Unexpected contact requests and orders from China
Companies doing business abroad should always be cautious, especially with a country they have no prior experience with, and where they aren't familiar with the local legal environment or business culture.
One elaborate scheme aimed at small and mid-sized companies: a business owner receives an unsolicited inquiry from China, promising a large order. Everything is staged convincingly, complete with test orders. A German law firm reviews the contracts, but no experienced local lawyer or consultant is brought in. The foreign business owner flies to China, is received at an impressive office building, treated to lavish hospitality, negotiates hard (and sometimes competently) — and walks away with what looks like a lucrative deal.
Somewhere along the way, though, the visitor is talked into providing expensive "gifts" worth thousands of euros. Once they've flown home, all contact suddenly stops, and the whole deal turns out to have been an illusion.
Orders paid by check or credit card
A Chinese company contacts a business abroad and places an order, paying with a forged check supposedly issued by an unrelated, seemingly legitimate third party said to owe the "buyer" money. The check later bounces, and the goods are gone.
A variant: a check arrives for more than the agreed amount, and the recipient is asked to wire back the "overpayment." The original check then bounces, and the wired money is lost.
Domain registration emails from a "Chinese registrar"
A company with a website receives an email claiming someone has applied to register a .cn domain (or similar) using their brand or domain name, and that this needs to be verified — while conveniently offering to sell them the domain registration at an inflated price. These messages belong straight in the spam folder.
Online romance scams
A common scheme uses a purported romantic relationship, often initiated out of nowhere over a messaging app, to gradually extract money over months for things like English classes, a trip home to visit "her" parents, or a new computer — before the contact abruptly disappears. It could have gone further, with an invitation to visit China and requests for gifts.
Paid online dating services
Paid dating platforms are another common way to separate men from their money — charging for every contact and every message sent through the system, with some services suspected of generating fake inquiries purely to collect those fees.
And, of course, the classic advance-fee scam
The usual emails, straight to the spam folder: "Hello, I am from Hong Kong and have a large sum of money from [a deposed foreign ruler / a deceased Mr. XY / a lottery win you never entered]," offering a cut of the funds in exchange for a small upfront fee to help "release" the money.
Typical warning signs of online fraud from China
Some of these are clear red flags on their own (suspiciously cheap branded goods, unexplained fees); others (like being asked to sign documents in person) are only minor warning signs on their own, but worth noting when several occur together.
General warning signs
- Business cards with errors or inconsistencies (non-working phone numbers, several people supposedly from the same company but only one with a business card, no company email addresses, etc.)
- Unexplained fees in a contract
- No apparent familiarity with relevant import/export regulations
- An offer to sell information (government, competitors)
- An office located outside typical business districts
- A very young company, less than a year old, with little track record
- A mismatch between the partner's stated business and the product they want to buy
- A buyer who refuses normal steps like product samples, testing, or a maintenance agreement
- An unusual shipping route, or a delivery address that's only a logistics company
When selling to China
- The buyer invites the foreign seller to China under some pretext (documents need notarizing in person, a senior executive must sign in person)
- Requests for expensive gifts
- Unusual pressure to move quickly
- A buyer offers a large sum for a small order and insists on payment after delivery — the goods ship, and the money never arrives
- Payment by check for more than the agreed amount
- A buyer who can only offer weak references and shares information only reluctantly, bit by bit
When buying from China
- A supplier offers branded goods at suspiciously low prices
- Extra fees are demanded, supposedly for customs or other officials
- The recipient insists on Western Union as the payment method. Western Union remains a favorite for scammers: once you send money and share the transfer control number, the recipient can collect it at any branch on the other side of the world — and the money is gone. Western Union itself warns customers on its own website against sending money to business contacts they've never met in person, yet plenty of victims still fall for it, often without ever reading that warning.
Remember: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
