The Petroleum Scam Bot Farms: Why There Is No Product, No Buyer, No Seller
The Petroleum Bot Farm Scam: No Product, No Buyer, No Seller
Your inbox is full of it: slick emails pushing EN590, Jet A1, LNG, Mazut, and a dozen other products from Rotterdam, Fujairah, Houston, and “various ports in the Middle East.” They ask for an ICPO, they promise flexible CIF or FOB, and they sign off with two WhatsApp numbers and a free mailbox. These messages are not from traders. They are from bot farms. The same networks manufacture fake supply and fake demand, then trap brokers in a paperwork circus that never closes.
There is no discount. Cargoes settle at market price against benchmarks like Platts or Argus with narrow operational diffs. No genuine supplier hunts for buyers on Gmail. In the bot farm “market” there is no product, no buyer, no seller. Only victims in the middle.
How the real petroleum supply chain works
- Production: Refineries turn crude into diesel, jet, LPG, gasoline, etc., in planned runs.
- Allocation: Output is pre-sold under term contracts to vetted counterparties: majors, NOCs, large traders, and downstream groups with credit lines.
- Scheduling: Nominations, vetting, and survey slots are set in advance. Cargoes are not “waiting” for strangers.
- Docs and title: Title moves on contract milestones backed by B/L, Q&Q, inspection reports, and bank-confirmed settlement paths.
- Settlement: Index-linked pricing (Platts or Argus) plus or minus small, explainable diffs for quality and logistics. No magic 10 to 30 percent markdowns.
Because of this structure, genuine suppliers never cold-email for buyers. Sales are managed by commercial teams and banks inside established relationships.
The “discount” myth
Real cargoes price to market on the lift date or a set window. You might see cents-per-barrel or small percentage adjustments for quality, freight, or storage economics. You will not see deep, public discounts offered to unknowns over WhatsApp. When you see “Jet A1 at less 20 percent,” you are looking at a bot farm pitch.
Bot farms: how the fraud engine runs
- Scrape and blast: Bot farms scrape emails from trade directories and LinkedIn, then blast millions of messages through throwaway servers.
- Template shuffle: They rotate names, ports, and products. Same pitch, new skin, every week.
- Two masks: One operation poses as the “seller,” another as the “buyer mandate.” They connect both sides to create the illusion of deal flow.
- Fee trap: After NDAs and ICPOs, they push for an “inspection fee,” “SGS,” “performance bond,” or “title transfer cost,” then vanish.
Direct quotes from the bot farm circus
“Are you in need of petroleum products, or do you represent a buyer?”
“We currently have available allocations for EN590 10PPM, Aviation Fuel, D6 Virgin Fuel… FOB terms.”
“Our refineries can deliver promptly to any safe world port under CIF, FOB, and TTO terms.”
“Submit an Irrevocable Confirmed Purchase Order (ICPO) upon acceptance of our seller procedures.”
“Loaded vessel in high sea ready for serious buyer to take over the vessel.”
Real vs. bot farm: side-by-side
| Real petroleum trade | Bot farm scam |
|---|---|
| Term contracts, vetted counterparties, bank lines in place | Cold emails to strangers harvested by bots |
| Corporate emails, credit procedures, compliance | Gmail, Yahoo, Mail.ru with mismatched phone country codes |
| Index pricing (Platts/Argus) with tight diffs | Fantasy “less 10 to 30 percent” discounts |
| Specific grades and ports tied to refinery runs | Lists of 10+ products from 6+ ports worldwide |
| B/L, Q&Q, inspector of record, bank-to-bank settlement | ICPO, SCO, NCNDA, then a “small” upfront fee |
Why brokers are the only ones who lose
The bot farm market is closed-loop fiction. The seller is fake. The buyer is fake. The only real people are the brokers grinding through NCNDAs, procedures, and group chats. Time is burned, reputations are dented, and some pay bogus fees. That is the whole game.
No product. No buyer. No seller. No discounts. If someone you do not know offers EN590 or Jet A1 via WhatsApp or Gmail, treat it as fraud and walk away.
Common red flags at a glance
| Signal | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| “Allocations available” across multiple continents | Scripted bot farm copy, not how refinery scheduling works |
| Requests for ICPO before KYC or credit | They want paperwork theater, not a transaction |
| “High-sea” takeovers | Title chains do not move that way, ever |
| Two WhatsApp numbers from different countries | Throwaway comms rotated to dodge spam filters |
| Gmail or Mail.ru for a so-called refinery mandate | No corporate infra, no bankable counterparty |
What to do instead
- Do not reply. Replies confirm your email is live and feed the bot farm lists.
- Never pay inspection, storage, title, or surety costs to strangers.
- Do not issue ICPOs to unknown counterparties. They are meaningless outside a real credit process.
- If a colleague is hooked, cut losses fast. There is nothing to rescue.
Need a fast verdict on a petroleum pitch? We issue a two-page verification memo that states the facts and calls the fraud. No fluff.
Request a Verification MemoBot farms thrive on optimism and inexperience. Make it policy: no Gmail petroleum offers, no ICPOs to strangers, no upfront fees, full stop.
Want a training deck for your staff on bot farm commodity scams with real examples and a red-flag checklist?
Get the Training PackFinancely Group is an advisor and arranger to verified, post-revenue clients. We do not broker petroleum products and we do not guarantee funding or trade outcomes. All work is subject to KYC/AML, sanctions screening, legal review, and a signed engagement. Private, professional audiences only.
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