GUIDES / G-06 / FRAUD PATTERNS
The Supplier Scam Checklist: 12 Patterns, Grouped by When They Hit
Almost nobody gets scammed by a stranger. They get scammed by a supplier who was normal for three months and then wasn’t. These are the twelve patterns that repeat year after year — organized by the phase of your order where each one strikes, each with the tell and the countermove.
Phase one · While you’re still shopping
1 · The price from another planet
What you see: a quote 30%+ below every other factory for the same spec, delivered fast, with cheerful flexibility on everything.
The move: treat it as a screening result, not a bargain. Either the spec is about to change after your deposit, the quality is about to change after your sample, or the “factory” is about to ask for terms no factory would. Get three quotes minimum; if one is dramatically lower, ask it a technical question and watch it go quiet.
2 · The brand mirage
What you see: Nike, Disney, Dyson, or Louis Vuitton products available “factory direct” at 10% of retail.
The move: these are counterfeits, full stop. The risk isn’t only moral — it’s your container seized at customs and your importer account on the line. There is no version of this that ends well for a legitimate buyer. Close the chat.
3 · The immortal startup
What you see: “established manufacturer since 2009, 200 workers.” The official registry says the company was registered last year.
The move: check the registration date on the business license against the story (the two-minute method is in G-04). New isn’t automatically bad — a 2025 registration selling a 15-year history is.
4 · The rented identity
What you see: perfect factory photos, a solid license, impressive certifications — and the same photos on three other “factories” in three provinces.
The move: reverse-image-search the factory photos. Ask for the license photo with your company name and today’s date on a paper beside it — real suppliers grumble and comply, identity renters can’t. Certificates get their numbers checked with the actual issuing body.
Phase two · The payment window (where the money actually dies)
5 · The new bank account
What you see: months of normal emails. Then, days before the balance is due: “our bank is under audit, please wire to our new account” — often a Hong Kong company, sometimes a slightly different company name. The email thread looks real because it is real: the mailbox was compromised, or a lookalike WeChat account with the same name and avatar has taken over the conversation.
The move: this is the single most common large-loss pattern, and it has one defense — payment-detail changes are verified by voice, on a number you already had, every single time. Not by replying to the email. Not by the phone number in the email. A genuine supplier with a genuine account change will happily take your call.
6 · The personal account
What you see: “please pay to our sales manager’s account, it’s faster for export.”
The move: hard stop. A company that wants your money as a company banks as a company. There is no legitimate version of this for commercial orders.
7 · The shell relay
What you see: Company A quotes you, Company B “manufactures,” a Company C you’ve never heard of issues the invoice. The names never quite line up, and every question routes you to a different entity.
The move: one entity must sign, invoice, and receive payment — and its name must match the license. If the structure is genuinely complex (some groups are), get it in writing with all three licenses attached. Ambiguity here is not paperwork friction; it’s your refund evaporating into a company with no assets.
8 · The fee cascade
What you see: the quoted price was fine, but now the mold fee has a “maintenance” charge, packaging is extra, the export license is extra, and there’s a “tax clearance fee” nobody mentioned.
The move: the proforma invoice lists every fee before the deposit — tooling, packaging, testing, export docs, and what happens to the mold. New fee after deposit = renegotiation, not automatic payment. Suppliers who spring fees were always going to; the PI is how you find out who they are for free.
Phase three · Production and shipment
9 · The perfect sample
What you see: a flawless sample — correct materials, perfect finish. The bulk order arrives with thinner walls, cheaper components, sloppy assembly. The supplier knew; the sample was the bait.
The move: seal and sign the reference sample (both sides keep a sealed copy), write measurable specs into the PI — thickness, weight, material grade — and book an AQL pre-shipment inspection while the goods are still at the factory, comparing production against the sealed sample. This is the one scam that pure remote diligence cannot catch; inspection is the countermeasure.
10 · The vanishing inspector
What you see: the factory is suddenly difficult about inspection — the timing never works, “the goods are already at the port,” “inspection will delay your shipment.”
The move: inspection before balance payment is a standard term, not an insult. A factory fighting an inspection is telling you what the inspection would find. If goods genuinely moved to a port warehouse, inspect them there — inspectors do it daily.
11 · The hostage fees
What you see: goods are produced and paid for — then a “storage fee,” “customs deposit,” or “document release fee” appears before your own container will be released to you. A cousin pattern hits after a dispute: a promised refund that requires a small “processing fee” or “anti-money-laundering verification fee” to unlock.
The move: nobody legitimate charges you a fee to give you your refund. Every fee that appears after money changed hands is either a contractual item on the PI or an attempt to extract one more payment from a sunk buyer. Pay nothing, put it in writing, escalate to the platform or your lawyer.
12 · The paper fortress
What you see: CE, FDA, FCC certificates on demand, proudly watermarked. The certificates are borrowed, expired, or belong to a different product line — and your goods fail clearance at your border, where it becomes your problem and your lawyer’s bill.
The move: certificate number → issuing body → verify. Real certification bodies run public lookups. And put in the PI that compliance documentation is a condition of payment — it moves the verification problem to the party who claims to have solved it.
The meta-rule: procedures beat instinct
Every victim we have talked to says some version of “they seemed so professional.” Professionalism is cheap to fake; procedures are not. Four habits, and you dodge most of this list:
- A payment protocol in writing — one account on file from day one, changes verified by voice on the original number, deposits and balance tied to milestones.
- One PI that contains everything — specs, fees, mold ownership, inspection rights, compliance docs.
- Balance due after inspection — not before, not “to catch the vessel.”
- A sealed sample — the cheapest dispute-prevention instrument in the trade.
FAQ
I already wired to the new account. What now?
Immediately: ask your bank for a recall (odds are low but nonzero if within hours), file a police report in the supplier’s city in China, report the account to the receiving bank, and preserve the full email thread. Recovery rates for international wire fraud are poor — which is why the voice-verification habit exists. Prevention is the whole game.
Is paying through platform escrow enough?
Escrow (e.g., Trade Assurance) meaningfully reduces payment-fraud risk for the funds inside it. It does not inspect quality, enforce specs, or cover deals taken off-platform — which is exactly where most “we finished on WhatsApp” stories end. Use it for first orders; don’t mistake it for the rest of this checklist.
Which single pattern costs buyers the most?
The bank-account switch. It hits experienced importers with suppliers they trusted, in the last week of a deal, when vigilance is lowest. One phone call defeats it.
NEXT STEPS
- Stop scams before payment: How to Verify a Chinese Supplier (G-04)
- Know who you’re actually paying: Trading Company vs Factory (G-03)
- Price the inspection into your order: Landed Cost Calculator
- How we decide what to recommend: our scoring rubric