Avoiding Scams on Alibaba.com Through Fake Gold Suppliers

I took a little break for the holidays. Hope you all either used Alibaba safely or spent some some learning about how to avoid scams and fraud on the world's largest e-commerce platform. I'm picking up where I left off. Below, I've provided some information from Alibaba.com that relates to spotting a fake verified gold supplier. Again, with millions of users on a platform, if even .001 percent of the users are frauds, you may end up being scammed - and hopefully not have to resort to the Alibaba Fair Play Fund. Anyway, here are some good tips on how to spot fake Alibaba.com suppliers.

Fake Verified Gold Supplier 

Case Study:

I received an email from a supplier called Mike from a company named Happy Electronics Co. He told me he could supply PS3 at a low price. I searched on Alibaba.com and found he was a Gold Supplier, so I was confident about this transaction. I placed an order for 10 pieces of PS3.

After payment, I lost contact with him and didn’t receive any goods. I reported Happy Electronics Co. to the Alibaba.com Service Team. After an investigation, they told me that the person I contacted is not really an employee of Happy Electronics Co.; in fact, he is a scammer posing as a representative of the company. Below is the email I received:

Case Analysis:This is a case of Gold Supplier identity theft. Scammers will pretend to be representatives of legitimate companies with the intent of cheating unsuspecting buyers. Please be aware that you should always:

1. Ask the suppliers to provide you with their company website on Alibaba.com. You can also use the company name that they provide to do a simple search online. Once found, compare the contact info that they provide with the information published online. If it’s different, please be very cautious. You can also use TradeManager to contact companies listed on Alibaba.com. Ask them to verify that the person you are in contact with is actually their representative. 
2. Be extra cautious if the price quoted is extremely low (50% lower or more than the market price). For instance, the quotation in the case above seems very good: one PS3 costs only US$188 per piece and you get an extra one free if you buy 5 pieces. This deal sounds too good to be true because it is. 
3. Use Alipay as your preferred payment method when you want to buy from Chinese Gold Suppliers. Alipay is safe because your money will only be released to the supplier after you confirm satisfactory delivery. If disputes arise, Alibaba.com will help mediate. Learn more about Alipay. Western Union and other direct payment methods are risky, especially for your first transaction with a supplier.
4. Email the Alibaba.com Service Team for help verifying suppliers found on Alibaba.com.