Increase in Container Supply Scams

24 February 2023

There have been an increasing number of online container supply scams recently. Due to the growing container market and the increasing cost of steel pushing up the prices of containers, an opportunity has been created for scammers to target unsuspecting customers by appearing to offer lower-priced containers for sale.

Scammers often impersonate legitimate container supply firms to advertise containers for sale at a reduced price, usually on websites such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Gumtree and Amazon. Once the customer has made contact, usually via the website/online messenger, to enquire about the container, the scammer will send out a legitimate looking quote often replicating quotes from genuine companies and containing functional contact details, requiring upfront payment for the container and delivery.

Once the quote is accepted by the customer and payment made, the customer will then wait for delivery of their container. By the time the customer realises that the container is not arriving, the contact details will have stopped working and there will be no way to trace or recover the payment made. It is estimated that the average sum claimed by the scammers per container is around £1,750 and scams are happening on an almost daily basis.
Some of these scams rely on real shipping container companies’ websites to appear genuine and will advertise a container, allegedly on behalf of the genuine company, on Facebook stating that they are having a sale/clearance on Facebook only and offering lower prices for these containers. This makes it difficult for customers to spot the scams as when they Google the company, it appears to be genuine. We outline below some of the things to look out for when considering whether something may be a scam.

Do your homework!

We suggest that you carry out an online search and check Companies House to see whether the company that the individual claims to be from is genuine and whether there are any warnings about the company being illegitimate. If it appears genuine, check the contact details on the website match those provided and look for a company registration number and VAT number, which can then be checked online.
You should check how long the website has been live for. If it has been live for less than 12 months, and particularly where they claim to be the “UK’s biggest” or the “UK’s leading” supplier of shipping containers, it is more likely to be a scam website. You should also check their social media sites, if they do not have one, this could be a concern or if they have very short or sporadic posting history, this may indicate that it has been created by a scammer. Of course, some legitimate businesses may have just started up or have a new website but this is a minority and we would suggest that a new website, or social media site, should be treated as a red flag.

Check the reviews for the company on review websites, social media and Trust Pilot for negative reviews. If all reviews are 5-star and received within a short period of time, or if they do not have any reviews, this could also indicate that the company is not genuine.
If a search for the company reveals two websites, call the company using the contact details on the website that you have not been provided and check that the container offered is genuine.

If something sounds too good to be true – it probably is

There is currently little variation between the prices of containers across the industry due to high container costs and generally low profit margins. If someone is offering a container for sale at a significantly reduced price, then you should be wary. If someone is offering free delivery of the container, it is more likely that they are not legitimate as the transport of a container is usually quoted dependent on location. If you obtain a number of quotes and one is more than 10% less than the others, it is certainly worth making extra checks before continuing.
As with every payment that you make, you should be cautious when making an online payment to an account you have not used before. If the person you are dealing with is holding themselves out as being from a company, search for that company online and check whether the website appears genuine (as set out above) and use the contact details on the website to call the company and ask for confirmation of their bank details. You can then send a nominal amount and check again that this has been received before paying the full sum.

Check their email address

If you are corresponding with someone over email, check that the email domain matches exactly to the company name and does not contain spelling mistakes. If it a generic domain, for example Hotmail or Gmail, it is more likely to be a scammer. You can also check that the domain name provided matches the one displayed on the company’s website.

Check their accreditation and memberships

If the company claims to be a member of a trade association or accreditation scheme, for example through display of the association’s logo on their website, contact the trade association direct to check that they are genuine members. You can also check certificates for ISO 9001/ISO 14001 standards online.

Call another container supply business

There are relatively few container supply businesses across the UK so other container businesses in the same area should have heard about the business you are dealing with. If they have not heard of the business, this should be treated as suspicious.

Keep a record

Keep a record of all the checks that are carried out so that in the event you do pay money to a scammer, you can provide the record to the bank to assist in attempting to recover the sums paid.

If you have any concerns about the legitimacy of a transaction, you should contact a member of the Dispute Resolution team on 01254 828300 who will be able to assist in determining whether a business is legitimate.