Huaqiangbei Anti-Fraud: Exposing the "White Pigeon Scam"

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Huaqiangbei's Uncle Song tells everyone, "If you roam the marketplace long enough, how can you avoid getting cut?" Being cheated in business in Huaqiangbei happens from time to time. Our Huaqiangbei Mini Encyclopedia column has compiled these cases in the hope of purifying Huaqiangbei's business environment, enabling practitioners to operate with integrity and avoid being scammed. The "White Pigeon scam" in Huaqiangbei electronic components is a typical "ABC two-sided setup scam (getting something for nothing)" in the components trading field. The scammer misuses the credentials of real companies, artificially creates information isolation between buyer and seller, intercepts the transaction payment, and obtains the value of the goods at zero cost, while implicating three parties as victims. It is named after the earliest scammer, whose online name was "White Pigeon."

The Huaqiangbei White Pigeon scam (original + derivative variants) has three major categories of tricks:

The scammer disguises as a purchaser from Company A, asks Company B for its business license and contract template, obtains the full set of materials, and forges the official seal. Then, posing as a Company B employee, the scammer finds buyer C and signs a contract using favorable commercial terms such as "supply below market price, payment after delivery and inspection, no deposit required." The receiving account on the contract is scammer A's private account. C is told that someone will be sent to deliver the goods to the door, and is warned: "The delivery person is just a runner. Do not discuss price or contract with him. If there is any issue, only contact A directly." Then A approaches real supplier D, proposing to "purchase D's goods above market price," and requires D to deliver to C's address without a deposit. D is also warned: "Do not communicate with buyer C about price, do not bypass the middleman, and payment will be made immediately after inspection." When D delivers the goods to C and C passes inspection, C transfers the payment to the scammer's account according to the contract; after receiving the money, the scammer immediately disappears.

Consequences: Scammer A obtains the payment; supplier D loses the goods; buyer C loses money; Company B has its credentials misused and is drawn into disputes, damaging its goodwill.

Scammer A obtains the credentials of buyer C's company, impersonates Company C to place an order with real supplier D, and agrees to pay after the goods arrive at C's warehouse for inspection (actually a shell company/collection point controlled by the scammer), asking D to deliver there. During the process, D is not allowed to contact the real Company C directly (or key information is blocked). After the goods are delivered and signed for, scammer A directly resells them, and supplier D receives no payment.

Difference from the original: the original defrauds payment, and the scammer disappears immediately after receiving the money; this variant defrauds chip goods, and the scammer sells the goods and runs away.

The scammer simultaneously impersonates multiple purchasers, collects the licenses and credentials of multiple companies in bulk, accumulates a pile of corporate credentials, and reserves "shell companies" to rotate shells and commit fraud. Once one order is exposed, the scammer immediately switches to the next company, continuously running multiple White Pigeon setups and committing fraud in batches on a rolling basis.

Harm: The operation cycle is longer, the victims are not the same group, concealment is stronger, and investigation is more difficult.

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Reasons for the high incidence of the "White Pigeon scam":

The habits of spot trading in electronic components (no deposit, middleman isolation, payment to private accounts) + the low cost of license misuse + profit temptation driven by market conditions + lack of risk control among small and medium-sized merchants + difficulty in tracing funds after fraud—together these factors cause two-sided ABC scams such as the White Pigeon scam to recur repeatedly.

"White Pigeon scam" Pitfall Avoidance Guide:

For buyers:

1. Strictly ensure that "contract Party A = recipient = payer"; all names on the documents must be consistent; prioritize corporate bank transfers and refuse payment to private accounts outside the contracting entity;
2. For large orders, verify the contracting company by phone before payment to confirm that the order is genuine and valid;
3. When the goods arrive on site, proactively confirm face-to-face with the delivery party which company it belongs to and what price it quoted.

For deliverers:

1. Do not use the contact information the other party sent you. Check business registration records yourself on Qichacha/Tianyancha, find the company landline published on the official website, and call to clearly verify the identity of the contact person and the order information;
2. For large orders, prioritize an on-site visit, or request a video call with an employee of the contracting company and see the person's workstation and employee badge;
3. Do not agree to "deliver the goods to a third-party address without collecting a deposit"; when delivering on site, proactively check the order, model, and price face-to-face with the receiving purchaser; inspection does not equal delivery—remember to complete the signing and handover only after receiving full payment.

Note: The data and materials in this article are based on authoritative reports and materials. If there is any infringement or inaccuracy, please contact us.