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Thread ID: 119817 2011-08-11 09:59:00 Anybody elese get an invite to China? Billy T (70) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1222479 2011-08-11 09:59:00 Just received this, but have no record of receiving (and deleting) anything on 9 August.


I’m following up on an email that Kain Jiang sent to you on the 9th August in respect to an invitation to join our New Zealand Buyers Delegation to the Canton - Guangzhou Fair in either October this year or April 2012. If you have already replied to us, please ignore this email and sorry about the inconvenience.

As a member of the delegation you would receive 4 complimentary airfares and 2 nights’ accommodation at the 5 star Garden Hotel in Guangzhou.

It goes on at length, all in very good English, and although it is of no interest to me at all, I can't make up my mind whether it is a scam or not. The only way to find out would be to reply, and then wait for the request for a "qualifying" or "booking" fee to "secure my place" and I can't be bothered with all that.

The fair is genuine, and a Google check shows that the only scam linked to its name is via a warning about the taxi drivers in Guangzhou.

Anybody else been a recipient?

Cheers

Billy 8-{)

Aha... A bit more Googling brought up this:


..............Is there any cost to me at all? Yes, the courier for the package to come to your office in New Zealand, normally the agent would pay this expense however as it is a secure courier delivering to you; the courier cannot give a cost until the package is cleared through NZ customs.

* How much is the courier? Each is different depending on where you are, however another client had to pay the following: Courier fee, disbursements, clearance charges etc - NZ$125.00

* Why does it cost so much? It's a sealed security courier satchel with 4 blank international airline vouchers.... that's why it's expensive. We make our fees in commission at the conclusion of each event..... This is our first month as the agent for the fair and we are looking to have a target of 400 companies from NZ.... Bottom line is, the agency cannot afford to pay these expenses for that volume of clients.... Next year will be different.

* Is there any other costs at all? Yes, when you book there is a booking fee of $75.00 per person for the travel agent to book your trip.

So it appears to be a minimum $200 scam job.
Billy T (70)
1222480 2011-08-11 10:02:00 Nope, but if it's legit, I'll volunteer to carry your bags. :D WalOne (4202)
1222481 2011-08-11 10:05:00 What's the email address? qazwsxokmijn (102)
1222482 2011-08-11 10:10:00 (snip)a Google check shows that the only scam linked to its name is via a warning about the taxi drivers in Guangzhou.

I can vouch for the warning about taxi drivers in Guangzhou on the basis of extremely limited experience. We were virtually highjacked into a tiny 'taxi' outside the ferry terminus. I got the hurry up from the driver to get in and shut the door, and then we were off - I looked out the back window, and there were some people in uniforms walking briskly towards us... I could never tell in China what the uniforms represented - police, army, train drivers, whatever. However, judging by the expression of alarm on the face of the driver, they were the fuzz.

He had no taxi licence, and probably no driver's licence either. He pedalled that wee car as fast as its strained little engine could go, and I really began to think it was my last journey. However, he screeched to a halt outside our hotel, and the fare was reasonable.

If you go on this trip Billy, be careful!
John H (8)
1222483 2011-08-11 10:46:00 If it's a scam (probably is) it's a reasonably priced one.... NZ$200 must buy quite a bit in China..... :D johcar (6283)
1222484 2011-08-11 11:03:00 So here is the full header from the original email, I found it in my spam folder.

WHOIS seems to show that the domain name is registered in NZ, but it has all the hallmarks of an advance-fee scam, and regardless, I'm not interested in a free trip to China.

Anybody want to buy it off me for $500, cash only? All you have to do is sign on with me as a casual and unpaid employee, and pay the promoter a small fee, or two, or three, or four....... :D

Cheers

Billy 8-{) :thumbs:



Return-path: <kain@cantonfair.co.nz>
Envelope-to: xxx@xxx.co.nz
Delivery-date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:52:27 +1200
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for <xxx@axxx.co.nz>; Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:52:12 +1200
From: "Kain Jiang : Canton Fair " <kain@cantonfair.co.nz>
To: <jxxx@xxx.co.nz>
Subject: Canton Fair follow up
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:44:31 +1200
Message-ID: <023801cc57c0$e6f22cf0$b4d686d0$@co.nz>
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Content-Language: en-nz
X-DSPAM-Check: by mx3.orcon.net.nz on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:52:25 +1200
X-DSPAM-Result: Innocent
X-DSPAM-Processed: Thu Aug 11 12:52:26 2011
X-DSPAM-Confidence: 0.6514
X-DSPAM-Probability: 0.0000

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

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charset="iso-2022-jp"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Dear xxx

Company: xxx & Associates Ltd
Billy T (70)
1222485 2011-08-11 20:51:00 $200 NZD is about 1000 RMB, that would get a wee bit. Especially if more than 1 person replied The Error Guy (14052)
1222486 2011-08-11 20:55:00 China doesn't have a shortage of people wanting to buy stuff from them so they don't need to bribe people to come over to trade fairs. pctek (84)
1222487 2011-08-23 21:00:00 Here is your answer Billy - well, sort of...
www.stuff.co.nz
John H (8)
1222488 2011-08-23 21:42:00 Anything unrequited goes in the rubbish bin with me.

Better safe than sorry.
Cicero (40)
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