Dear kustom,
I examined both companies; here is my opinion about them:
As for Escrow Australia: There can be no doubt that they are an actual company.
- Ebay Australia indeed cooperates with them and recommends them, as
you can see here, on the actual Ebay website:
http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/tp/payment-escrow.html
- They are duly registered with the Victoria Office of Fair Trading &
Business Affairs, since 25 July 2003. Their business number is
B1702908V.
- I found nothing suspicious about the ownership record of their Web domain.
However, while there can be no doubt that Escrow Australia is a legit
company, it would not be uncommon for a fraudster to misuse their
name, e.g. to send fake e-mails with payment instructions and the
like. If there is the slightest doubt about whether the escrow service
you are dealing with is indeed the one they pretend to be, it is
always advisable to carefully examine their messages for suspicious
details and to contact the company, to be on the safe side.
Now, to Linesbiz. Right at the beginning, I must say that I am a bit
reluctant to claim that they would appear very trustworthy. On the
contrary, there are certain things that make me advise cautiousness:
- Their Web domain was registered only on 22 March 2006, and it will
expire after just one year, on 22 March 2007. While this does not
necessarily constitute a fraud, I know from experience that such
short-lived domains that appeared only recently are to be treated with
suspicion. It is often a sign of dubious businesses.
- Their website design is quite unprofessional and primitive. It is
certainly not the ideal calling card for a company trying to attract
international customers.
- The photos on their website are rather strange. Obviously, they are
meant to prove that Linesbiz is an actual, existing company. However,
all we get to see is basically four times the same sign with their
company name, photographed from different angles. It almost appears as
if they a bit too desperately tried to convince the visitors of their
site that they are for real.
- They seem not to be sure of their own company's name. On the sign,
it is "Luo Fu Ad Co., Ltd.". However, when they posted offers on other
websites, they made it "Luofu Ad. & Decoration Co., Ltd." This is a
bit odd, to say the least.
Unfortunately, the deplorable lack of Chinese online sources like
official company registers make it hard to definitely determine
whether a Chinese company is for real or a scam. In this case, I don't
dare say that Linesbiz is a scam. However, I must recommend to be
cautious when doing business with them; as I demonstrated above, there
are some aspects about them that make them appear a bit dubious. Be
most cautious about the payment arrangements and whether communication
with Escrow Australia really originates from that Australian firm.
Regards,
Scriptor
Sources:
Australian Securities & Investments Commission: Companies Database
http://www.search.asic.gov.au/gns001.html
Victoria Office of Fair Trading & Business Affairs: Companies Database
http://online.justice.vic.gov.au/servlet/BusinessNameSearch
Allwhois Domain Name Database
http://www.allwhois.com/
Alibaba.com: Linesbiz Company Profile
http://linesbiz.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html
TradePrince: Linesbiz Company Profile
http://nladcl.tradeprince.com/ |
