How can I tell if an Internet company is fraudulant?

Question

I purchased expedition travel insurance from IHI - http://www.ihi.com/english.asp but my bank refused the charge saying that they thought it was fraudulent (which isn't surprising, because I'm sending a lot of money to a company in Denmark). They said to have the insurance company resubmit it. I hadn't considered that the company I found on the Internet might actually be fraudulent. The whois record seems to check out - but how else would I be able to tell? Are there any resources out there to check this kind of thing?

Thanks for any input.

Answer 1

I did a little research on IHI, and it looks like they are a reputable company. They are owned by the British Union Provident Association (BUPA), which is a large international health insurance company.



From BUPA's website (link below): IHI is a Danish business that provides cover for some 240,000 private and corporate clients in more than 190 countries.

Answer 2

This does not appear to be a fraudulent company. You can ask a travel agent if they had complaints of this carrier not paying claims. One of the sure signs of a bogus net firm is a lack of a physical address and local phone number somewhere early in the site.



Check the address against lists from companies that rent virtual offices. Small firms with offices in the Sears Tower, Empire State Building or who have offices in nine cities world wide are usually full of it.



A poorly designed site is another giveaway. Also one that has not been updated in a long time. This is a company's face to the world. If it has not been kept current and accurate since 2001 what does this say about the company and its management?



There is a certain amount of hubris that often shows up on the sites of fraudsters, too. Read the wording carefully and you will note a difference between Slippery Joe's Investment Company and Merrill Lynch. Honest firms usually have no trouble listing their officers and if it is a publicly traded company its directors. There is no reason for the principals of a company to be hiding unless they want to.

Answer 3

There is a great little site that allows consumers to provide warnings about fraudulant companies, companies that aren't necessarily reported for fraud.



Go to www.ripoffreport.com and check them out there.

Answer 4

I don't know where you could check this company but I can tell you to be very very careful of anything like that. If you don't know the company you need to investigate thoroughly before you give them anything.