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News
Wine investment scam alert
Concerns are mounting over the level of fraudulent activity in the fine wine investment markets. This week saw evidence that fraudsters are assuming the name of reputable firms to persuade would-be investors to part with their cash.
Lionel Nierop, managing director of online wine auction firm Bid For Wine, said: "I’d like to draw attention to what appears to be a new scam in the already murky world of wine investment – namely hijacking the name of an established business.
"The fraudsters then use the name to sell wines for investment, presumably with the intention of pocketing investors’ funds and leaving the legitimate business taking the heat.
"I became aware of the ‘scam’ yesterday evening after I was emailed by a gentleman wishing to complain about several cold calls made to him, ostensibly by one of my employees. The caller was apparently rude and persistent.
"The email was a surprise and puzzled me for several reasons:
"Firstly we do not solicit for business by cold-calling.
"Secondly we have no employee with the name I was given.
"Thirdly I am deeply sceptical about wine investment in general. This stems from regularly having to auction off stock for people who have been mis-sold wines as being suitable for investment and have then seen the deal gone sour. I would always advise anyone considering putting their money in to wine to look beyond the sales pitch and, if still convinced, only to purchase wines from serious, long standing ‘blue chip’ merchants.”
As the price of investment level wines continues to climb, this problem looks set to become increasingly commonplace, requiring ever more vigilance from the trade.
One particularly useful reference point and forum is Jim Budd’s investdrinks.org, which includes a blacklist of companies whose credentials are believed to be less than sound.
Gabriel Savage, 18.11.2010
Should you locate and purchase a rare and collectible wine, the best way I know to guard against being ripped off by online sales or auctions of any kind, Craigslist and eBay included—and whether seller or buyer—is to use a *bona fide* online escrow company. Especially for pricier items like antiques, jewelry and autos. Although it does add some cost, it takes the uncertainty out of the transaction, and that’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.
For my money, the best bona fide online escrow (and there seems to be ten fraudulent escrow sites for every bona fide one) is probably Escrow.com (http://escrow.com). In fact, it’s the only one that eBay recommends, and is the only online escrow company that is licensed to provide escrow services all across the United States.
PS. For more information about avoiding online scams and frauds, go to Online Escrow at WordPress.com (http://onlineescrow.wordpress.com/)