When an export businessman met an American customer who wanted to visit the factory in China, he thought it was a big order, but he didn't know that a fraud was coming quietly.

Today, I would like to share with you a case of being cheated by the so-called "customer". I hope you can always keep your head clear and prevent being cheated.

On October 10, I received a message from a stranger on INS, claiming to be Antonio George from Indian State of the United States.

He looked at the photos of our promotional products and was interested in our products. Then he asked me for the WhatsApp account.

He asked for the price immediately after he added me.

I asked him about the company. He said that he was a buyer who only helped customers purchase, and there was no company.

I asked him which model of our product he was interested in. He casually mentioned a brand.

During the communication, I felt that he did not care about the products very much, nor was he very professional.

I think, generally, Buyer will purchase many different products, and can also understand the products from a superficial perspective.

So I helped him to select some popular products in their market, and made quotations and sent out the specification parameter table.

On October 17, a week later, he proposed to visit the factory in China to discuss orders.

In fact, I was a little worried.

Because we have been doing foreign trade for so many years, ordinary customers will ask you to haggle. After several months of communications, they will say they are interested in visiting factories in China. This time, the customer talked for less than a month and said that he would negotiate orders without bargaining.

I thought to myself, I'd better make a video call to see the real situation. I made a video call, and the customer switched to voice to answer the call, saying that he was having a meeting with the customer and was not convenient to answer the video.

So I told him my doubts.

He said that he is the kind of person who is very efficient, and the products he likes should be confirmed immediately. There's nothing wrong, I thought. I said he was very welcome to come to China and inspect our factory. Then, I translated the notice of foreign tourists coming to China issued by the embassy into English and sent it to him.

During this period, we also called WhatsApp Voice twice.

He speaks pure English, speaks fast, and speaks fluent American English.

A few days later, he said that he would book a ticket to Shenzhen Airport on the 21st.

I enthusiastically told him that it was more convenient to use WeChat when he came to China. He was asked to download a WeChat message and he could contact me when he arrived at the airport.

Because after coming to China, the ladder of the iPhone is not very stable.

But he said that he failed to install WeChat in the United States and asked me to help him install it in China.

In fact, when I thought about it later, it was all an excuse. He is afraid that WeChat may be easily located by the police.

I also have customers from other European countries who can use WeChat well.

On October 21, he sent me his ticket.

At that time, I thought it was very convenient to book tickets in the United States on the same day.

Later, I learned that these are all photoshoped pictures.

This ticket is so cheap. I searched Ctrip and found that tickets from the United States cost more than 50000 to 70000 RMB.

On October 22, the liar told me that he had arrived at Shenzhen Airport and sent me a location.

In fact, WhatsApp, like WeChat, can send this location to anyone by searching a certain place.

He made two WhatsApp calls to me, but I didn't answer them when I was outside.

Later, I saw his news that he was now in Shenzhen and was being quarantined.

But there was something wrong with his bank card and he couldn't pay the quarantine fee.

He asked me to log into his online bank, transfer 1000 USD online to my account, and then asked me to help pay 7000 RMB to the isolation center.

At that time, I also asked him what the name of the isolated place was and whether there were Chinese people around. I could call to communicate with them.

As a result, he never replied to my question, but directly asked me to help him log in to his online bank, saying that he was anxious for money.

I still think in my heart that this customer trusts me so much. He gave me the bank card number and password. I was also touched at that time.

When logging in, the network speed is extremely stuck.

I thought the ladder was unstable, but later I learned that this was the bank website forged by the liar himself.

After logging in, he asked me to fill in my personal bank card number and name, and began to transfer money.

During the login transfer, I encountered many problems and always asked for a PIN CODE and COT CODE similar verification code.

Later, I learned that these are the verification codes forged by the liar. They were sent to me for input.

But it may be that the time sent by him is different from the time received and input by me.

Each input is incorrect, and you are always prompted to re-enter.

Log in to the account interface of the fraudster. The balance of more than 48W USD in the account is also a fake, virtual number.

This is why the transfer has been unsuccessful.

Because the transfer of US dollars was unsuccessful, the swindler asked if he could ask me to pay him 7000 RMB in advance.

After he is released from quarantine, he will return the cash to me when he meets me.

I didn't think much of it. When the customer is in trouble, I should help him.

I remitted 7000RMB according to the bank card information of a Chinese person he gave me. I didn't even ask who the Chinese person was or what his relationship was, so I trusted him to transfer
money according to his instructions.

After the payment, I also want to ask the liar if he needs my help.

For example, in terms of food, ask him to tell me where he is now isolated, and I will help him order takeout.

He refused me on the ground that he was very tired, saying that he would have a rest.

I thought so. He came to China on such a long flight and was very tired. I didn't bother him anymore.

More than 6 p.m., more than an hour before the payment, I feel a little uneasy.

So I contacted a very good foreign friend of mine, told him about this matter, and asked him why there was always a PIN CODE/COT CODE for transfer.

As soon as he heard the COT CODE, he immediately said it was a fraud. He also asked me to send the liar's bank website to him.

Then, my foreign friend called directly and asked me to call the police immediately, saying that I had been cheated.

I didn't think so at that time. I thought how could it be a fraud, not a customer? How could I be cheated?

Therefore, my foreign friends sent me the screenshot of this highly publicized case uploaded on Google, and I knew that I was really cheated.

This is not a customer, but a fraudster pretends to be a customer to cheat money.

The following is a screenshot of COT CODE information found by Google.

My foreign friend told me that when he transferred money, there was no COT CODE at all.

As long as there is this COT CODE prompt, it is 100% fraud.

COT=COST OF TRANSFER PAY BY T/T 。

This fee is directly deducted from the payee's account when transferring money, which is equivalent to the fee paid to the fraud gang.

I now think how lucky I am. Because the card with the card number entered at that time had no money in it.

If there is money in it, it is estimated that I will lose more than 7000 RMB today.

At more than 6:00 p.m. on October 22, I reported the case, which was more than an hour away from my payment time.

The police asked me to take notes that night. The next day, I received a call from the Criminal Investigation Brigade saying that they had informed the bank to freeze the Chinese bank card, which contained more than 8000 RMB.

My case has been filed, and the police asked me to go over and sign the receipt.

Fortunately, I asked my foreign friends. Because he had experience in knowing this fraud case, he let me avoid losing more, and let me call the police and file the case at the first time.

It doesn't really matter to me whether I can recover the money. What is important is that I should be more calm, calm and not rush to make decisions under the same circumstances in the future.

Especially when it comes to money transfer and remittance, you must be alert and not be cheated.

It is not too late to ask a few friends around you about the remittance and transfer of money and listen to their opinions before making a decision.

Seven ways to avoid fraud:

1. Customers find you on the Internet and contact you in a short time. They don't care about the products, don't look at the product catalog, have only a superficial understanding of the products, don't bargain, and must be careful.

2. For these so-called buyers and purchasers, we must dig more into their backgrounds, ask for their names, email addresses and WhatsApp phones. If you can't find their information on LinkedIn or Google, you should be careful.

3. During communication, ask more questions. Ask them where they usually work, which countries they purchase for, what is the annual purchase volume, what is the payment method, product requirements, and whether there is an after-sales team for large product customer groups. As long as he is unwilling to answer or ignores your question, there must be a problem.

4. New customers you haven't met must be videotaped. Confirm his real identity, company information and scenes around him, especially when he is coming to China to see the factory. Be sure to confirm with him that it is him, not just a few photos. The photos on the Internet can represent the swindler himself if they are moved freely.

5. It is a fraud to ask you to help transfer money to him, or log in the link he sent, and ask you to transfer money from his online bank account. In particular, PIN CODE and COT CODE, which are similar to verification codes, are required to be entered in the process of transfer. They are all scams. Your bank card will be deducted as long as there is money in it. Always remember: customers who really cooperate with you will not take the initiative to ask you for money.

6. If you find that you have been cheated, you must call the police at the first time and let the police file a case. And asked the police to accept the case receipt. Only this receipt can prove that the police have filed a case.

7. Later, the police will send the progress of the case to the SMS.