Criminals pretend to be customs, official dealers or car import service providers, require customers to make urgent remittances in the names of "paying customs duties" and "paying recovery fees", and even forge customs documents, vehicle photos and videos to create "the vehicle has arrived at the border, The illusion that you cannot release it without giving money...

According to an official warning issued by the Central Customs Administration of Russia (У) on September 3, recent fraud cases against buyers of imported cars have increased significantly. Criminalspretend to be customs, official dealers or car import service providers, require customers to make urgent remittances under the guise of"paying tariffs" and "paying recovery fees", and evenforge customs documents, vehicle photos and videos to create the illusion that "the vehicle has arrived at the border and cannot be released without giving money."

Russian customs particularly emphasized that the so-called "special compensation fee" does not exist. Regular customs payments do not require individuals to remit money according to bank accounts in unfamiliar text messages, instant messaging software or private emails, let alone transfer money to a personal bank card.

Scammers are increasingly understanding the car import process, and "fake customs clearance" is done like it is real

According to cases disclosed by Russia's Central Customs Administration, a common scam is sending "official notices" to consumers who are waiting for the arrival of overseas vehicles. These documents use the logos of Russian customs and forge the signatures of customs officials, requiring buyers to pay so-called "special compensation fees."

In order to improve credibility, scammers will also attach photos of car carriers parked in border customs supervision areasto let customers believe that the vehicles they purchased have actually arrived in Russia.

The other operation is more complete. Scammers will first pretend to be regular car dealers or import intermediaries and provide customers with "one-stop" services for overseas procurement, transportation and customs clearance. After the buyer signs the so-called contract and pays part of the car price, the other party will notify the vehicle that it has been purchased and enter the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) customs area.

Subsequently, the scammers provided forged photos of the vehicles, transportation videos and even "prohibited entry notices" with fake customs stamps, claiming that if the tariffs, refund charges (утильсбор) or other fees were not paid immediately, the vehicles would not be able to continue customs clearance. Buyers are worried that the car price they have already paid will be wasted, and it is often easy to continue transferring money at this stage.

For China companies exporting Russian cars, the danger of this scam is that it highly mimics the real transaction process. Overseas car booking inherently involves multiple aspects such as procurement, logistics, EAEU transshipment, customs clearance and recycling fees. It is difficult for customers to personally confirm the actual status of each step. Therefore, scammers only need to master some real vehicle information to easily establish trust.

Russian customs makes it clear that formal taxes and fees only go to official accounts

The Central Customs Administration emphasized in a statement that Russian customs will not send temporary payment notices to importers through instant messaging software, private emails and other channels.

Duties and other customs taxes and fees involved in the import of vehicles can only be calculated in accordance with the EAEU and current Russian laws and paid through thetaxpayer's personal account (ли евой сче т пл а т е ль ика) in the customs system, rather than being transferred to a bank card or an unfamiliar bank account provided at random in the notice.

Therefore, if a buyer suddenly receives a message from a so-called "customs officer" and several typical characteristics appear-requiring immediate payment, providing a personal bank card, claiming special charges not included in the previous contract-basically stop the transfer and re-verify it.

Russian Customs recommends that when there are doubts about the authenticity of documents, they should be confirmed directly through official channels. The Central Customs Administration also announced the hotline +7 (499) 975-16-03 and reminded deceived people to report the case to law enforcement agencies. Fraud using the identity of a government worker is a criminal offence in Russia.

For exporters, the question is not just "Will customers be deceived"

Such scams have actually put forward new risk management requirements for China used car exporters. After the scale of parallel imports and personal imports from Russia increases, a vehicle will often experience multiple entities: China suppliers, overseas logistics companies, Russian intermediaries, customs clearance agents and end customers. The longer the chain, the more opportunities for information to be intercepted and falsely used.

If the scammers get the real VIN, vehicle photos, bill of lading information or even truck transportation photos, and then pretend to be a China supplier or a Russian customs clearance agent to collect money to the customer, not only will the buyer lose money, but the credibility of the formal export enterprise may also be affected.

Therefore, it is best to clarify the payment account, the party responsible for customs duties and recovery fees, the contact information of the official customs clearance agent, and the rule that "any temporary increase in fees must be confirmed twice through designated channels" when signing the contract. Vehicle photos, VINs, customs declarations and logistics tracking pages should not be disseminated at will in public Group chats and social platforms.

written in the end

Russian customs issued a special warning this time, stating that imported car fraud has been upgraded from the past rough "selling cars at a low price" to forged customs clearance procedures. This is also a reminder: To do a good job in the Russian market, we must not only ensure that the cars and procedures are authentic, but also ensure that every collection and every piece of logistics information can be verified by customers. Especially when encountering the so-called "temporary customs charges" and "emergency back-up charges", do not make payments through your personal bank card or unfamiliar account. Establishing a verifiable closed loop for VIN, logistics nodes, customs clearance agents and collection accounts is not only protecting Russian buyers, but also protecting the payment and reputation of China sellers.

Source: Guangdong Good Car

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