Romanian crooks are also out of lockdown

Romanian crooks are also out of lockdown

It sounds strange, but crooks have also had a difficult time in recent months. Because of the lockdown situations in many European countries, the worldwide flower trade was on hold. As a result, the scammers known to us were hardly active, and some of them not active at all. Meanwhile, in a large part of the world flower trade is back on track and our famous Romanian 'friends' think they can make their move again. Several flower exporters have been approached this week by a company with an apparently long history and excellent annual figures.

It started with a credit report request from one of our clients. At first the debtor seemed to be a Romanian company with a history of about 27 years, which published the annual figures without problems. Located in a town near the Moldavian border. After one relatively small first shipment, a much larger shipment was requested. According to the annual figures that should be fine, but the supplier did not entirely trust it and asked AgroCheck to do some research. We immediately noticed an email address, which was almost equal to the email address of a large group of scammers in Bucharest, only 3 digits were different. When we ran the debtor's phone number through our database, all the alarm bells rang immediately. We were able to link the phone number directly to the Romanian crooks, who have been causing enormous damage in South America and Holland for several years.

By now, at least four suppliers have been contacted via their webshop or by email, but probably many more. We do not know if the owner of the official company is aware that the scammers are using his 'good' name or if he is involved in the scam himself.

In Bacau, another importer has caused major damage to a Dutch export company. Due to the crisis, there was no contact for some time, but now it appears that this was actually the intention. It also seems that this ''buyer'' is again looking for new suppliers.

Be warned! AgroCheck members who would like to know which debtor we are writing about can contact us. We have seen a lot of shifts in suppliers and customers in recent weeks. A debtor who is currently unable to pay your invoices, still needs flowers and is looking for other suppliers. Therefore, always consult our database before doing business with a new debtor. Not yet a member? Feel free to mail or call us for more information. From only $450 per year you can save yourself a lot of misery!