Drop shipping scam prompts search of 5 firms

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Police searched about a dozen locations Tuesday related to five Tokyo companies connected with suspected illegal practices related to drop shipping.

The Metropolitan Police Department search follows a May 27 raid of Site Inc., a Web-related company in Taito Ward, Tokyo, that allegedly provided false information to a Kawasaki woman, telling her she would get a return on her investment in a drop shipping business in a few months.

Drop shipping is an Internet-based business in which a contractor sells products via a Web site and then relays the orders to a wholesaler or manufacturer for shipment and payment.

After examining materials seized during the raid on Site and further investigations, the MPD believes it is highly likely the five companies and Site are part of the same criminal group.

The companies are suspected of violating the Specified Commercial Transactions Law for providing false information and other charges.

The locations searched Tuesday included the Tokyo offices of Top Co. in Taito Ward and Navi Ltd. in Chuo Ward.

At least three of the five companies are believed to have solicited customers by using the same method as Site, and consumer affairs centers across the nation have received complaints about them.