How to check a Thai company is legitimate

March 11, 2020 - Reading time: 3 minutes

We have seen many instances where individuals setup websites and claim to be trading from Thailand as legitimate businesses. They might claim to export products (such as tires or vehicle parts, electronics, food products,  textile products, food or perishable products - this list could stretch to include literally any commodity or product that is currently in demand). After these nefarious individuals have received part or full payment for a product, they will often take the money and disappear. 

In cases such as these there is often very little that we are able to do in order to help. We are not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice. When a nefarious individual commits an act of fraud and then vanishes, their goal is to make it impossible for anyone to find them… If they have provided little (or inaccurate) information about themselves before starting a business dealing then they have a good chance of succeeding in their goal never to be found. In some cases fraudsters may claim to operate from Thailand while being located in a different country altogether.

How to spot a scammer

After seeing numerous different cases where fraud has been perpetrated by people claiming to be located in Thailand, we often find it easy to spot a legitimate business from a fraudster. However, detecting fraud through basic checks can sometimes be impossible if you are dealing with sophisticated scammers.

How can you check whether a Thai company is legit? A first step would be trying to establish whether or not you are dealing with a registered company or a private individual claiming to be a company. This can be done by asking the subject and checking their supposed company name against public records.

The second step in performing very basic due diligence would be to seek a postal address and phone number for the individual that you are engaging in business with. It is then possible to check this information against their Thai company’s registered information.

Getting professional help

If an individual provides you with a fake address then discovering that this is the case can be almost impossible if you are outside the country and not able to verify their claims yourself. We often conduct site visits to check companys’ addresses before a business transaction takes place in order to verify the legitimacy of any Thai company or individual that claims to be trading from Thailand. We can check to see whether an individual has a factory that is filled with employees or if they simply have a PO box, for example.

Our detectives cover most areas of Thailand through our strategically placed regional divisions. If you are interested in starting a business investigation or performing due diligence then please feel free to contact one of our experienced team members for advice and a free, no pressure quote.