Scam playbook
The patterns behind almost every commodity-trade scam.
If a deal feels off, it usually maps to one of a handful of well-worn fraud patterns. Each page below breaks one down in plain language: how it works, the red flags you can check in minutes, and what the real version looks like. Free, no signup.
4 red flags · 3-step mechanic
Is the LOI / ICPO / DLC MT700 procedure a scam?
The 'soft probe → ICPO → DLC MT700' procedure is the signature of broker-chain commodity fraud. Here's how to read it and what a real deal looks like instead.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
POP / POF and advance-fee fraud in oil deals
Requests for Proof of Funds first, or any up-front 'allocation', 'tank', or 'transfer' fee, are the core of advance-fee commodity fraud. What to watch for.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
What is a 'mandate chain' (the broker layer cake)?
A stack of self-described 'mandates', 'facilitators', and 'intermediaries' between you and a seller who never appears. Here's why the layer cake almost always hides a fraud.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
Major-oil executive impersonation (Chevron / Shell / Aramco 'CEO')
Counterparties claiming to be a senior executive at a major, often with a LinkedIn profile to match, are a recurring fraud pattern. How to verify in minutes.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
Dark-fleet routing & sanctions-evasion red flags
Russia to Türkiye and other 'dark-fleet' routings dress sanctioned cargo as clean. The vessel, document, and routing signals a desk can screen for.
Read the pattern →3 red flags · 3-step mechanic
SBLC / BG leasing and 'monetization' fraud
Offers to 'lease' or 'monetize' a Standby Letter of Credit or Bank Guarantee are a classic instrument scam. Why the structure rarely survives contact with a real bank.
Read the pattern →4 red flags · 4-step mechanic
Fake tank storage & TSA scams (Rotterdam, Houston, Fujairah)
Fraudulent 'tank terminals' sell storage that doesn't exist: fake TSAs, fake tank receipts, fake injection reports. The Port of Rotterdam keeps a public blacklist of hundreds of these sites.
Read the pattern →4 red flags · 4-step mechanic
Clone firms & fake refinery sellers (fake Gazprom, fake majors)
Fraudsters register companies and domains that imitate real refiners, majors, and trading houses, then sell product the real firm has never heard of. Regulators publish clone-firm warnings; here's how to check one in minutes.
Read the pattern →Got a specific counterparty?
Don’t guess. Paste the name and screen it free against OilFlow’s first-party fraud corpus before you onboard them or wire a dollar.
Working a live deal?
Paste a proposed deal for a sub-30-second clearance read before you spend weeks structuring it: free, no signup.
Or order on one named counterparty
Counterparty Screen$95
One name, delivered within the hour, marked DRAFT for review by independent legal counsel, no human read. PEP is not screened; adverse media is not swept.
Email [email protected] with the product and the counterparty name in the subject. An invoice comes back by reply. Both are prepaid by invoice or marketplace order; there is no card checkout.
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