A new scam? Hilden Textiles (UK).

Methinks there might be a need for a new forum: scams. Anyway, I wanted to get this info out to others and see if anyone had come across it yet. Mods, if this belongs someplace else, please move it with my complete approval.

I was just contacted via IM by someone claiming to work for a company in London England called Hilden Textiles. They claim to be looking for someone in the US to accept payments from their customers and wire the money to them at their specified Western Union account, to be specified later. Yeah, I have no doubt it is a scam, but I also have a bit of curiosity as to how they are scamming.

First thing I considered was, they want my bank info. No problem, as I informed the person I would set up an escrow account specifically for this purpose, separate from my personal banking.

Second thing I expected was wanting me to wire the money immediately, leaving me (and my bank) holding the bag when the company checks/money orders bounced like a ball of super-charged Flubber. Nope, they expect that all transactions will occur upon clearance by the banking system.

Third thing I suspected was a scam involving exchange rates. Nope, they accept Western Union exchange rates.

Now my bank (yes, I called them ofcourse and talked this over with them) suggested that perhaps this person wasn't even working with Hilden or was working with them but making money on the sly by sending me a fake Western Union account, leaving me to explain to the 'customer' why their payment disappeared. that makes a bit of sense, but it also sounds risky on the person's behalf. That's a trail straight back to them.

So what I am wondering is: has anyone else been contacted this way; does anyone in the UK know anything about Hilden Textiles?; does anyone have any ideas on how this scam is working?

TheRedneck

How about money laundering? (though i must confess i never really understood how that stuff works)

Dont know...

Hilden Textiles

2nd line

i see that you already hit up google. lol. ignore this then

[edit on 10-4-2009 by epitaph.one]

I got one of these messages the end of last year, and I called and contacted the company to ask why in the world they would be doing this. And yes I new it was a scam as no company would go to the internet to anyone to transfer money to.

The company ,and it is a company but owned by another, said that they have been dealing with this for quite a while.
If you do some searching you will find a contact and be able to talk to them and give them the info if you wish.
It was funny as there are scam sites setup on the web also to lead you to the people doing the scams.

As it is now I do not know if I still have all the info that I found, but it will not take you long to find it again.

Sounds like money laundering to me.

Their "customers" are criminals who are sending you money to accept as money for orders (that you yourself don't see directly).

The company in London receive the money from *YOU*, anywhere BUT London (who wants to bet on Nigeria?).

Later the Feds come knocking (actually, busting) your door down and arrest you on fraud charges.

The guys sending you the money are free, and the people withdrawing it are also free (WU is untraceable), so you are left facing the wrath of the authorities.

The laundering part occurs between you and the guys in "London". The money on their books looks legit, they deal with it legitimately, etc... but it is NOT. The orders will be completely fabricated, and you'll holding the records for receipt of the money. As far as they (and the authorities) are concerned, you really were taking money for their "legit" orders, which when you are investigated, will turn out to be a fabrication. The bad part is it will look like you knowingly fabricated it through fake orders.

Bad Guy places order. Bad Guy -> You -> Bad Guy #2.

Bad Guy #2 knows Bad Guy placed the order, and you are taking the money from him.

Bad Guy #2 will make it look like you are placing the order on behalf of clients.

Cops bust Bad Guy #2, he looks legit, but sees you are processing the orders (and money) from his fake records.

Police bust you, and see that you are placing orders (and/or taking money for them and sending them on).

Police try and trace customers that don't exist. You get busted again for false accounting.

Don't get involved. You could end up with a rap sheet for money laundering, fraud, deception, and possibly even tax evasion.

EDIT: Check out Hildon Textiles. Websites can be very misleading. See if they exist with Companies House or Inland Revenue (now HMRC). If they are legit, there won't be a problem, but WU is prime for scams, and the money could be going anywhere to anyone.

WU alone screams ALARM! at me. RUN AWAY (but still check them out)!

[edit on 10-4-2009 by mirageofdeceit]

reply to post by mirageofdeceit

DING! DING! DING!

I knew something about this sounded fishy, and I do believe you have hit on what it was. Thanks!

I was just contacted again, and I told the person that I was able to contact the company they claimed to represent through a personal contact in the UK, and they were not aware of this arrangement. They immediately sent back 'OK' and went offline.

Suspicious? Nah.....

My thanks to you and the others who replied, and again, may I recommend to the Mods and Admins that we have a new forum just to cover these scams.

TheRedneck