12. I would like to check the credentials of a potential business partner. How should I go about it?

Please write an email to hoc[dot]budapest[at]mea[dot]gov[dot]in and mkt[dot]budapest[at]mea[dot]gov[dot]in giving the name and contact details of the company. Embassy of India will check the company and will send a response.

13. How do I avoid potential trade fraud?

Please note that trade-related fraud cases do happen in international trade and Hungary is one example.

Usually the Seller company has a generic website with pictures available from the Internet, promising to sell goods at a good price, i.e metal, aluminium scrap, A4 paper, etc. These fraudsters typically offer delivery against 50% advance payment, then they would be asking the balance amount. In either case the shipment will not be made.

(ii)These fraudsters usually pose with the credentials of the real company but have a different website. Typically, the website address ends with a ‘.com extension’, and has a Contact Us box and one mobile number as contact detail. Please note, that almost all companies in Hungary have a .hu extension. Furthermore, most companies have multiple landlines and not just a single mobile number. They also have full contact details.

A few examples of fraudulent websites masquerading as genuine ones:

• http://www.ferplastikhulladek.com
• http://agroetanolkft.com
• http://www.eduttikft.com
• http://www.nordtekimex.com
• http://deltaplast.com
• http://www.kertlandtrade.com
• http://www.hktradegroup.com
• http://premiumkft.com
• http://gramexkft.com
• http://www.kondicadkft.com
• http://www.csatarirecycling.com
• http://www.scraptop2005kft.com
• http://www.hidrasorkft.com
• http://www.hidrasor.com
• http://agroagrando.com
• http://fonolitkft.com
• https://www.zimkerkft.com
• https://www.agrobiosan.com
• http://bestagrokft.com
• http://scrapconsultingkft.com
• www.copy-paperkft.com
• www.cosmeticselitkerpluszkft.com
• https://www.phoenixpharmazrt.com
• http://www.copy-paperkft.com
• https://bakonyrentalscrapkft.com
• https://www.maeskft.net
• https://vasglobalkft.com
• https://amediskereskedelmikft.com/
• https://acsagrokft.com/
• https://bcomkft.com/
• dekotradingkft.com

Please always check the website and details of the company for any suspicious signs before making advance payment. If you are not sure please send an email to hoc.budapest@mea.govin or mkt[dot]budapest[at]mea[dot]gov[dot]in for assistance. Embassy has written to the local authorities to curb such fraudulent websites, and continue to take up case by case.

14. What is a Cyber-fraud and how to avoid becoming a victim?

Embassy of India, Budapest has received several cases of cyber-fraud in the past. In these cases a hacker intercedes business correspondence between the legitimate Buyer and Seller, then acting on behalf of the selling company instructs the Buyer to make payment to a new bank account, citing various reasons. Once the payment is made, the fraudsters either transfer the payment to various other bank accounts or take it out in cash within short notice from the local bank office. By the time the fraud is exposed, usually the money has already disappeared. Unfortunately in this case a quick action by the Police is necessary to freeze the fraudulent bank account for any hope of recovery.

To avoid becoming a victim to a cyber-fraud, it is recommended that

• make sure that the password to your email account is regularly modified;
• business deals through email should be backed up with documents, phone calls, meetings, etc, especially when dealing with a new business partner;
• take clear note of the bank accounts of the business partner, and should there be a sudden change, a second confirmation through telephone and other means is advisable;
• ask the bank for verification of the given bank account ;
• notify the Embassy asap, so that it may forward the complaint for an early Police intervention

15. A Cyber-fraud has happened. My company was tricked to make the bank transfer to a false bank account. How can you help?

1. Please notify your bank, so that it can contact the other bank in SWIFT message to take action.

2. In such cases however only the police can order the bank to freeze the given bank account. Therefore it is best that the Cyber Crime Department of your area in India and the Financial Intelligence Unit http://fiuindia.gov.in/contactus.htm is contacted, which in turn will contact the Hungarian Police Authority which shall refer the case to the regional directorate based on the bank address involved. The FIU can order the bank to freeze the account for two days allowing police to ask the bank to freeze the account another two days pending investigation.

Please make sure you provide full company credentials to the authorities substantiating your claim. However immediate action is required, as the fraudsters take the money as soon as possible. Please note, that as the strict privacy law does not allow any data from bank account holders to be given by banks, only the police can take appropriate action, once the facts have been established.

3. Contact details of the Hungarian National Police - Criminal Directorate International Law Enforcement Cooperation Centre (Interpol contact) are the following:

Address: 1139 Budapest Teve u. 4-6.
Tel: +36 14435557
+36 14435815 (Fax)
Email: intercom@nebek.police.hu , kgbefo.brfk@budapest.police.hu

4. Also, the Prosecutors office may offer a fast pace police investigation blocking the account of the fraudulent individual if approached directly. Please note that the method of retrieving money from such a fraudster account to the victimized company can only happen at the direct request of the victim company either to the police as detailed earlier and/or directly to the Prosecutor Generals Office for faster action.

The request must contain:

-Official claiming letter that the company wants its money back
-Bank account number to which the money should be transferred
-Request for unfreezing and transfer back of the money
-The official letter has to have an official signature and should contain the attachment document certifying that the person represents the company (i.e. certification of registration by the Registrar of companies, official company details by Registrar of companies, Signature specimen, etc).

-The official number of the police procedure

5. The official letter has to be sent to the relevant County (capital) Prosecutor General’s Office that is dealing with the case. This information is provided by the police investigation authority.

6. Only after these datas are available and the proper authorities are notified (and the money has been identified as available on the frozen bank account) can the money be transferred back to the victim’s account.

7. It is requested that all above documents in email and post be sent to the Budapest Prosecutor Generals Office at fov.fou@mku.hu, fovaros.fou@mku.hu

Address: 1054 Budapest, Akadémia u. 13. // Postal Address 1881 Budapest, Pf.: 13.

8. Police kindly ask that in all cases a report must be also filed to Indian police authorities, which will communicate to the Hungarian police through NEBEK Nemzetközi Bűnügyi Együtműködési Központ “Centre for International Criminal Investigation Cooperation”

9. We are at your disposal to take up the matter in Hungary.
   
   

16. Database of Trade inquiries

All trade inquiries / business proposals received from Indian companies as well as from companies to which this Embassy is accredited, namely, Hungary and Bosnia & Herzegovina, are listed in a searchable format for the ease of reference and response.

For registering your company with the Embassy click on the below :
Register - Indian Commercial Company

The inquiry would be placed on our Embassy website.
For More Details Contact Us

Indian trade inquiries can be viewed by clicking below:
2016 Jan-> 2023
Click here to download

Hungarian and Bosnian trade inquiries
2015 Jan-> 2023
Click here to download