of the usual media.

Now, however it would seem, that since Mr. Carboni could see the potential of reaping a £ 30,000 windfall, as it flickered across his screen, or shot him off an email warning him of a failed transaction of  £ 30,000; within a mere hour of seeing this failed transaction notice, Mr. Carboni himself called the victim. Isn’t greed a wonderful motivator? Evidently, he hadn’t checked the details of this “client“, and wasn’t aware that he was in for a bit of an ear-bashing.

In the complainants own words, “it went on from there. a few excuses followed. delivery never turning up and another excuse, and on and on. they turned up in the end but some things were broken, items were of a cheaper nature then what i ordered. i definately will not use them again. one of the worst companies i have ever had to deal with.”

I think this individual was extremely lucky to even get these things. It’s quite possible that Mr. Carboni’s own greed for the possible £ 30,000 was behind this individual getting anything remotely resembling his or her actual order.

Another point to note is that the street address, as published on this website  is different from the eSources address; moreover, the complainant, in this particular case, did a little research, and discovered that the post code for the address given, was not actually in concord.  A fake address? They didn’t match. I haven’t confirmed this myself, but I’m quite interested to try the same with the eSources address. Although, I have recently been informed another victim of Mr. Carboni’s unusual business practices, that the address for the eSources business is merely a postal address, and the business doesn’t reside there in actuality. Indeed, this former victim is in doubt as to whether Mr. Carboni’s business enterprises are actually located in the UK.

Why not publish a real address? What’s he got to hide?

So, what do we have here?

We have faulty addresses, no phone, no proper email service, failure to deliver, and only contacting the client in the hopes of getting his hands on £ 30,000.

Another interesting connection to Mr. Carboni is to be found on the following link to a page on Data Wales’ website entitled:

“The fake job offer fraud. They promise a percentage, but you would lose money (and possibly your liberty). The checks they send are forged!”

Where they list the following, “Stefano Carboni, eSources UK, esources.co.uk, 27 Old Gloucester Street London  WC1N 3XX, st.carboni@yahoo.com.hk.” as being an alleged perpetrator of such an email scam or fraud.

It’s interesting to note that, Mr. Carboni doesn’t use his eSources email address, as one would expect from a respectable business person, but uses  instead a Yahoo, Hong Kong email address.

Why is that I wonder? Something to hide perhaps?

Moving on, I next find Mr. Carboni’s name connected to the Antifraud International website, where his name is listed at Number 286 on the Representative Fake Cheque Scam (RFCS) page.

Sprinting on, we next find Mr. Carboni’s name mentioned on the Scam Baiter website in connection with the RFCS cited above; and again on the 419 Scam site, and on.

So, it certainly seems that Mr. Carboni has a history of fraud and scamming; unless he has been the victim of identity theft himself?

Check it out for yourself at Google.

If you have had any problems of this kind with either of Mr. Carboni’s websites, please email your details to me. Thank you!

Keep you posted!

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Originally posted 2009-08-13 01:05:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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