“Cheap is bad, cheap steel is scrap steel!” – Genuine new steel only has reasonable prices, not cheap prices!
Bao Tin Steel has just been the victim of a cheap steel scam, the buyer was scammed out of more than 300 million VND in Tay Ninh City. In the case, if Bao Tin Steel suffered 1, the victim must have suffered 10. If you want to know the truth, please scroll down to read!
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Taking advantage of the psychology of wanting cheap things: Old tricks, new victims
The person who was deceived in the story that Bao Tin Steel is about to tell below had to spend more than 300 million VND for an expensive lesson. Perhaps this will be the most valuable lesson in this customer’s business career. The main victim in the case was the H.D Construction Materials Store in Tay Ninh City, the scammer had a fake name, Tuan Kiet – Phone: 0968796175, using the transaction information as Hoang Minh Steel Trading Company Limited.
The incident began when Ms. B – an employee of the H.D Construction Materials store went online to find a place to buy galvanized square steel and V-shaped steel to retail at her store in Tay Ninh City. And coincidentally, Ms. B was “attracted” by a “cheap as scrap” price list posted by the company of the scammer Kiet. At first, Ms. B clicked to see it, probably just out of curiosity “why is the price of steel so cheap?”, but the more she looked, the more convinced she seemed. And it is also unclear by what force Ms. B decided to contact Kiet to ask about the goods.
The moment Kiet consulted, perhaps Ms. B was hypnotized and did not know that she had officially become the “fat prey” that Kiet was aiming for. What could be better than lying around and having food automatically delivered to your mouth? How could this scammer let a gullible customer like Ms. B escape? And according to the script, Kiet recorded all of Ms. B’s requests, then also transferred that information verbatim to Bao Tin Steel to request a quote. Upon receiving the quote from Bao Tin Steel, the scammer revised the quote to be much cheaper than the actual price and sent it back to Ms. B. Upon receiving the cheap quote, and the commitment: “pay only when you see the goods”. Ms. B did not hesitate to close the deal.
On March 4, a scammer named Kiet contacted Bao Tin Steel and placed an order for 2,180 steel bars (including shaped steel and square steel). At the same time, he asked us to deliver to the address at Dien Bien Phu Street, Ninh Son Ward, Tay Ninh City. This subject took advantage of Bao Tin Steel Company Limited‘s flexible sales policy to turn Bao Tin Steel into a “means of committing the crime”, helping him to easily and successfully deceive Ms. B, as well as the construction materials store H.D.
According to the policy of Bao Tin Steel, after finalizing the order, customers only need to deposit a small amount of money in advance as a guarantee, the company will deliver the goods to the customer. Only after the customer checks and confirms the correct quantity will they pay the remaining amount. In this case, the subject Kiet played 2 roles: both the seller and the buyer – and then disappeared after the successful transaction. Specifically: The scammer played the role of the seller, giving a very cheap quote to the “prey”, after the prey had “taken the bait”, the scammer played the role of the buyer, willing to pay a deposit of 20 million to Bao Tin Steel to prepare the goods (The deposit is calculated on the total value of the order). This act was intended to appropriate an amount 15 times more than that. Really too clever!
During the discussion with Bao Tin Steel’s staff, Kiet refused to provide the tax code with the reason “it’s just a small store, not yet established a company so there is no tax code”. At the same time, Kiet asked us to remove all information about Bao Tin Steel on the delivery note with the statement “to make it neat”. In other words, Ms. B did not know that she would receive the goods from Bao Tin Steel. This move by Kiet was to hide information about Bao Tin Steel and make it easier to commit fraud. Therefore, until the last minute, Ms. B still did not know that she had been scammed. It was only when the driver of Bao Tin Steel informed that this shipment was delivered by Bao Tin Steel that Ms. B realized that Kiet was a scammer.
With such increasingly sophisticated tricks, there have been many victims who have been scammed with similar methods. There have even been cases where the victim drove the car all the way to the factory, loaded the car with enough goods, and then had to unload the goods because he had mistakenly transferred money to the scammer.
During the preparation and delivery process, the subject Kiet continuously asked about the status of the vehicle, closely following each stage of loading and transporting. At this time, Kiet still showed himself to be a very considerate buyer. No wonder customers like Ms. B trusted and chose to buy steel with such a cheap price, several times cheaper than the market price.
While Bao Tin Steel was trying to arrange the delivery vehicle to be on time as requested, Ms. B was eagerly waiting for the goods to arrive. No one expected that both sides were just puppets in the hands of a cunning scammer, exploited by a scammer named Kiet for illegal profits. He was just waiting for his prey to fall into the trap and then he would take the money and disappear.
On March 5, the Bao Tin Steel delivery vehicle delivered the goods to the previously agreed location. At the same time, the ordering party was asked to check the goods and pay for the remaining order. Also because of subjectivity, the victim did not ask the driver which unit delivered the goods. The driver could only stand and wait for orders before handing over the goods. After a while, victim B transferred money to the scammer Kiet, while the real seller (Bao Tin Steel) waited forever but did not see any money…
The H.D Construction Materials Store insisted that they had transferred the money and demanded to unload the goods, while the transporters had to keep the goods on the vehicle because they had not received orders to unload the goods from the company. And as is the way of life, if something is difficult, we ask the police to take care of it! The police immediately sent people down to investigate and verify.
At the same time, Bao Tin Steel’s staff immediately contacted the buyer, but every call was from a subscriber, Zalo unfriended and blocked strangers. A bad feeling, when a few minutes ago the subject was still continuously texting to urge the delivery, but in just a moment this subject disappeared as if he had never existed. The consequence that the scammer left behind was the victim’s miserable cries. Even curses, claiming that we were accomplices with that subject, along with the astonishment of Bao Tin Steel’s delivery staff. More than 300 million in goods disappeared without a trace, who would be sober enough!
Here are some images related to the incident:
Lessons Learned
Cheap is bad
This incident is no longer too strange for Bao Tin Steel. Previously, there have been many similar unfortunate cases (See more: WARNING – Professional steel and iron sales fraud). Bao Tin Steel has also published many articles to warn buyers. However, with the mentality of “wanting to save as much as possible”, customers have had to suffer the situation of “losing money and getting sick” – This is something that no one really wants!
The fraudulent behavior of those profiteers is increasingly sophisticated. And we cannot deny that their invitations are always extremely attractive: A cheap steel price list, breaking the market price with a free shipping policy or discount for large orders, …. Especially with iron and steel products, how can we refuse such a delicious cake! But it is also because of that moment of weakness that many buyers have learned another expensive lesson.
If you are about to buy steel or any product, please do your research carefully. Don’t make the wrong decision just because it is cheap. The old saying goes: “you get what you pay for”, and that saying is still true today!
Bao Tin Steel Company does not sell cheap products, we only sell good products at the best prices! A good price means a reasonable price, true to the value of the goods you are interested in!
Only buy from reputable companies
It is very normal to search for company information online. However, customers need to choose a reputable company to import goods. A reputable steel company/business needs to have the most basic elements such as: name, phone number, tax code, business license, address and warehouse image, employee image as well as full business location. Even the time of establishment is too new also needs to be considered!
>> See now How to check the information of a reputable business
In addition, customers always need to verify information carefully before transferring money, especially when paying via personal accounts. If the name of the receiving account does not match the name of the supplying company or there are suspicious signs, customers need to check the supplier’s information from many different sources such as: asking friends who are near the supplier to come to the place to verify, checking information from the Tax Department or even calling the 1080 switchboard… Because any company will have a company account to serve transactions and sales. And all businesses doing business legally have very transparent and clear information.
Even for large and long-standing units like Bao Tin Steel, there will be a lot of information provided to customers. Basic information channels such as: website thepbaotin.com or Zalo OA, head office and warehouse locations are clearly attached on Google Maps or Grab, Bee, … or you just need to go to Google search page and type Bao Tin Steel to see a lot of official information to contact us. And customers can completely come to our address to work directly with sales staff, see the goods in person, touch the goods in person, make a deposit and sign a contract. If the customer is far away, making a video call to verify the seller and warehouse facilities is also a great way – Only real gold is not afraid of fire!
Bao Tin Steel currently has the following branches and warehouses:
HO CHI MINH:
- Headquarters address & Warehouse 1: 551/156 Le Van Khuong, Hiep Thanh Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Warehouse 2: 242/26 Nguyen Thi Ngau, Thoi Tam Thon Commune, Hoc Mon, Ho Chi Minh City
- Hotline: 0932 059 176
NORTH:
- Branch office and warehouse: Yen Phong Industrial Park, Dong Phong, Yen Phong, Bac Ninh
- Hotline: 0931 339 176
PHNOM PENH:
- Address and warehouse: 252 National Road 1, Prek Eng, Chbar Ampov, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
- Hotline: 09 6869 6789 – 06669 6789
Beware of “fake” salespeople
While reputable companies always want to affirm their brand through logos, actual product images, company images, offices, employees, etc., scammers try to create an extremely neat but untrustworthy image. For example: images of full, luxurious carts full of ostentatious goods; general content without purpose. However, they never reveal the company address, office images or images of employees there. Even that personal account has only been created for a short time. If you make a video call but the account owner does not dare to connect, or does not answer the phone, just chat and chat, please be careful!
At the same time, ghost companies and virtual companies have understood the psychology of buyers who love cheap goods. Therefore, they often target customers in areas far from the city center, who want to buy genuine goods at cheap prices, without taking invoices… This is a group of customers who are easily lured and reality has proven that.
In addition, the phone numbers provided by scammers are almost impossible to contact directly. They will only discuss work through social networks such as Zalo, Facebook, Instagram,… In addition, these people often urge customers to pay or transfer money if they want to receive the goods immediately. Or they will ask you to deposit a deposit of 5 – 10 million to keep the price, or keep the goods… At this time, customers need to be really alert and vigilant so as not to be fooled by them. Verify the seller’s information carefully before transferring money!
>>> Be wary of tricks to buy large quantities of steel online. Old tricks but new victims, victims were scammed out of 500 million VND when buying steel online.
Bao Tin Steel – a reputable steel importer and distributor in Vietnam
Steel fraud is increasing, and fraudulent behavior is also extremely sophisticated and unpredictable. This must have made many customers confused because they do not know where to put their trust. If you are facing this situation, learn about Bao Tin Steel right away. We are proud to be the top reputable steel importer and distributor in Vietnam.
Bao Tin Steel Company Limited has been operating for more than 12 years and has gained a certain position in the industry. The products we distribute are all imported directly from the factory, with full VAT, CO/CQ. Bao Tin Steel’s main products are steel pipes, steel boxes, pipe fittings, industrial valves, water meters and fire protection materials.
Bao Tin Steel’s strategic partners are all “bosses” in the steel industry in Vietnam such as: Hoa Phat, SeAH, Hoa Sen, 190, Viet Duc, Nam Kim, VinaOne, …. Therefore, customers will always receive GENUINE PRODUCTS at the BEST PRICE.
Bao Tin Steel owns 3 large branches in Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Ninh and Cambodia. With a team of experienced, knowledgeable staff, always dedicated and ready to support 24/7, customers will be served most attentively.
BAO TIN STEEL COMMITMENT
- 100% genuine goods
- With contract, full VAT
- Flexible payment policy
- Fast shipping, nationwide delivery.
Contact Bac Ninh Steel as soon as you need to buy iron and steel, Hotline: 0932 059 176. Be a smart and alert buyer so that no unfortunate incidents occur.
