If you have fallen victim to a Chinese scam it is often difficult to know who or where to turn to, and the help available can be quite limited.
Even if you find it impossible to get your money back, you can help warn other potential victims (and vent some steam) by reporting it on a fraud reporting website.
This article presents a list of these websites and a description of how they handle Chinese scam reports.
Why Use a Scam Reporting Website
There are two main reasons for using a scam reporting website.
Reporting a Scam
If you are the victim of a Chinese scam, choosing to report it will help protect others whilst allowing you to vent some steam. For purchases of limited value there can be little you can do to get your money back, so warning others may be your only method to get your voice heard.
Due Diligence
Many buyers sensibly choose to do a simple Google search of a company name before they place an order. If a bad supplier has been identified as a scammer on a scam reporting website there is a good chance this will appear in the search results.
This is only a very basic form of due diligence however, and more thorough verification is recommended.
Chinese Scam Reporting Websites
The below table identifies some of the best websites for reporting a Chinese scam.
NameHomepageDescriptionACORNacorn.gov.auAustralian readers should consider reporting online scams to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN).Action Fraudactionfraud.police.ukIf you reside in the UK you can report a Chinese scam to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre.All Scams Forumallscamsforum.comThis simple forum allows users to submit their reports on a wide range of scams.Canadian Anti-Fraud Centreantifraudcentre-centreantifraude.caCanadian readers can report Chinese scams to this website, which is the central agency in Canada for such matters.Complaints Boardcomplaintsboard.comComplaints Board is a comprehensive consumer complaints website.
Although there are no categories specific to China, their search function is very useful and many Chinese scams are reported.FTC Complaint Assistantftccomplaintassistant.govOur readers from the US may like to consider submitting details of a Chinese scam to the Federal Trade Commission.
Complaints from consumers are used to help detect patterns of fraud and abuse.Hong Kong Police Force e-Report Centreerc.police.gov.hkThe Hong Kong Police's 'e-Report Centre' is worth trying for scams involving companies registered in Hong Kong.Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)ic3.govManaged by the FBI, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) may be a useful website for US readers to report more serious Chinese scams.Ripoff Reportripoffreport.comPrimarily targeted at US consumers, Ripoff Report is probably the world's most visited scam reporting website.
There are no China-specific categories but reports can be filed in a wide variety of circumstances.Scam.comscam.comScam.com is a free whistleblower message board to discuss and expose scams, rip offs and scammers.
There are no China-specific forums but many relevant postings.Scambookscambook.comScambook is a complaint resolution platform - users report fraudulent companies and Scambook’s investigators try to resolve with the company.
Many complaints are registered about Chinese companies but presumably their success rate is very low.ScamWarnersscamwarners.comScamWarners is a popular website with a wide range of forums for different types of scams.
Although there are no China-specific forums, there are many posts and it is easy to follow.Supplier Blacklistsupplierblacklist.comSupplier Blacklist is a user-generated list of unsafe suppliers, and Chinese companies feature prominently on their postings.The Wholesale Forumsthewholesaleforums.co.ukYou can report a Chinese scam on their Bad Supplier Experiences forum
If you are aware of any other useful websites for Chinese scam reporting, please get in touch by leaving a message in the comments section below.
How to Avoid a Chinese Scam?
When doing business in China many companies get into trouble by taking too much at face value, be it company’s claims, the legitimacy of official-looking documentation or the "verifications" offered on platforms such as Alibaba.
We recommend verify details of, and the documents provided by Chinese companies by using China Checkup’s online verification services.
Reporting a Chinese Scam on China Checkup
It is our company policy that we will not publish details about any Chinese companies that are accused of being scams, fraudulent or dishonest, so you will see that information has been redacted from some of the comments below.
Feel free to leave your comments on our page to Report a Chinese Scam regarding a specific company that you have had bad experiences with. If you have any general guidance or some experiences that can help others to avoid Chinese scams.
Please note that we don’t offer any service for helping companies recover financial assets as a result of scams or fraud. You may find a service such as Recoupera useful in such circumstances.
