Example Of A Fraud Website

Thank You, Tim, for your email:

Hello,

First off I would like to say "great site"! Honest people trying to make a living are being scammed every day. Many of us cannot afford the price. I recently lost $500 USD when I attempted to buy a sample from yongdatrade.com. I should have known. Never again.

Good luck!


Using your tip, I researched yongdatrade.com, and this is a perfect example of a fraudulent website. Let's disect this website. Go to http://yongdatrade.com.
The front page looks decent - to someone who has never built a website. They even stole a legit company's image on the top of the page. Let me point out the red flags:

- Red Flag #1: The email address is a hotmail account. Legitimate Companies doing International business with customers do not have free email accounts.

- Red Flag #2: The physical address does not match up. On the fraud website, the adress is 152# chengxin road, Yongchun. Zip code 51000. I looked up Zip Code 51000 and it is Guangzhou, China. Area Code is 20.

- Red Flag #3: Phone number. The phone number on the website is 86-159-89055780. 86 is China's country code. 159 is the area code- which happens to be a mobile number. A mobile phone number is the only listed phone number. Oh yeah, the fax number is the same mobile number. Again, businesses selling these kinds of products will have a landline phone number and seperate fax number. I found the area code info HERE.

- Red Flag #4: The grammar looks like a 5 year old wrote it. Go to the 'About Us' page for a good example. Also, under the 'Shipment' page, the last line says, "we do assure you can get your goods after you pay!!"
Have you ever seen a statement like this on site like Amazon.com? Like, I was thinking that there is a chance I 'can't' get what I pay for?

- Red Flag #5: There are no security seals. No verisign, No BBB - nothing to verify that the site is legit. When buying products, always look for these seals.

- Red Flag #6: Payment Method. Western Union, Moneygram, or Wire Transfer. The 3 ways to never pay for merchandise over the internet. THIS IS THE BIGGEST RED FLAG AND GUARANTEED TO BE SCAM EVERY TIME.


There is a legitimate company by the name of Yongda International trade Co, Ltd, and they sell Industrial supplies. You can see the real Dun & Bradstreet company profile Here from Manta.com. (Manta offers free company research and pay-as-you-go business information enhanced by user generated content--empowering all business professionals to compete on an equal platform through the open web.

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Gone are the days when you could leave your door unlocked, your keys in your car, and everyone told the truth. Trust No One. Always research things for yourself, and follow your instincts.