ALERT FOR UK COMPANIES – Unsolicited enquiries and scams from Chinese companies
The China Britain Business Council (CBBC) has recently issued an alert for British companies to be on their guard against unsolicited enquiries from Chinese companies placing suspiciously large orders, or posing as domain name registration companies. Many such enquiries have been fraudulent and the CBBC has now issued guidance on what to look out for and how to deal with such cases. While directed at British businesses the advice is just as appropriate for companies in other countries as well where similar stories are also being heard.
One of the most frequent kinds of scam appears to be based on obtaining money from foreign companies by deception. A large order is placed and then companies are lured into visiting China to finalise contracts. There may be a request that they should take a large amount of cash (several thousand pounds) with them to ‘smooth procedures’ or as a ‘commission’ payment. On return to the UK, there is no further contact from the Chinese party and any money handed over is lost. For more information on this and other possible scams please visit the CBBC website.