Warning: Fraud When Buying Shipping Containers! How to Buy Safely and Avoid Being Scammed
The market for shipping containers has been experiencing enormous growth in recent years. Shipping containers have become a popular solution for storage, goods transport, and also for building modular homes, garages, and pop-up shops. With the growing demand, however, a dangerous trend is unfortunately emerging: fraudulent e-shops, fake social media profiles, and fictitious advertisements are on the rise, whose sole aim is to extract a deposit from you for goods you will never see.
Scammers have gone so far in their fraudulent practices that they do not hesitate to abuse the good name of established companies. The company HZ CONTAINERS and HZ KONTEJNERY has become the target of massive misuse of photographs, logos, and corporate identity by scammers from all over the world.
In this detailed article, we will explain how scammers operate, how they illegally abuse our trademarks, how we actively fight these elements, and most importantly – how to recognize a fraudulent offer website or profile and avoid being robbed of your money.
Misuse of the HZ CONTAINERS and HZ KONTEJNERY Brand by Scammers: What Does Reality Look Like?
Our company HZ CONTAINERS s.r.o. and HZ KONTEJNERY s.r.o. prides itself on the top quality of the containers offered, transparent conduct, and detailed photo documentation of the containers we supply and modify. Every one of our containers is marked with an identification label, and our logo and branding HZ KONTEJNERY and HZ CONTAINERS are clearly visible in the photographs.
Unfortunately, it is precisely the high quality of our photographs and the trustworthiness of our brand that has attracted internet scammers.
How Scammers Abuse Our Photos and Trademarks
Scammers around the world massively download real photographs of containers from our depot and our official websites and subsequently publish them on their fake e-shops, social networks, or advertising portals.
- Misuse of photos with the logo: Scammers present containers on which the HZ KONTEJNERY logo is directly affixed as their own warehouse stock.
- Illegal use of the multiply protected name: The registered trademarks HZ KONTEJNERY and HZ CONTAINERS are being misused in the names of fraudulent websites, profiles, and domains.
- Misuse of our container modifications: Pictures of our specially modified containers (e.g., containers with cutouts for windows and doors, side-opening doors, or special coatings) are offered by scammers at fractional prices.
WARNING: If you see a photo of a container with the HZ KONTEJNERY or HZ CONTAINERS label on any third-party e-shop or foreign advertising portal, it is a FRAUD!
Concrete Examples of Fraudulent Profiles and Advertisements from Practice
To give you an idea of how sophisticated and brazenly scammers operate, we have prepared for you real screenshots of fraudulent advertisements and websites that we have uncovered and dealt with.
1. Fake Advertising on International Advertising Portals (South Asia and Africa)
Scammers create accounts on international B2B and advertising platforms (e.g., IndiaMART or Jiji), where they offer containers directly from our Czech depots at absurdly low prices.
- Example: On the IndiaMART portal, a fraudulent Indian company posts a photograph of our red 40ft High Cube container (including the HZ KONTEJNERY label affixed) and presents it as their own goods from Navi Mumbai.
- Example 2: On the Nigerian portal Jiji, a scammer posts our yellow and red 20ft container directly with our logo and HZKU code.
Fraudulent advertising on the IndiaMART portal misusing a real photo of a container we supplied with the HZ KONTEJNERY logo.
Example of misuse of a photo of a yellow and red HZ container on the African Jiji portal
2. Fraudulent E-Shops in Europe (Italy, France, Germany, and Others)
In Europe, scammers often create entire fraudulent websites and e-shops that look professional at first glance. They download a photo gallery from our website and offer our containers with a huge “discount.”
- Example: The Italian fraudulent e-shop Container Innovation or Truck Container offers our 40ft container with 4 side doors or a 10ft white container. The HZ KONTEJNERY logo is clearly visible in the photograph, but the website operates under a completely different identity and requires advance payment to an anonymous bank account.
- Example 2: Another fraudulent e-shop (e.g., TrustBoxCo) offers containers across Europe. The offer includes directly our photos of containers with our unique HZKU codes (e.g., HZKU 364 217-4 or HZKU 070 595-6).
Fraudulent Italian e-shop luring with fictitious discounts using photos of HZ containers.
Fake website offering our 10ft container under a foreign name “Truck Container”.
Catalog of the fraudulent website trustboxco.com filled with photos from the HZ CONTAINERS depot with unique HZKU codes.
3. Fake Profiles on Social Networks (Facebook, Instagram)
Social networks are the easiest place for scammers to reach victims. They create fake pages named HZ Containers, steal our logo, and act in our name.
- Example: A fake Facebook profile named HZ Containers, with its location set to, for example, Uruguay, has no available posts, but attempts to write to customers in messages offering container sales.
- Example 2: An Instagram profile under the name
hz_containerstargeting the French-speaking market (Vente de conteneurs). It stole our graphic materials, promotional flyers with the HZ CONTAINERS logo, and offers our modified 40’HC container with cutouts for the price of €4,500, requiring a 35% deposit in advance. - Example 3: A Facebook profile operating in Italian, offering wheels for containers and using our name and logo.
Fake personal/company profile on Facebook based in Uruguay misusing the HZ Containers name.
Fake Instagram account targeting France, misusing our logo and graphic materials.
Fraudulent Facebook page offering container accessories under our visual identity.
How We Fight Against Scammers? Uncompromisingly and Immediately!
We want to assure you that the company HZ CONTAINERS s.r.o. and HZ KONTEJNERY s.r.o. in no way tolerates the illegal conduct of scammers. We actively protect both our customers and our legally protected brands.
Legal Protection of the HZ KONTEJNERY and HZ CONTAINERS Brands
The brands HZ KONTEJNERY and HZ CONTAINERS are registered trademarks. Any unauthorized use, copying of the logo, misuse of the name, or use of copyrighted photographs without our written consent constitutes a violation of the law and copyright.
Our Steps When Fraud is Detected
As soon as we detect a fraudulent advertisement, a fraudulent e-shop, or an illegal profile:
- We immediately contact domain providers and web hosting services with a request for immediate blocking (Take-Down notice) due to trademark and copyright infringement.
- We have fraudulent profiles blocked decisively on social networks (Meta – Facebook, Instagram) and on advertising portals (Jiji, IndiaMART, etc.).
- We take legal steps and file complaints with the relevant law enforcement authorities in cases where consumers are being harmed.
Thanks to our pressure and quick response, we manage to successfully shut down dozens of fraudulent websites and profiles. However, scammers constantly create new ones – which is why your vigilance is the most powerful weapon.
How to Detect Scammers When Buying a Container: Step-by-Step Guide
To avoid becoming a victim of fraud, we have prepared for you a list of Warning Signals (so-called Red Flags) and rules for safe purchasing.
Warning Signs That It’s a Fraud
1. Suspiciously Low Price
If someone offers you a shipping container in perfect condition (e.g., Cargo Worthy or IICL) at a price that is 30% to 60% lower than the normal market price, it is 99% a fraud. The container market has its global prices for steel and logistics. No one will sell you a quality container below cost.
2. Pressure for Advance Payment (Deposit) Without the Option of Personal Inspection
Scammers will constantly pressure you to transfer money quickly (cancellation fee, 35% deposit, reservation). If you request a personal inspection of the container at the depot, they will make excuses that it is not possible for security reasons, that the depot is inaccessible, or that the container is currently on its way.
3. Inconsistencies in Contact Details and Bank Accounts
- The seller’s address is given as being in the Czech Republic, but the bank account for payment is directed abroad (often Lithuania, Spain, Poland, Germany, or developing countries).
- The email address is on a free domain (e.g.,
@gmail.com,@yahoo.com,@outlook.com) instead of an official company domain. - The phone number is unavailable; they communicate only via WhatsApp or social media messages.
4. Nonsense in the Description and Photos
- In the photo, there is a container with the HZ KONTEJNERY or HZ CONTAINERS logo, but the seller is called something completely different.
- The product description is clearly translated by an automatic translator (bad English, strange expressions).
- The container code in the photograph (the so-called BIC code / owner code, e.g., HZKU…) does not match the declared seller.
Principles of Safe Purchasing at HZ CONTAINERS
Do you want to have 100% certainty that you are buying a real container from a reputable Czech company? Follow these rules:
- Buy ONLY through official channels:
- Official Czech website: https://hz-containers.com/cs/
- Always check the URL in your browser.
- Verify the company details:
- Our companies are HZ KONTEJNERY s.r.o., ID No.: 03975177, and HZ CONTAINERS s.r.o., ID No.: 07252277, based in the Czech Republic. You can find all our official contacts in the Contact Information section on our website.
- Possibility of inspection at the depot:
- You can inspect our containers at our depot in Třebíč by appointment. A serious seller will never block your access to inspect the goods.
- Transparent invoicing:
- Payments are made to our official company bank accounts held at reputable banking institutions.
Conclusion: Don’t Get Scammed, Buy from Verified Experts
Purchasing a shipping container represents an investment in the range of tens to hundreds of thousands of Czech crowns. Do not be tempted by unrealistically advantageous offers from anonymous profiles on social networks or fake e-shops that parasitize on our good name.
If you come across any offer that misuses photos or the name HZ KONTEJNERY / HZ CONTAINERS outside our official website hz-containers.com, we ask you – do not hesitate to contact us immediately and report the advertisement to us. You will help protect other honest customers from losing money.
Do you want to be sure of a quality container, clear origin, and professional service?
Browse our current container offer directly on our official website or contact our sales team.
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