A Canton Fair order is agreed. The buyer sends a payment receipt. The supplier sees no funds. Before either side insists the other must bear the loss, check the payment instructions.

Was there an email changing the beneficiary account? Who sent it, who could authorize it, and how was it verified?

This is a hypothetical trading scenario, not a report of an incident at this fair. Historical warnings from SINOSURE and China's commercial office in Cyprus describe account changes involving impersonated or compromised email communications.

An account-change procedure belongs in the transaction itself: identify authorized contacts, agree an independent verification route, and make sure sales, finance and dispatch use consistent instructions. Call a previously verified contact; a new number inside a suspicious message is not independent confirmation.

If funds have already moved, contact the bank promptly about tracing and possible recall, report suspected fraud, and preserve original emails, headers, contracts and payment records. Recovery is uncertain. Liability requires review of the contract, applicable law, authority and communications, rather than a blanket assumption about either party.

For a scoped, paid review of a China-related trade contract or dispute evidence, agree the service and fee before sending materials for substantive review.

Mike Wu | China-licensed cross-border attorney | Guangzhou | wzklaw.com/contact.php?source=linkedin