Every reference number tested. Every scam phrase flagged. Every reused document caught.
Independent: Vanguard Verify never verifies a deal in which any Vanguard entity is a buyer, seller or broker. Your documents and findings are confidential and never used for trading. Independence policy ›
A bank letter, bill of lading, SGS certificate, ICPO, a WhatsApp screenshot or something you found online. Upload it and we check how the file was made, read what it says, and compare it with every document we have already checked. If it is a known fake, you are told at once.
Prefer email? Forward the offer or document to verify@vtcgw.com. Red flags back by email.
Three deals we saw first-hand. Every one looked professional. Every one could have been stopped by a check that costs less than the bank charges.
A US buyer needed sunflower oil fast. The "exporter" sent professional-looking documents and asked for a factory-visit fee. The visit kept being delayed, so the buyer, under pressure, paid a 30% deposit for 5 containers, then another 30% for 6 more. Nothing was ever shipped. Only excuses arrived.
A "trading house" with flawless company documents, a professional website and confident directors claimed allocations from major refineries. Behind it: an offshore company registered in a secrecy jurisdiction, directors in two different countries, a recent name change, and a bank account in a third country, ready to discount the buyer's LC for cash. There was never any allocation.
A buyer presented an SBLC as proof that payment was guaranteed. It looked real: logo, SWIFT format, signatures. It was forged. A seller who loads cargo against a fake SBLC has no recourse.
Why the biggest frauds used the same papers twice: the shared registry ›
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Based on real cases seen by our founder. Names, places and details have been changed or removed.
How it works: watch a scam get caught, check digits, the six-step anatomy of a scam ›
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Enter the deal value to see how much is at risk.
A Vanguard field officer visits the plant or warehouse before you pay: GPS photos and video, report in 72 hours. Free Letter of Authority and inspection clause ›
If our check finds nothing you didn't already know, we refund you in full.
See all plans › Buyer & Seller Elite, add-ons, Full Deal Verification and the referral programme.
I spent years in documentary credits and SBLCs at a global bank, and then in credit-risk and fraud analytics at a global payments company. I thought I had seen every trick.
Vanguard Verify exists so you check first, and trade second.
— Founder, Vanguard Verify
Then, as a commodity broker, I watched it happen to the people I was working with. A buyer paid two deposits to an exporter who had nothing to ship. A "trading house" with perfect paperwork turned out to be an offshore shell waiting to cash someone's LC. A buyer handed over an SBLC that no bank had ever issued.
None of these frauds were clever. Nobody had simply checked them before the money moved.
Dubai South Free Zone · Reg. No. 13236 · Licence No. 14282
trade@vtcgw.com
The basic check is free forever, with no card: 5 basic checks a month per person, one document at a time, with the 25 automatic checks, the scam-wording scan, check digits and a registry match. You can also forward an offer to verify@vtcgw.com (5 email checks a month). Brokers get 3 free full deal checks. Paid plans can be reserved now at the founding price, charged only when paid plans open. After that: Broker Mandate is USD 50 a month for 30 deal checks (25 live checks each), then USD 5 per extra check; unused checks reset to zero every month. Trader is USD 299 a month for unlimited software deal checks on buyer and seller. Buyer Elite and Seller Elite are USD 1,999 a month with the Super Check; site visits and other add-ons are quoted per country. Verified Supplier is USD 99 a month. Enterprise starts at USD 6,000 a month. Annual billing: pay 10 months, get 12. Full Deal Verification is priced per deal. WhatsApp +1 (431) 538-0157 or email trade@vtcgw.com to pay.
Never trust the PDF, the letterhead or a SWIFT-style printout. Ask your own bank to authenticate the SBLC bank to bank, by SWIFT (an MT760 received by your bank from the issuing bank). Check the issuing bank's SWIFT/BIC code in the official SWIFT directory and call the bank on a number you found yourself, not the one on the document. "Leased" or "monetised" SBLCs and wording such as "ICC 600 regulations" or "UCP 700" are red flags. If your own bank has not confirmed it, it does not exist. Read the SBLC guide ›
Check every container number against its ISO 6346 check digit, then confirm the B/L number, container numbers, vessel and voyage directly with the shipping line on its own website or tracking service. Check the vessel's IMO number and position on an AIS tracker. Make sure the shipper, consignee and port match the contract. A scanned or emailed copy B/L is not title to the cargo, and the same B/L number appearing in two deals means one of them is fake. Vanguard Verify runs the check digits and the registry match for free.
Confirm the company in the official company register of its country, and check who owns it. Make sure the email domain matches the company website and that the website is not newly registered. Ask for proof of product (not proof of funds, which is the buyer's document) and confirm any refinery allocation directly with the refinery. Be wary of ICUMSA 45 offers far below market, upfront fees, "procedures" that ask the buyer to pay or open instruments first, and sellers writing from free webmail. Pay only through a confirmed letter of credit or licensed escrow released against documents you have verified.
An MT799 is a free-format message between banks. It does not move money, block funds or guarantee payment. Scammers ask for an MT799 "proof of funds", or offer one, to look serious, then ask for fees or use it to start a fake procedure. Real proof of funds comes from the buyer and is confirmed by your own bank, bank to bank. An offer that treats an MT799 as proof of funds or as a guarantee is a red flag. MT760 vs MT799 explained ›
Guides: What is an SBLC? · SBLC providers and leased SBLCs · MT760 vs MT799 · All guides ›
How it works · All 40 checks · The shared registry · Plans · Roadmap
Banks, platforms and investors: to pilot the shared registry, write to trade@vtcgw.com
The live demo, the five gates in full, every trick in the book, the check-digit maths behind every container and ship number, and the six steps every commodity scam follows.
An invented sugar offer, checked by the same rules you use. Five gates, a few seconds.
Registry and licence, sanctions screening, a company domain instead of Gmail, and no name that is one letter away from a real mill or refinery.
Funds confirmed bank to bank on a number you found yourself. MT799 "proof of funds", leased SBLCs and ICPOs dressed up as money are flagged on sight.
Bank instruments and SWIFT messages (LC, SBLC, MT760) are authenticated through your own bank, bank to bank. We never rely on a phone number or email given by the other side.
Fake ICC rules, prices far below market, and any bill of lading, certificate or account already used in another deal, the pattern behind the biggest frauds.
Container numbers pass ISO 6346, ship numbers pass the IMO check, stock confirmed at source, and an inspector you appoint and pay.
Confirmed LC or licensed escrow only. Upfront fees, advance wires and crypto-only payment stop the deal.
Bills of lading, containers, ship IMO numbers, IBANs, SWIFT codes, certificates and emails, pulled out of pasted text automatically.
Fake ICC rules, MT799 "proof of funds", leased SBLCs, upfront fees.
The same document in two deals is stopped on sight.
ISO 6346, ISO 13616, IMO and ISO 9362, tested in milliseconds.
One letter off a real refinery is flagged as impersonation.
Enter your own sourced benchmark. Offers far below it light up, because a price 35% under market is bait, not luck.
Container and ship numbers carry built-in check digits. A forger typing a number from imagination fails ten times out of eleven, and the checker sees it instantly.
The last digit of a real container number is calculated from the first ten, under ISO 6346. Type any number and watch the math. A forger who guesses gets it wrong 10 times out of 11.
ICUMSA 45 offered 30–40% below market, "direct from the mill".
Gate 3 · price far below benchmarkA seller on Gmail whose name is one letter off a real refinery.
Gate 1 · webmail + look-alike name"Send ICPO and MT799 proof of funds, governed by ICC 600."
Gates 2 + 3 · fake rules, MT799 is not moneyA "copy B/L" as proof of product, lifted from someone else's shipment.
Gates 3 + 4 · reused document, bad check digit"Pay a USD 25,000 legal fee to release the documents."
Gate 5 · upfront fee before proofFee paid, phones off, no cargo. Unless you checked first.
Stopped at step 01Most commodity scams are not clever.
They are simply never checked.
No. Your documents are read in your browser and never leave your device. For the live checks, only company names, website and email domains, and bank account numbers go to our server. We record your email and phone to count your checks.
No tool can. It finds red flags and tells you exactly what a person still has to confirm: the bank call, the site visit, the inspection. A clean result means no red flags in what you provided.
Brokers introducing parties, buyers about to pay, sellers about to ship. Each side gets its own checklist.
Any bulk physical commodity. The rules are tuned for sugar, soybean products, edible oils, cement and clinker, coffee and grains.
25 automatic checks run on every deal, on the buyer and the seller together. 15 more unlock after three months on Broker Mandate or ten referrals, and come with Buyer and Seller Elite from day one.
How the registry catches a document used in two deals without revealing anyone's papers, how a Deal Passport is verified in one scan, and why Qingdao and Hin Leong made it necessary.
Warehouse receipts for the same metal were pledged to several banks at once. Nobody could see the duplicates.
Two Singapore traders collapsed after documents and cargoes were presented to more than one lender.
Every bill of lading, container, account and certificate fingerprinted once. When it appears in a second deal, everyone is warned, and nobody sees anyone else's documents.
computing…Each number is turned into a one-way code before it is stored. The code can be matched, never reversed: members see that a document was used before, not whose deal it was.
Every completed check becomes a sealed passport. Send it to the other side; they scan the code and see it is genuine, current and unchanged.
Every line is factual: live means you can use it today.
Three steps: tell us your side, paste what you were sent, and answer what has been checked by a person. The result sorts everything into the five gates.
Your saved checks, and three sample reports showing what a broker, a buyer and a seller each get.
When you save a check, its bill of lading, container, inspection certificate and SWIFT numbers, bank accounts, emails and company names are stored here as one-way codes. If the same document turns up in another deal, the checker stops it. One shipment has one set of documents.
Add the exact legal names of real mills, refineries and producers you deal with. Any company in a deal whose name is one or two letters off will be flagged as a likely impersonation.
A bank will not confirm anything about its customer to a stranger. If a counterparty sends you a bank letter or proof of funds, ask them to sign this. It lets the bank answer three yes/no questions and nothing more. If they refuse to sign, treat the bank letter as unproven.
Founding prices are reserved now and charged only when paid plans open. No card today.
Prove the buyer and the seller are real before you put your name on the introduction.
If our check finds nothing you didn't already know, we refund you in full.
Independent: Vanguard Verify never verifies a deal in which any Vanguard entity is a buyer, seller or broker. Your documents and findings are confidential and never used for trading.
Check every offer before you open an LC, without paying for a case officer.
If our check finds nothing you didn't already know, we refund you in full.
Independent: Vanguard Verify never verifies a deal in which any Vanguard entity is a buyer, seller or broker. Your documents and findings are confidential and never used for trading.
Super Check. Software and people prove the seller, the cargo and the papers are real before you pay.
If our check finds nothing you didn't already know, we refund you in full.
Independent: Vanguard Verify never verifies a deal in which any Vanguard entity is a buyer, seller or broker. Your documents and findings are confidential and never used for trading.
Super Check. Software and people prove the buyer and their money are real before you load a container.
If our check finds nothing you didn't already know, we refund you in full.
Independent: Vanguard Verify never verifies a deal in which any Vanguard entity is a buyer, seller or broker. Your documents and findings are confidential and never used for trading.
Prove you are real once. Let every buyer check it in one click.
If our check finds nothing you didn't already know, we refund you in full.
How the network works ›Independent: Vanguard Verify never verifies a deal in which any Vanguard entity is a buyer, seller or broker. Your documents and findings are confidential and never used for trading.
Verification for public procurement and trade-finance desks.
Independent: Vanguard Verify never verifies a deal in which any Vanguard entity is a buyer, seller or broker. Your documents and findings are confidential and never used for trading.
When software is not enough, we send people. Each add-on is quoted per country and per deal.
We verify your whole deal, from the first offer to the final payment. One dedicated case officer checks both sides, every document and every hand-over point, and you only move to the next step when the last one is proven.
Both companies, owners, licences and sanctions verified.
Offer, contract, B/L, certificates and bank letters examined and cross-checked.
Instruments and proof of funds confirmed bank to bank.
Stock confirmed at source; inspection by an inspector you appoint.
LC or escrow structure reviewed so money moves only against proof.
Vessel, containers and bill of lading confirmed with the carrier.
Discharge and document release checked before payment is released.
A sealed record of every check, for both sides.
Reserve a founding price now: no card, no payment today. It is charged only when paid plans open. Every basic check is free forever (5 a month), and brokers get 3 free full deal checks. Questions: WhatsApp +1 (431) 538-0157 or trade@vtcgw.com. A checking service, not a guarantee of any deal.
| Broker | Trader | Buyer Elite | Seller Elite | Full Deal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Checks per deal | 25 (40 after 3 months or 10 referrals) | All 40 | All 40 + Super Check | All 40 + Super Check | Everything |
| Deal checks included | 30 a month, then $5 each | Unlimited (software) | Every deal | Every deal | One deal, end to end |
| Document scan (wording, check digits, container owner) | ✓ | ✓ + forensics | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live domain, email, website, LEI and bank checks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ both sides |
| Official registry, owners, sanctions screening | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ both sides |
| Shared fraud registry | Look up | Alerts | Contribute + look up | Contribute + look up | ✓ |
| Bank-to-bank confirmation | — | — | Seller account | Buyer funds + LC bank | ✓ all instruments |
| Proof of product at source | — | — | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Site visit, loading, lab test | — | Add-on (from $450) | Add-on | Add-on | ✓ coordinated |
| Referral commission | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
| LC / contract review | — | — | Payment structure | Draft LC | ✓ full |
| Loading, voyage and release checks | — | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Dedicated case officer | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Trade Passport | Introduction-Grade | Standard | Settlement-Grade | Settlement-Grade | Settlement-Grade |
| Team seats | 1 | 2 | Case officer | Case officer | Case officer |
| Price (monthly · annual) | $50/mo · $500/yr | $299/mo · $2,990/yr | $1,999/mo · $19,990/yr | $1,999/mo · $19,990/yr | Per deal |
Unlimited checks for your whole team, a dedicated analyst, tender-winner verification before LC opening, registry access and an API (pilot). Talk to us ›
Download a sample Trade Passport from an invented sugar deal: every gate, every red flag, and the final grade.
Serious sellers show their Passport. Serious buyers ask for it.
Software cannot stand in a warehouse or call a bank. Settlement-Grade checks are done by local verifiers who visit the plant, see the cargo, and phone the bank on a number they found themselves.
Visit the plant or warehouse, confirm the company operates there, photograph signage and stock with date and location, match the stock to the offer.
Find the bank's number from its own website or the SWIFT directory, never from the document, and confirm the instrument, amount and beneficiary.
Pull the official company record and match directors, address and licence to what the counterparty sent.
Vanguard Verify is built by Vanguard Trade Capital Goods Wholesalers DWC-LLC, Dubai South Free Zone, UAE (licence 14282). Contact: trade@vtcgw.com.
It reads text you paste and tests identifiers against published check-digit standards (ISO 13616 for IBANs, ISO 6346 for container numbers, the IMO ship number rule, ISO 9362 format for BICs). It looks for wording described in fraud warnings from the ICC and law-enforcement agencies, records what you confirm by hand, and sorts the results into five gates. It runs in your browser; we do not receive what you paste.
It is not a guarantee that a deal, document, company or payment is genuine, and it is not legal, financial or compliance advice. A document can pass every check here and still be forged. Do not send money, open a letter of credit or release documents or cargo on this result alone.
Saved checks and fingerprints are kept in your browser's storage only. Fingerprints are one-way codes. You can erase everything from "My registry".
Links to GLEIF, sanctions lists, domain lookups and ship registries go to those organisations' own websites. Their terms apply. We are not affiliated with them.
To the extent the law allows, Vanguard is not liable for any loss arising from reliance on the free checker. Paid services will be governed by a separate written agreement.
Brokers, buyers and sellers get different checks and prices, so we confirm your side once. Your role is then locked to this email. To change it later, contact us.
Brokers get 3 free deal checks. Enter your business email and phone so we can count them. Your documents stay in your browser and are never uploaded.
Free checks are for brokers only. Buyers and sellers get full verification after payment, with people checking the company, the money and the cargo.
If our check finds nothing you didn't already know, we refund you in full.
Independent: Vanguard Verify never verifies a deal in which any Vanguard entity is a buyer, seller or broker. Your documents and findings are confidential and never used for trading.
Founding prices are reserved now and charged only when paid plans open. Meanwhile, every basic check is free.
You'll get the founding price for life when paid plans open. Meanwhile, every basic check is free.
Reserve a founding price to unlock unlimited checks. Your free basic checks start again on the 1st of next month.
The sunflower-oil buyer in Case 1 would have paid $450 for a site visit.
Before you pay, a Vanguard field officer visits the plant or warehouse: GPS photos and video, report in 72 hours.
We'll confirm the officer and the Letter of Authority within 24 hours.