Scam playbook
The patterns behind almost every commodity-trade scam.
If a deal feels off, it usually maps to one of a handful of well-worn fraud patterns. Each page below breaks one down in plain language — how it works, the red flags you can check in minutes, and what the real version looks like. Free, no signup.
4 red flags · 3-step mechanic
Is the LOI / ICPO / DLC MT700 procedure a scam?
The 'soft probe → ICPO → DLC MT700' procedure is the signature of broker-chain commodity fraud. Here's how to read it and what a real deal looks like instead.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
POP / POF and advance-fee fraud in oil deals
Requests for Proof of Funds first, or any up-front 'allocation', 'tank', or 'transfer' fee, are the core of advance-fee commodity fraud. What to watch for.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
What is a 'mandate chain' (the broker layer cake)?
A stack of self-described 'mandates', 'facilitators', and 'intermediaries' between you and a seller who never appears. Here's why the layer cake almost always hides a fraud.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
Major-oil executive impersonation (Chevron / Shell / Aramco 'CEO')
Counterparties claiming to be a senior executive at a major — often with a LinkedIn profile to match — are a recurring fraud pattern. How to verify in minutes.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
Dark-fleet routing & sanctions-evasion red flags
Russia–Türkiye and other 'dark-fleet' routings dress sanctioned cargo as clean. The vessel, document, and routing signals a desk can screen for.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
SBLC / BG leasing and 'monetization' fraud
Offers to 'lease' or 'monetize' a Standby Letter of Credit or Bank Guarantee are a classic instrument scam. Why the structure rarely survives contact with a real bank.
Read the pattern →4 red flags · 4-step mechanic
Fake tank storage & TSA scams (Rotterdam, Houston, Fujairah)
Fraudulent 'tank terminals' sell storage that doesn't exist — fake TSAs, fake tank receipts, fake injection reports. The Port of Rotterdam keeps a public blacklist of hundreds of these sites.
Read the pattern →4 red flags · 4-step mechanic
Clone firms & fake refinery sellers (fake Gazprom, fake majors)
Fraudsters register companies and domains that imitate real refiners, majors, and trading houses — then sell product the real firm has never heard of. Regulators publish clone-firm warnings; here's how to check one in minutes.
Read the pattern →Got a specific counterparty?
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