What are the solutions to avoid fraud traps when exporting to Norway?

Over 40 businesses were scammed when exporting to Norway.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy, Commercial Counselor in Sweden, also responsible for the Nordic market, shared that recently there has been a surge in cases of impersonation of Norwegian companies to defraud foreign partners.

As international trade develops, businesses become more vulnerable to risks (Illustrative image).

The scammers create fake websites impersonating real export companies with fictitious contact information. Taking advantage of the perception that Norway is a developed country with a strict legal system and reputable companies, some companies, seeing attractive contract terms, rush into contracts fearing they will miss out on opportunities, and fail to thoroughly check the partner's information. As a result, these scammers have defrauded many companies from other countries, especially developing countries, including Vietnam.

“Norwegian police have reported 40 cases of fraud recently and believe the actual number is much higher. In most of these cases, the fraudsters are not located in Norway, so the police are unable to intervene,” Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy informed .

In some cases, the scammers are more sophisticated, creating fake bank websites to trick Vietnamese businesses into sending original documents to an address they specify in Norway. They then have people track the documents, intercept them to receive the goods, and avoid making payment.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy noted that some signs to watch out for that could indicate fraud include: the partner wanting to communicate via WhatsApp or Skype; the partner having a payment account with a bank outside of Norway; communication via email using public mailboxes like Gmail instead of those belonging to businesses; the VAT tax code on the website not being 9 characters (Norwegian businesses have 9-character tax codes); the company's website having a domain name that does not end with .no; the company's website not having a Norwegian version…

"These are just some of the signs that could indicate fraud. When businesses see these signs, they need to check and verify their partners more thoroughly," shared Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy.

Which solution minimizes risk?

In the context of increasingly developing international trade, the risks for export businesses are also increasing. Especially in the current challenging export environment, when new orders are secured, many businesses tend to want to maximize the opportunity, sometimes overlooking potential risks.

Therefore, to minimize the risk of fraud, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy stated that Vietnamese companies, when engaging in trade cooperation with Norwegian companies, need to verify and assess the businesses, especially those dealing with them for the first time. For large contracts, direct transactions are recommended, avoiding transactions conducted solely via the internet.

For payment, it is necessary to choose a secure payment method such as opening an irrevocable letter of credit (LC) and requiring the bank to verify the authenticity of the LC before delivering the documents.

For large contracts, businesses should hire lawyers to draft them thoroughly. They should also consider options such as bank payment guarantees, cargo insurance, or utilizing logistics services to mitigate risks.

Furthermore, to minimize the possibility of being scammed, Norwegian police recommend requesting video conferencing and recording the transaction. Legitimate companies are not hesitant to do this, while scammers often refuse face-to-face contact.

Recently, Vietnamese businesses have faced numerous international fraud cases, most recently the export of five shipments of agricultural products (pepper, star anise, spices, etc.) to Dubai, UAE. In 2022, a company was also defrauded when exporting 76 containers of cashew nuts to Italy.

Source link: https://congthuong.vn/giai-phap-nao-tranh-bay-lua-dao-khi-xuat-khau-sang-na-uy-266622.html