I’ve gotten a few emails that are variations on this theme. Here’s the latest. I don’t know what the scam is but it seems there has to be one. My email address is in my own personal domain so there’s no chance they just mistyped a gmail address or something. In another email they included a link where it says this company is in Oklahoma but the email came from a .cz domain and the language for the email header is in Czech.
I’m Elizabeth Pace, Procurement Manager at ACE Capital International Trading. We’re preparing a large-scale purchase order and would like to explore collaboration opportunities with your company.
To assist with our planning, could you please provide a detailed quote including:
1. Tiered pricing for 500 units, 1,000 units, and 5,000 units
2. Current production capacity and estimated lead time for each quantity
3. Breakdown of shipping and freight costs to Texas, United States
4. Packaging options (bulk-packed vs. individually packaged)
5. Payment terms for large-volume orders
6. Availability and cost of product samples
Additionally, would you be available for a Zoom meeting? Our CEO and team, including Chinese translators, will join to facilitate discussion.
Looking forward to confirming your availability.
Elizabeth Pace
Procurement Manager
Ace Capital International Trading Limited
One type of scam is that the scammer overpays you for something and then asks you to remit the amount of the overpayment. Except the payment was fraudulent (e.g. like a bad cheque) and you don’t end up receiving any money.
If your custom domain is business-y, my guess is the classic fake invoice scam. They’ve graduated from calling businesses about product information to using AI-powered emails. The details make the invoice look real enough that they hope your AP folks will pay it.
It looks like it’s deliberately misdelivered. That is, you’re supposed to assume that they meant it for Big Company, instead of little old you, and they’re counting on you reacting… somehow? to that.
“Units” units of what? Very few companies sell one and only one product.
This brings to mind an observation made of many initial scam emails. They are designed to be ignored by all but the most stupid. So you self select for the next phase.
Anyone that replies is likely to be run through a couple of scripted interactions to refine the pitch and cull out time wasters.
A Zoom call with Chinese translation available is interesting. Suggests that the email is so generic that they are including Chinese companies in their net of possible marks.
Don’t discount that the scam isn’t directly monetary. In the modern world phishing attacks and other cyber attacks usually need a leg up from good old fashioned human frailty. The world is vastly more wicked than it was.
Then why send it in English? Alternatively, the scam is one of many involving victims from China who have been coerced or deceived into working in places like Myanmar to push international scam. For example:
It could also just be that they want to drop references to China because “China” is seen by many as the next big thing. Or both. They’ve got Chinese victims to force into the role of CEO, and they want to take advantage of the hype over China.
I think they’re aiming at Chinese-American business owners who don’t feel comfortable with English, hoping that they may be naive wrt scam money practices.
To sound American and not raise warning flags of foreign scanners.
There may or may not be a scam directly associated with this specific email.
There is a whole underground economy to buy and sell pre-qualified contact lists, in which “pre-qualified” describes “people who are dumb enough to respond to obviously fraudulent messages.” We’re all so used to ignoring garbage emails that finding individuals who are confirmed to be willing to interact with unsolicited contacts is worth some effort.
So waves of test messages are sent out, and the ones who respond become higher-value contacts to be sold to actual scammers.
I receive several of these emails a week to my business address. This one is positively professional-looking compared to most which are even more lacking in detail.
The idea that scams are “to get your banking information” will not die but is incorrect. You can’t take money from a bank account just by knowing bank details.
My firm has large bank accounts with banking details that have been in use literally for decades. We hand those details out like candy to anyone who has to send us money. They have been distributed to so many people for so long they are all but public information. Needless to say we do not get money get taken out of our accounts by scammers. Ever.
I’ve heard of people listing something (e.g., a piano or furniture) on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for sale and then the scammers inquire if “the item” is still available. If the scam moves forward, the scammer sends a check in excess of the sale amount, asking the seller to forward the excess to their agent for pickup. Of course the check is fraudulent but this isn’t discovered until real money is forwarded. That may be what is going on here.
I thought about that about 10 minutes after I wrote it. That anyone you write a check to or set up an ACH has your information. I think hogarth nailed it.
Not true anymore. Someone got our bank account number and created a check (with AI the bank people thought) with a different name and address and our account number. They then cashed it at a check cashing service. It was less than $100 so the service did not check thoroughly. My wife monitors our account and caught it right away, and we had to close that account and got a new one.
The bank, Wells Fargo, was very helpful. It did not seem to be the first case the fraud department has seen.
That would be my guess. The moment anyone responds remotely positively (and provides enough information to do so) they are immediately sent a “down payment” for the goods in question. But wouldn’t you know it, the down payment was sent in error, and you MUST refund it immediately or face all thoughts of scary legal action. Of course anyone unwise enough to refund their deposit will discover the money was never really in their account.
Most countries stopped using checks a long time ago. I vaguely remember seeing one once or twice, but am not sure whether it was in the '80s or the '70s.