China payment scams: how the money disappears

China payment scams are about the money leg: the agent who pads the rate or vanishes, the changed account, the fake transfer confirmation, the release fee.

Most China payment scams happen after you have already found the supplier.

The product may be real.

The factory may be real.

The invoice may even be real.

Then somebody changes the bank account, introduces a payment agent, sends a fake confirmation or adds an unexpected charge when your goods are already moving.

That is why the rule is simple:

Every time money is about to move, stop and verify the payment again.

Here are the six payment traps Nigerian importers should know.

1. The payment agent hides the real exchange rate #

You want to pay RMB100,000 to a Chinese supplier.

An intermediary tells you:

“Today's rate is ₦X per yuan plus 1% commission.”

The commission sounds reasonable.

The problem may be hidden inside the exchange rate.

A payment agent can make money from:

the exchange-rate spread + stated commission + transfer fee

without showing you which is which.

How to stop it #

Ask one question:

“How many naira will leave my account for the supplier to receive exactly RMB100,000?”

That gives you the all-in effective rate.

Then compare it with:

• another reputable payment provider
• your bank/payment platform where available
• current market FX references

Do not compare only the advertised commission.

The cheapest advertised fee can have the worst exchange rate.

Our yuan to naira guide explains how to compare the rates properly.

2. The payment agent takes your naira and disappears #

This scam is painfully simple.

Someone advertises:

“China RMB payment available.”

You send naira.

They promise to pay your supplier.

Then:

“Network issue.”

“China account problem.”

“Payment pending.”

Then the WhatsApp calls stop connecting.

Testimonials and screenshots are not proof that somebody should handle millions of naira.

How to stop it #

Before using an intermediary, check:

• registered business identity
• account name receiving your money
• physical/business presence
• written quote
• payment receipt
• verifiable previous customers
• who actually makes the China-side payment
• what happens if the payment fails

CAC registration alone does not prove the agent is trustworthy.

It simply proves an entity was registered.

For a new relationship, do not begin by sending ten suppliers' payments together.

Start small and confirm that the Chinese beneficiary actually receives the money.

Our China sourcing agent guide covers the wider checks.

3. The supplier's bank account suddenly changes #

This is one of the most dangerous because the real supplier may know nothing about it.

You have been communicating normally for weeks.

Then, just before the deposit or final balance is due, you receive:

“Our previous account is under audit. Please use this new account.”

The message may even come from the supplier's real email account if that account has been compromised.

This is a known form of Business Email Compromise. INTERPOL specifically warns businesses to independently verify unexpected changes to bank details using another communication channel rather than replying to the message requesting the change.

How to stop it #

Treat every change of beneficiary as a new payment instruction.

Do not verify it by replying:

“Is this new account correct?”

to the same email that sent it.

Instead:

Call the supplier using the number you already had.

Or:

Video-call the salesperson/account manager through the WeChat account you have used throughout the transaction.

Then ask them to confirm:

• beneficiary name
• bank
• account number
• SWIFT details
• why the account changed

For a substantial payment, get revised payment instructions on company documentation too.

One phone call can save an entire container's value.

4. The beneficiary does not match the supplier #

You are buying from:

Guangzhou ABC Lighting Co., Ltd.

But the payment instruction says:

Shenzhen XYZ Trading Limited

or gives you a personal account.

That does not automatically mean fraud.

Chinese factories sometimes legitimately use:

• export companies
• affiliated trading companies
• Hong Kong entities
• authorised collection/payment companies

The dangerous part is paying without understanding the connection.

How to stop it #

Ask:

“Why am I invoiced by Company A but paying Company B?”

Then ask for written evidence connecting the beneficiary to the transaction.

Your payment trail should make sense to someone who was not inside your WhatsApp conversation.

Ideally:

supplier → invoice → beneficiary → payment receipt

should be easy to follow.

If the explanation is:

“Don't worry, everybody pays there.”

that is not verification.

For first orders, unexplained personal accounts deserve particular caution.

A salesperson's Alipay QR code is fine for lunch or perhaps a small agreed sample.

It is not where you casually send the deposit for a commercial container.

5. The payment screenshot is fake #

A screenshot proves that somebody knows how to make a screenshot.

It does not prove money arrived.

This scam can happen from either side.

An agent shows you:

“Supplier paid.”

with a transfer image.

But the supplier never received anything.

Or someone buying from you sends:

“Payment successful.”

and asks you to release goods before your own account reflects the money.

How to stop it #

Verify at the receiving end.

For money coming to you:

check your bank or payment account yourself.

For an agent paying your Chinese supplier:

ask the supplier directly whether the funds have been credited.

Do not ask:

“Did the agent send you the screenshot?”

Ask:

“Has RMB42,500 actually arrived in your account?”

Those are different questions.

Do not release goods, documents or the next payment because of an image.

6. The surprise shipping or port payment #

Your goods arrive in Nigeria.

Then somebody sends an invoice containing charges you never heard of.

Or someone claiming to represent the freight forwarder says:

“Pay immediately or your goods cannot be released.”

At that point you are under pressure because storage and container charges may already be running.

Some charges will be legitimate.

Some may be poorly explained, duplicated or disputed.

That is why this is not always technically a scam — sometimes it is a commercial charges dispute.

The Nigerian Shippers' Council's own 2025 complaint data includes arbitrary charges, demurrage/storage disputes, container issues and other port-related complaints.

The Council has also intervened in specific disputes involving allegedly arbitrary groupage charges and required proper itemisation of charges.

How to stop it #

Before the shipment leaves China, ask your freight forwarder for:

China charges

international freight

Nigeria destination charges

Customs excluded/included

terminal charges excluded/included

delivery excluded/included

Get the inclusions in writing.

When a new port charge appears later, ask:

Who issued this invoice?

What service is it for?

Is this the shipping line, terminal, deconsolidator or agent?

Can I see the official invoice?

Do not send money to a random personal account because somebody knows your bill-of-lading number.

If you have a genuine Nigerian port-service dispute, the Nigerian Shippers' Council operates a complaints system and Port Service Support Portal for shipping and port-related complaints.

What about paying 100% upfront for a discount? #

This deserves its own warning.

A supplier says:

“Pay everything today and I give you 8% discount.”

The discount may be genuine.

So is the risk.

With a manufactured order, paying 100% before production removes most of your leverage if:

• production is late
• specification is wrong
• inspection fails
• quantity is short
• packaging is wrong

For many factory orders, a structure such as:

deposit → production → inspection → balance

gives the buyer much better control.

But do not turn 30/70 into a religious rule.

Ready-stock purchases on 1688, small orders, Alibaba transactions and other buying models may use different terms.

The important question is:

What protection do I have before I release the money?

Our China supplier deposit guide explains the payment structures.

The pattern behind almost every payment scam #

Look at all six again.

They normally involve one of these:

urgency

changed instructions

a new intermediary

an unexplained beneficiary

a screenshot instead of confirmation

a charge nobody documented earlier

The fraudster wants one thing:

for you to pay before you check.

INTERPOL describes this kind of manipulation as social engineering — exploiting trust to cause a victim to transfer funds — and continues to identify business-email compromise and impersonation among major international fraud patterns.

Your defence is not complicated technology.

It is a payment routine.

The 5-minute payment check #

Before any serious China payment, check:

WHO

Who exactly receives the money?

WHY

What invoice/order is this payment for?

NAME

Does the beneficiary make sense against the supplier documentation?

CHANGE

Have any payment details changed since the previous payment?

AMOUNT

Does the amount and FX rate match what was agreed?

TRIGGER

Has the supplier actually completed what was required before this payment?

If anything has changed, stop.

Verify.

Then pay.

If you have already sent money to the wrong account #

Speed matters.

Do not spend the first day arguing with the scammer on WhatsApp.

1. Contact your bank immediately #

Tell the bank it may be a fraudulent transfer and ask it to initiate whatever recall, freeze or fraud-response process is available.

INTERPOL's guidance to victims of Business Email Compromise specifically says to alert the bank immediately so it can attempt to recall the funds.

There is no guarantee the money will return.

But your chances generally get worse as the funds move through more accounts.

2. Stop every additional payment #

Fraud victims are frequently asked for another payment:

release fee

refund charge

account-unfreeze fee

tax

Do not send more money trying to rescue the first payment.

3. Preserve everything #

Save:

• proforma invoice
• commercial agreement
• bank details
• transfer receipt
• email headers
• WhatsApp/WeChat conversations
• phone numbers
• usernames
• voice notes
• company documents
• screenshots

Do not delete the conversation because you are angry.

It is evidence.

4. Tell the real supplier #

If the scam involved changed bank details, alert the genuine supplier immediately.

Their email or employee account may also have been compromised.

5. Report the fraud #

In Nigeria, economic and financial crimes can be reported to the EFCC through its petition/reporting channels, including its Eagle Eye reporting system.

Cyber-enabled fraud can also be reported to the Nigeria Police Force/National Cybercrime Centre.

For a shipping or port-charge dispute rather than a payment-fraud case, use the Nigerian Shippers' Council complaint process instead.

The rule ChinaBridge uses #

Do not make the final question:

“Do I trust this person?”

Make it:

“Can I independently verify this payment?”

A supplier you have known for three years can have their email hacked.

A legitimate agent can send the wrong account number.

A genuine shipping company can issue a charge you do not understand.

Verification protects you even when everybody involved is honest.

Before money moves:

verify the beneficiary

verify the amount

verify the payment trigger

verify any change through another channel

Then pay.

For the safe payment routes, read how to pay a Chinese supplier from Nigeria.

For factory-side fraud rather than payment fraud, use our Chinese supplier scams guide.

And before paying any deposit, read China supplier deposit and balance terms.

First published 20 Sep 2026. Last checked 23 Sep 2026 by The ChinaBridge desk. Something here out of date? Tell us in the comments and we will fix it.