East China's top seller suddenly announced: Don't be fooled

There are more and more people committing fraud under the guise of cross-border e-commerce.

Cross-border e-commerce has become a new driving force for foreign trade growth, attracting a large number of people to join the game. However, as the cross-border e-commerce industry continues to prosper, the dark side has also emerged. Some people with bad intentions seized the weakness of Xiaobai's half-knowledge of cross-border e-commerce and jumped out to promote "You can open a store with zero foundation" and "You can earn 100,000 yuan a month with zero investment". A large number of people who dream of "getting rich by doing cross-border e-commerce" fell into the trap and suffered heavy losses, while the companies/institutions behind all this made a lot of money. In many cases, when the victims found out that something was wrong, these people had already run away with huge sums of money.

In order to increase their credibility and gain the trust of the victims, these people also impersonate the names of leading cross-border companies and commit fraud in the name of these companies. For example, Tongtuo Technology, a leading cross-border e-commerce company, has twice issued statements stating that its company name has been impersonated by such criminals. Recently, Huadong Yaosen E -Commerce Co., Ltd., a leading cross-border e-commerce company , also issued a related statement.

For the company whose name is stolen, its reputation and brand image will be seriously damaged. For the industry, this fraud will destroy the ecological environment and market order of the entire cross-border e-commerce industry, arouse public doubts and concerns about the industry, and hinder the healthy development of the industry. For investors, they may become more cautious about investing in the cross-border e-commerce field.

In fact, analyzing these scams, we can find that their tricks are not new, and can even be said to be old-fashioned, but even so, there are still people who continue to fall into the scam. The rapid development of the cross-border e-commerce industry and the attractive publicity are certainly part of the reason, but the scammers' methods are constantly being updated, and the confusion and deception are constantly increasing, which is also an important factor that is difficult for novices to guard against.

Being defrauded by someone using someone else's name, Huadong Dama urgently issued a statement

Many sellers in the industry know that East China's big seller Aosen Electronics is currently rushing to the A-share market, so when it encountered an impersonation fraud, it quickly issued a statement.

Aosen Electronics said that as the company's business, reputation and popularity continued to improve, some criminals began to set their sights on them, recruiting people to place fake orders in the name of their company to commit fraud.

Many people are actually familiar with the specific operating methods of these criminals. They first post fake order advertisements through social media platforms such as Tik Tok, WeChat, and WeChat to attract target groups to scan the code and add the so-called customer service WeChat, and then create a group.

Then, the customer service will introduce that they can make money by opening an "International Version of Douyin Mall" store, with 0 threshold, 0 fees, and only charging 7% of the total monthly profit as commission.

After the victim "takes the bait", they will provide a website for checking orders and purchasing goods (such as sm.bag257.com), and trick the victim into paying advance money for the purchase, and promise that the advance money will be refunded after the consumer receives the goods. However, in fact, the goods are not shipped and the advance money will not be refunded.

During this period, in order to gain the trust of the victims, they would provide a forged business license of Aosen Electronics and lie that they were employees of the company.

Aosen Electronics believes that this behavior has greatly misled consumers and seriously affected its reputation. To this end, it issued a three-point statement:

1. The full name of the company is "Aosom E-Commerce Co., Ltd." and the company's official website is: "https://www.aosom.com.cn/". Other websites or APPs and their behaviors have nothing to do with our company. All information is subject to the official website. Please pay attention to the distinction to avoid inconvenience .

2. Anyone who has not been formally authorized by our company is not entitled to conduct any business activities related to our company's products. Once any website, unit or individual that uses our company's name to conduct illegal activities is discovered, our company will report it to the public security organs and reserve the right to pursue its relevant legal responsibilities in accordance with the law.

3. Regarding the recent use of our company's name to defraud money and seek illegal profits, our company hereby declares that this behavior has nothing to do with our company. Consumers are encouraged to report such fake websites through the Internet crime reporting website : http://cyberpolice.mps.gov.cn/wfjb/html/index.shtml.

It is not difficult to find out from observing the cross-border circle that in the past one or two years, this type of scam has been very active. Most of the people who fall into the trap are novice sellers who have only a vague understanding of cross-border e-commerce. Some of them are owners of small offline stores, some are employees in the workplace, but more are mothers and college students.

"High returns", "no threshold", "no need to stock up", "make money while lying down"... these attractive advertising slogans make them rush to the criminals regardless of everything, but they did not expect that there is an abyss behind them. For example, Mr. Li from Henan was defrauded of 200,000 yuan in just ten days. Speaking of the process of being deceived, Mr. Li said that when he was watching short videos, he saw an anchor promoting part-time jobs to earn living expenses. After adding the other party on WeChat, the other party claimed to be running an overseas e-commerce business and could make money without Mr. Li preparing the source of goods.

However, this seemingly sure-win business caused him to suffer heavy losses. According to the process, he would get the profit within 6 days of purchasing goods, but because both purchasing and shipping required foreign currency, the "customer service" would constantly persuade him to exchange foreign currency during the process. When the 6-day cycle was over, he found that the profit he got was far from the cost he invested, and then he realized that he had been cheated.

The pit they stepped into is called the "no source model" scam. Victims usually get two URLs, one of which is a sales platform and the other is a purchase platform. However, this sales platform is fake, and the orders received by the seller's backend are all manipulated by criminals through technical means.

It is worth noting that in order to increase the credibility of this platform, criminals will also pretend that the sales website is a mainstream cross-border e-commerce platform. Amazon, Walmart, Shopee and other platforms have received relevant reports. These fake platforms are very similar to the "real ones" in terms of URLs and website page settings, and it is difficult for people who are not familiar with the cross-border e-commerce industry to distinguish the real from the fake.

The purchase platform is where the criminals finally "harvest" the goods. Because the so-called "no-source model" actually requires the victim to advance funds/recharge the purchase platform provided by the criminals, but just like Mr. Li mentioned above, the payment from the sales platform often cannot keep up with the payment for the purchase.

Moreover, in order to gain more trust, they may be able to cash out the order amount on the sales platform in the early stage. However, after gaining the trust of the victim, the criminals will use technical means to add a large number of orders to the victim. In order to process these orders, the victim needs to invest more money to purchase goods, but the order amount can no longer be cashed out at this time. If the victim wants to close the store, the other party will ask the victim to pay a deposit on the grounds that there are unprocessed orders. But in the end, the victim's payment and deposit will be "swallowed" together.

Shenzhen freight forwarders were also affected and received multiple reports

Many people believe that those who are defrauded by fraud are cross-border e-commerce sellers, but in fact, freight forwarding companies may also be deceived. In early May this year, Shenzhen Royal Logistics Co., Ltd. ( established in 2012), a long-established freight forwarding company, issued a statement saying that criminals used its company name to carry out cross-border e-commerce store opening and hosting fraud.

It is understood that since September last year, the company has received many reports that criminals have used the name of "Royal Logistics" to commit fraud under the pretext of "cross-border e-commerce" store opening training/operation, Amazon store opening agency operation, independent station/self-built station store hosting, TikTok store opening agency operation, Temu store opening full hosting" and other reasons, and there are many victims.

To this end, Royal Logistics has made a solemn statement:

1. Our company has never carried out any cross-border e-commerce store opening training, agency operation, hosting promotion and services through any platform, nor has it collected store deposits from individuals and entities; nor has it ever authorized any person or company to engage in the above-mentioned behavior. Any claim that our company is engaged in this business is illegal and has nothing to do with our company, and our company reserves the right to pursue relevant legal responsibilities.

2. All the accounts for payment of our company's external cooperation are in the name of "Shenzhen Royal Logistics Co., Ltd.". If the transaction subject is not in the name of our company, it has nothing to do with our company. Please pay attention to identification and pay carefully.

3. Our company’s official website address: www.pfcexpress.com, mobile address: m.pfcexpress.com. Other websites claiming to be our company’s official website are counterfeit and have nothing to do with our company. At the same time, we reserve the right to pursue legal liability for any act of counterfeiting our company’s website.

At the same time, it also stated that if you encounter any financial transactions in its name, you should call for consultation first to avoid being deceived and causing property losses.

In recent years, China's cross-border e-commerce has developed rapidly, especially during the epidemic, the number of cross-border e-commerce companies has soared . Not long ago, He Yadong, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, introduced that according to preliminary statistics from various places, there are more than 120,000 cross-border e-commerce entities nationwide. Shenzhen can be said to be the leader of China's cross-border e-commerce industry, and many cross-border e-commerce companies will choose Shenzhen as their location.

According to the latest data from Shenzhen Customs, in the first five months of this year, Shenzhen's imports and exports totaled RMB 1.81 trillion, ranking first among mainland cities, up 34.3% year-on-year. Among them, exports totaled RMB 1.16 trillion, up 37.2%. This has led some criminals to consider Shenzhen companies first when choosing a fake cross-border company. However, people familiar with the cross-border e-commerce industry must know that the business scope of freight forwarders is mainly to carry out cargo transportation, not to open stores, operate stores, or provide training.

In fact, both agency operation and full hosting services are normal business models, especially full hosting services, which is a business model that major platforms have vigorously promoted in recent years.

The so-called agency operation refers to the process in which companies/institutions/individuals with professional knowledge and technical background help sellers complete online store operation tasks. During this period, sellers can entrust the tasks, affairs, and functions on the platform to the agency operation, including product listing, inventory management, product selection, customer service, etc. Full hosting is similar to it, except that the protagonist providing this service has changed from a third-party company/institution and individual to a cross-border e-commerce platform.

Under normal circumstances, agency operation and full hosting services are legal business models and have nothing to do with fraud. However, many people now use the gimmick of "providing efficient cross-border e-commerce agency operation services" to defraud high service fees.

After spending a lot of money to buy online store operation courses and agency operation services, many people found that the so-called courses were empty, the so-called "hands-on teaching" was just perfunctory, and the promised "efficient cross-border e-commerce agency operation service" was even more distant.

Some victims even paid hefty service fees but did not receive the corresponding course services, and the "success stories" shown by these companies were eventually proven to be fictitious.

In this case, the fact that they used the name of Royal Logistics to conduct business is enough to show that these people were aiming to "scam" from the beginning and had no intention of conducting normal business. In the industry, the reputation of agency companies is not good, and the appearance of these scammers has made things worse, making the entire industry a mess.

Observing the routines of this type of scam, the first step is actually similar to the "no source model" scam mentioned above , which is false propaganda, that is, a large number of advertisements are released through various channels (such as online search engines, short video platforms, etc.), claiming to provide "zero foundation can also open a store", "zero cost nanny-style cross-border e-commerce monthly income of 100,000", "provide supply, one-piece delivery, full nanny-style service, customers only need to wait for orders" and other seemingly attractive services. They may also hire "gold medal lecturers" to record videos or live broadcasts, create successful people's personalities, and show false high sales records to deceive victims' trust.

The next step is to "induce payment". They will charge the victims high e-store purchase fees, online store operation course fees, and agency operation service fees in the form of packages of different levels.

The third is that the service is perfunctory or absent. These companies, which claim to have "gold medal lecturers", successful cases and the ability to fulfill contracts, provide empty courses. The so-called "hands-on teaching" and "efficient cross-border e-commerce operation services" are nowhere to be found, or they only provide low-value services such as changing the store and product names.

The fourth is to ask for continuous investment. In the process, they will ask the victim to continuously invest money in the name of advertising fees, shipping fees, etc. Some fraud gangs even create a false surge in transaction volume by means of fake orders, so that the victim will mistakenly believe that the store is effective and continue to invest.

The fifth is to shirk responsibility. When the victim finds that the actual sales volume does not match the promise and asks for a refund, they will refuse the refund for various reasons, such as claiming that the victim did not follow the operation suggestions and thus breached the contract, or shirking responsibility by saying that the salesperson resigned or was transferred, until finally ignoring the matter. Others will set harsh contract terms to exempt them from their responsibilities or restrict the rights of the victim without the victim noticing.

The sixth is company disguise. In order to increase credibility, some fraud gangs will register shell companies and rent regular office space as the venue for student activities. If the victim does not trust the online lecturer, the customer service will invite him to visit offline to further deceive his trust.

The police strengthened law enforcement and the Shenzhen Wu fraud gang was eliminated

These frauds surrounding cross-border e-commerce are widespread and serious, not only destroying the ecological environment and market order of the cross-border e-commerce industry, but also reducing the reputation and public trust of the entire industry and hindering the healthy development of the industry.

Moreover, from an economic perspective, fraudulent activities also cause a waste of resources, including human, material and financial resources. Instead of flowing into truly valuable commercial activities, funds are illegally appropriated by criminals, affecting the normal operation of the economy and the rational allocation of resources. At the social level, cross-border e-commerce fraud undermines the social integrity system, weakens social public order and morality, and increases social instability.

Therefore, the police have been stepping up their crackdown efforts in the past two years. The two recent arrest operations by the Shenzhen and Wuhan police shocked the entire cross-border community.

At the end of April, the news that "a Shenzhen Longhua agency operation company was suspected of fraud and was arrested by the police, with two buses full of fraud" was widely circulated in major cross-border communication groups. It is reported that the company that was cracked down by the police is called Shenzhen Wangdian Technology Co., Ltd. According to the introduction, the company was established in 2018 and is a cross-border service company focusing on Amazon and Tiktok operation incubation.

Obviously, this is an agency operation company. In the introduction, the company claims that it can help entrepreneurs /office workers/people doing side jobs to generate income and profits in the cross-border field, jointly create vertical boutique categories and popular products, and help more Chinese sellers realize their cross-border dreams. At the same time, in its advertising, there are many successful cases such as "In just 5 months, a cross-border novice can earn 100,000 US dollars a month" and "How to use Amazon to usher in a second career after bankruptcy." It looks quite attractive.

The police did not disclose the reason for the arrest, but from their actions it can be seen that this is obviously not a normal agency operation company, but a fraud company that uses high profits as a gimmick to defraud high agency operation service fees.

It is reported that not only Wangdian Technology, but the Shenzhen police raided the entire Longhua's agency operation and foreign trade platform companies. Many companies in office buildings such as Huihai Plaza and Hongyu Building were arrested.

Shortly after the Shenzhen police took action, similar news came from Wuhan, Hubei. It is reported that the Wuhan East Lake New Technology Development Zone Branch of the Wuhan Municipal Public Security Bureau cracked down on a telecommunications fraud gang that used the gimmick of "providing efficient cross-border e-commerce agency operation services" to defraud high service fees.

13 companies and 5 dens were busted, 70 suspects were arrested, and the amount involved was estimated to be nearly 60 million yuan. At present, 27 criminal suspects of the gang have been approved for arrest by the procuratorate in accordance with the law.

It was disclosed that the gang had three business departments, namely traffic generation, repeat purchases and independent sites, and the fraud steps also revolved around these departments.

The first is to establish a persona. The "traffic diversion department" places advertisements or live broadcasts on short video platforms, boasting of high profits by claiming to be highly educated people or gold medal lecturers.

The second is to promise income. For example, a monthly income of 6,000 yuan is promised, which is not enough for the company to subsidize, but it is a guaranteed profit.

The third is to induce customers to buy unmanned live broadcast technology. When victims buy courses and open stores, but find that the actual income is difficult to reach expectations, the back-end "repurchase department" in the gang is responsible for inducing customers to spend more money to buy unmanned live broadcast technology.

The fourth is to induce the purchase of "independent websites". The "independent website operation department" is responsible for building fake e-commerce platforms, luring victims to further invest in opening stores on the fake e-commerce platforms, thereby defrauding more fees.

There are more and more scams surrounding cross-border e-commerce or going overseas. Yien would like to remind you of a few points: have an in-depth understanding of the company background, verify employee qualifications, read the contract terms carefully, stay vigilant, avoid impulsive decisions, collect information and learn, and refer to other people's experience to avoid being deceived.

Cross-border e-commerce fraud