Pitfall 1: existing business, different delivery address
Insurer Coface notes that fraudsters have a favourite way of scamming you. That common modus operandi is as follows:
- Scammers use logo and address details of an existing and (usually financially sound) company;
- In the name of this company, they order goods from suppliers (known to that company);
- To deliver the goods, they use a different delivery address;
- At the last minute, that delivery address changed (often only when the driver is already on his way).
The consequence is as annoying as it is logical. The invoice goes to the company used as cover, which does not know this order and therefore will not want to pay. And this leaves the supplier with a problem, because the unpaid invoice will be seen as a dispute when a claim is filed, which is likely to make a credit insurer no claims payment can do. So, as a supplier, you can whistle for your money. Because yes, you are responsible for who you do business with
Pitfall 2: order quickly (and a lot), leave quickly
Another common scammer trick is the following:
- The fraudster orders a lot of goods in a short time;
- The person has everything delivered in, say, a rented warehouse Or a general marketplace;
- The goods are quickly collected and resold;
- The fraudster disappears like a thief in the night leaving behind an empty company with no value.
This too is annoying, but there is one difference from the other way of scamming. In this case, do you have a credit limit obtained on the company (fraudster), then you will get the damage is usually compensated of the credit insurer.
3 golden tips to prevent fraud
Ideally, of course, you would like to stay far away from the above practices. Very far away. That is why we will give you three important tips that will hopefully prevent you from falling into the trap of fraudsters.
1.Be alert to suspicious behaviour
Is someone not negotiating the price or not negotiating it properly? Does the person not have the right facilities (e.g. cooling equipment)? Is someone clearly unfamiliar with the industry? Or are you dealing with a person with whom you have not had contact before? Then your alarm bells should go off!
2. Double-check ALL
Has your healthy suspicion been aroused? Then check everything you can check. The following things indicate that you may be dealing with a fraudster: different mobile numbers, private email addresses (think Gmail, Hotmail, etc.), strange stationery, unprofessional website with language and spelling mistakes and a delivery address that differs from the main address. Also, always check the delivery address in Google Street View, to see if it is a logical address. In addition, instruct your drivers to unload goods only at the agreed destination and report suspicious situations immediately. Whether a VAT number is still valid you can see here. Checked everything? Check it again, because you can't be too careful!
3. Ask Xolv for advice
Do you continue to doubt the goodness of your debtor's intentions? Ask us for advice. Thanks to our many years of experience we often recognise deviant behaviour early on. Moreover, we can multiple sources of information consult to assess whether the company you want to do business with is in good or bad faith.
Do you like to take the safe bet? On this page, you can read more about the benefits of Credit Insurance.
