Inquiries from competitors refer to inquiries from competitors in the same industry for the purpose of obtaining prices. Such inquiries usually directly ask the seller about the price of a product sold in a targeted manner. For competitors, obtaining prices can achieve knowing oneself and the enemy, and winning every battle. Competitors usually disguise themselves as real customers and do not want sellers to notice. If the salesperson cannot identify competitors well, it will not only waste time but also leak the company’s business secrets.
Junk inquiries refer to inquiries received on the cross-border e-commerce B2B platform for the purpose of fraud or unrelated to the products sold by the seller. Junk inquiries for the purpose of fraud should especially attract the attention of salespeople. There are many fraud methods for junk inquiries. The most common fraud methods are: first, obtaining the username and password of the company platform; second, obtaining invitation letters by fraud. The first method is specifically manifested in that the disguised customer induces the salesperson to click on some irrelevant links and deceives him to enter the username and password of the seller’s cross-border e-commerce B2B platform, so that he can lurk in the seller’s mailbox. When the seller has an order that is about to be completed, the salesperson disguised as the seller sends a fake IP to the customer to defraud the customer of money. The second form is that the disguised customer has no interest in the seller’s products or pretends to be interested, and directly asks the seller to issue an invitation letter. The real purpose of the junk inquiry is not to purchase the seller’s products, but to obtain an invitation letter to stay in the inviting country.
Let’s take a look at an example of a junk inquiry. The main content of this junk inquiry is that a customer has transferred money to the seller’s bank account. The seller is asked to check and ask the salesperson to click on a link and enter the seller’s username and password to view the remittance information. This junk inquiry is the first email sent by the customer to the seller, without any previous communication and exchange.
Dear Sir/Madam,
xxx has made a wire transfer to your registered bank account. Please find attached a wire transfer confirmation sheet and remittance. Unless you respond immediately by clicking on the below link, the information shall be deemed to be correct and shall be binding and conclusive on you.
Best regards,
xxx