Buyer & Seller Protection

How to avoid fuel-trade scams — before they cost you time or money.

The terms "EN590," "Jet A1," "JP54," "D6," and "allocation" are among the most scam-saturated in B2B. A large share of the slick offers flooding LinkedIn and email come from bot farms manufacturing fake supply and fake demand. This is the standard M&B ML LLC applies to every counterparty — and the one you should apply too.

The Red Flags

If you see these, stop.

Most fraudulent "deals" trip at least one of these. Any single one is a reason to slow down and verify; several together mean walk away.

Any up-front money

"Pay the tank-storage / POP / unlock / clearance fee first." This is the #1 advance-fee fraud signal. Legitimate transactions never require payment before product is verified.

Free email for a "refinery" or major

A real refiner or trader uses a corporate domain — not gmail, yahoo, or outlook. No corporate email, no deal.

Price far below the market screen

Real EN590 / Jet A1 sits within roughly 5% of the published Platts screen for that port. "Less 20% below Platts" is a bot-farm pitch, not a deal.

Chat-only "mandates" & allocation holders

Telegram/WhatsApp-only sellers claiming a Rosneft/NNPC "allocation," with no registered entity or address. Real allocations are not brokered in group chats.

Fake dashboards showing big balances

Scammers build sites with fake dashboards "showing" millions — then demand a fee to withdraw. The balance isn't real.

JP54 "FOB Rotterdam, pay the dip first"

The classic dip-and-pay pattern. Verifiable proof of product comes before any payment — never the reverse.

Mandate-of-a-mandate chains

Long broker chains where everyone is "a mandate" usually have no real principal at the end. Stay close to the source.

Bank in a different name or country

When the payment bank doesn't match the stated company or jurisdiction, treat it as a fraud / laundering signal.

Our Standard

The verify-first bar we apply to every lead

A counterparty is worth your time only if it clears these. Most "deals" fail at the first three.

Corporate email on a verifiable domain

No gmail "trading desks." We confirm the domain and its age.

Real registered entity & physical address

Company-registry and switchboard checks — a story that survives a phone call.

Pricing within ~5% of the screen

Off-market "discounts" are disqualifying.

No up-front fees of any kind

No POP, storage, dip, or "part-payment" before verified proof of product.

Logical procedure & sequence

Verification of availability → SGS/dip test → then document and payment steps — in that order.

Documents in the right order

NCNDA/IMFPA signed before any introduction; the principal is protected first.

The Correct Sequence

What a real deal actually looks like

A legitimate physical transaction follows a documented path. If someone wants to skip steps or take payment before proof, that is the tell.

NCNDA / IMFPA signed → LOI / ICPO (buyer intent) ↔ SCO / FCO (seller offer) → SPA (sale agreement) → POP ↔ POF (proof of product / funds) → DLC / SBLC or verified tank transfer → SGS / Saybolt inspection → lifting / delivery → settlement (MT103) → commissions paid per IMFPA.