Better information can reduce the number of companies falling victim to these preventable crimes. As a general rule, it is important to be very vigilant when dealing with business relationships with unknown foreign companies and individuals. If you have already been a victim of fraud, you must report this to the Swiss Embassy, which can establish contact with the Economic Crime Office.
How do business scams commonly work?
The approach varies depending on the region and the methods are sophisticated. However, there are certain patterns that you should be aware of:
- Scammers use the names, logos, addresses and websites of real economic organizations, companies or even political parties. The names of regional and economic integration blocs in Africa, notably the African Union, are particularly popular.
- Scammers act either directly on behalf of that organization or pose as agents to broker a deal between you and the organizations being used fraudulently.
- They offer large contract volumes, often several million USD, often in the form of a large order for a product that your company actually manufactures.
- In order to “secure” this contract, rapid advance payments are required, e.g. for the allegedly necessary registration of a local branch of your Swiss business or to insure the ordered goods.
- Some also charge in advance for allegedly necessary information or other forms of assistance. Sometimes privileged positions are also invented (the CEO’s cousin), allegedly to influence decisions in your favor.
- You may also receive special tender forms in exchange for money, allowing you to take part in an alleged tender process.
How to prevent business fraud?
If you receive business proposals from Ghanaian companies or individuals you do not know, it is essential that you review the information contained in them internally. To check the seriousness of the offer, you can use the following points for orientation:
- The business offer includes an unusually large amount for your business, often several million.
- Nothing or very little technical details were discussed during the negotiations.
- No information has been addressed regarding the exact purpose nor the definition of the proposed purchase or the end user of the products you will sell.
- Small payments are required in advance to “secure” the contract, which range from several hundred to a few thousand Swiss francs/USD.
- The account of the contracting party is registered under a personal name (in Ghana it is required by law that all companies have to maintain a bank account in the name of the company) or a payment through Western Union or another transfer service provider is required.
- The counterparty uses an email address that includes the company name, but usually at the front, with the address often ending with Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail or another free email provider (e.g. gfichambers@gmail.com).
Next steps
If you are contacted by a Ghanaian company you were not familiar with before, you should never make an advance payment without being absolutely sure that it is a real company. If the Ghanaian counterparty invites you to sign the contract in Ghana, we recommend that you ask the Ghanaian counterparty to come to Switzerland to sign the contract instead. The travel costs incurred could be deducted from the first payment of the order. If the Ghanaian side does not respond to this proposal, it is a clear sign that there is no real interest in a legitimate business relationship.
If you are still unsure, please contact S-GE or the Economic Department of the Swiss Embassy in the relevant country.
If you have already made payments, clarify internally whether your company is prepared to report the incident via an embassy to the Economic Crime Commission. We recommend this.
For more information on unexpected business offers, please read the report in the download section.
For more information about unexpected business proposals, read the report in the download section.
