With the costs of transporting goods both nationally and around the world rising in recent times, companies are under a lot of pressure to manage their operational budgets. Unfortunately, at the same time, we’re seeing an increase in what are called container scams – instances where unscrupulous companies are offering beneficial deals that are not acted upon.
These scam outfits are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approach, and it can often be difficult to spot them.
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Here are our top tips on how to avoid container scams in future.
- Who is the Company?
The first thing is not to take anything at face value. Scammers often hijack the logo and design of an existing company and pretend to be them. They may even get quotes from reputable companies and pass them on to you. It’s only when you pay the money, and nothing happens that you realise something is wrong.
Check things like the email address and website URL to ensure they are the right ones for the company you want to deal with. The scammer might, for example, create a new site and simply put in a full stop on the address line where there shouldn’t be one. You could be trying to get services from dvcontainers.com but in fact, you’re dealing with d.v.containers.com which is the scammer.
- Avoid Third-Party Sales Sites
If the company is trying to reach you through a separate site to their website, they are likely a scam operation. Most reputable companies don’t advertise through Gumtree or eBay. Check out reviews and you’ll probably find quite a few negative comments from people who have been scammed.
- Contact the Company Directly
There’s a simple way to check that you are dealing with a reputable company and that’s to contact them directly. Don’t rely on the advertising you have been sent or the third-party sales site you spot the service on. Instead, search for the company and check the contact details. If they differ from the advertisement, the chances are someone is trying to scam you.
Scams can be sophisticated nowadays. Scammers themselves have done their homework and if you reach out to them directly, they can seem to know what they are doing. Websites can be easily reproduced to give the impression of a reputable company so do all your homework before you commit to contacting.
- Shipping Prices
It used to be that a low price would be enough to give you cause for concern. There are a lot of factors that determine shipping prices and most of these are not negotiable. The general rule is that, if it’s too good to be true then it probably is a scam.
Having said that, scammers are also getting wise to this and offering prices close to the reputable ones so that people are less suspicious.
Finally, if you have been a victim of or suspect a company is a scam, it’s important to report it to sites like Action Fraud that record these instances. It’s not creating an official crime report with the police but does give them information that they can act on in future.
To ensure your goods get to where they are going in the most efficient way possible talk to the experienced and trusted team at Equator Worldwide who are industry experts in this field.