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← Scam playbook

Scam playbook

Fake tank storage & TSA scams (Rotterdam, Houston, Fujairah)

A counterparty (or a 'terminal' it points you to) produces a Tank Storage Agreement, tank receipt, or injection report from a storage facility that either doesn't exist or has never heard of the deal. The fake terminal website is often a near-clone of a real operator's site with a lookalike domain.

How it works

  • 1.The 'seller' claims product is sitting in tank at a major hub (Rotterdam, Houston, Fujairah, Jurong) and offers a TSA or tank receipt as proof.
  • 2.The 'terminal' confirming the documents is a lookalike website — a real operator's brand with a slightly altered domain, or an entirely fictitious facility.
  • 3.You're asked to pay storage-transfer, injection, or tank-extension fees — sometimes to 'take over' the seller's expiring tank lease — before any inspection.
  • 4.Port-community security programs (e.g. FERM at the Port of Rotterdam) maintain public blacklists of hundreds of these spoofed storage sites.

Red flags

  • A tank receipt or TSA from a terminal you didn't independently look up — domain age, WHOIS, and the operator's official site rarely survive five minutes of checking.
  • Storage 'fees' payable to unlock product, documents, or an inspection slot.
  • A terminal that only communicates via the seller's channel, or from a free/lookalike email domain.
  • Refusal of a named-inspector visit (SGS, Intertek, Bureau Veritas) booked by YOU, not the seller.

What the real version looks like

Real terminal operators confirm tankage directly, bank-to-corporate, through contacts listed on their official site — and a real seller welcomes a buyer-appointed inspector. If the 'terminal' can only be reached through the deal chain, the tanks don't exist.

This page describes a general fraud pattern for educational purposes. It is not an accusation against any specific person or company. A clean check is not a clearance — documentary KYC and licence verification still apply.