Verification and safety
An introduction is the start of due diligence.
Lead qualification can improve a conversation. It does not replace independent identity, product, document, payment or regulatory verification.
Practical safeguards
Verify before committing
Apply checks proportionate to the product, value, route, jurisdiction and counterparty. Seek professional advice where appropriate.
- Verify identity and business registration. Match legal names, addresses and authorised representatives.
- Verify licences and certifications. Check scope, validity, issuing body and product relevance.
- Request current product evidence. Ask for dated photographs, batch details and facility information.
- Verify samples and inspection results. Use representative samples and independent inspection where needed.
- Confirm bank details independently. Verify account changes through a separate trusted channel.
- Use written commercial agreements. Document specification, acceptance, remedies and responsibilities.
- Avoid undocumented advance payments. Use payment controls suited to the risk and transaction.
- Do not rely solely on WhatsApp. Preserve formal records and independently validate important claims.
- Report suspicious leads. Pause engagement when identities, evidence or payment requests are inconsistent.
- Meet regulatory requirements. Fish and food businesses must comply with applicable licensing, safety, labelling, import and export rules.
Platform boundary
What Fish & Spices does not verify automatically
A status of “Pending” means only that a lead has not completed review. It is not public verification. Fish & Spices does not guarantee identity, authority, product ownership, stock, test results, licences, payment capacity or performance.
Counterparties should verify documents with issuing bodies, inspect goods where appropriate, use written contracts and obtain legal, technical, customs, tax, banking or insurance advice for their transaction.