ABN piggy backing is a fraudulent practice where shippers move goods under the ABN of a legitimate company. This conceals the importer, often with the purpose of smuggling or avoiding paying taxes.
As AI becomes more advanced, it is more important than ever for companies to review their DDP shipments and consider recommended security measures. The following letter from the desk of Angela Gambell, Director of Stockwells, discusses the rise of ABN piggy backing and the action companies need to take.
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Being vigilant when onboarding new accounts is something Stockwells takes pride in. We work very closely with ABF through our Australian Trusted Trader certification and have put procedures in place that will red flag most scammers.
Some new prospects have balked at the procedure, stating it is “too much”, and they “couldn’t be bothered” so we have to let the account go. Unfortunately, they don’t understand that we will be protecting them just as much as ourselves when it comes to scammers.
Fraudulent activity on international trade is increasing, and scammers are getting smarter. With the adoption of AI it seems more and more is getting through our borders. Fraudulent documents look immaculate, and they are using import DDP terms.
I have stated before that I am not a fan of DDP terms for many reasons. The shipment we red flagged yesterday is one of them. Stockwells has been able to report four scammers all on DDP terms, just this year. If there is something nefarious to be moved into our country, that is the term it will be shipped under, for obvious reasons.
Yesterday’s scammer emailed our Sales inbox from an email address almost identical to the real company’s sales email. Our procedure ensures we are looking at company websites to cross reference email addresses and names. We also contacted the company to ensure the sales request is from them. The email address did not match, so we placed a call to the company who denied this was their shipment.
ABN piggy backing is becoming popular for DDP shipments because once the scammers have information on ABN that is identical to the product they are moving in, that is either Duty Free and/or GST deferred, it is easy to use their ABN and not have to pay the taxes themselves.
When we spoke to this company, we suggested an immediate audit as their ABN could have been piggybacked by this fraudulent company for some time. The legitimate company now has an opportunity to investigate their current exposure to fraudulent GST/Duty activity.
It is a good idea to do regular reviews on your clearances, especially if you use several brokers or import under these terms.
Angela Gambell
Director
Stockwells
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If you have any questions about protecting your business from ABN piggy backing, please reach out to us today at [email protected].