Scam artists are paying for premium google ad placement for specific part numbers, taking orders and never shipping the product. There has been a recent trend, which ERAI has been following, as one complaint after another is reported. Current calculations, just recorded by ERAI complaints alone, total $300,000 in losses. The perpetrators quote the electronic components, request money to be wired in advance, then later the so-called authorized distributors are nowhere to be found. They do not pick up their phone, answer e-mails or any other communication. ERAI offers some risk indicators below;
- The sites falsely claim to be authorized distributors for major semiconductor brands.
- The sites falsely claim to be members of ECIA.
- The sites share almost identical language and, in some instances, are a mirror copy of one another.
- Obsolete and hard to find parts are identified as in “stock” at below market prices.
For in depth detail of websites and bank account details related to this scam please visit ERAI’s full report.
To see if there are truly parts out there for your most difficult requirements, please contact one of our Search Experts by email USA [email protected], Asia [email protected], or Europe [email protected]
Robb Hammond is the President of AERI and the former chair of the Aerospace Industry’s Counterfeit Electronic Components Mitigation Standard for independent distributors, AS6081, which has become one of the industry’s most respected documents, as well as being adopted by the Department of Defense. Robb is one of the foremost thought leaders in the industry on counterfeit detection and speaks regularly at conferences around the globe.
