Forged Inspection Reports and Fake Proof of Product

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Product tanker under way, the kind of cargo whose custody a forged inspection report claims to prove

The mechanism

Proof of product is not a PDF. An inspection report, even a genuine one, speaks to quantity or quality at a place and time. It does not prove title. Ownership and cargo custody still have to be verified separately.

Fraud packs invert that. They arrive with inspection certificates, tank reports, or "POP" letters that look complete, sometimes using the marks of well-known firms, or with cargo details copied from a shipment that actually occurred. ICC's International Maritime Bureau has reported cases in which documents appeared to confirm a supply and matched a genuine cargo, yet independent checks showed an advance-fee fraud.

Who benefits, and who is targeted

The people selling the paper, or collecting a fee to "release" it, benefit. The targets are buyers of discount fuel or other cargoes who treat a scan as title. Good graphics do not change the point. IMB's own example involved better-quality documents that still failed a proper check.

The independent check

Send the certificate to the inspection firm through its published verification service, such as the official channel a firm maintains for branded reports. Confirm title and custody on their own tracks. If the seller refuses an independent check, or will only accept an inspector they control or a seller-controlled escrow, do not treat the report as verified. Related mechanisms are listed in the cluster overview.

Sources

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