Overseas Order Scam
Photo by: _william
An overseas order scam is targeting small US online businesses and is trying to lure them by offering a generous overseas order. The order is usually in the range of $5,000 to $30,000 and is placed either through emails or through telephones.
Commonly based out of Singapore and Nigeria, these fraudsters request for their order to be shipped immediately. In return, they offer to make on-the-spot payment. They say, however, they will make the payment using three credit cards and offer to email numbers of the three cards.
Scammers hope companies take the bait. The credit cards they offered would all be stolen ones. If the transaction falls through, the fraudsters stand to gain by getting goods at other’s expense.
The scam recently tried to pull it off with a businessman in Upper Yoder Township in Cambria County, PA. He received an order worth $10,000 from Ghana, Africa. He felt suspicious, however, when the overseas company said it would make the payment using three credit cards.
After asking around, he requested the US Commercial Service, Pittsburgh to advise him about his prospective customers. This Department, which gathers information about overseas companies by consulting local embassies and consulates, alerted him that the company was a fraud.
Source: Tribune-Democrat.com
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