Financial crime can affect the entire world, from the individual to the entire economy.

Some criminals pose as businesses to scam you out of money or commit other crimes.

It is important to be aware of who you are actually doing business with.

Doing business out of your own country can be especially dangerous, since you can’t verify the company with your own sight.

When doing business in Asia, it is good to know how to do a Taiwan company check or a Singapore company check.

How to do a company check

The process of doing a company check is different per country and at times per region.

Some countries make it easy to verify a company’s legitimacy, and others have fewer rules when it comes to registering businesses.

The first step in doing a company check anywhere in the world is asking for a business licence or registration numbers.

In Taiwan, businesses opened before 2001 will have a business licence, but any opened after then you will likely find that they will show you their registration document.

To verify the information, you will need to hire a company to do the check, due to language barriers, or use the department of commerce site.

For Singapore businesses, you would check the information with the National Business Registry of Singapore, ACRA — this can be done with just a company name and verified by matching the UEN (registered identification numbers).

roadblocks or red flags

One of the biggest roadblocks you may have when doing a company check in Singapore or Taiwan is the language barrier.

Most information on licences, registration, and government sites is in the country's native language, not English.

If you have done a company check and notice that the information does not match, you may be dealing with a scammer or criminal.

Other red flags that may indicate an illegitimate business are:

• Refusal to provide information
• Aggressive attitude
• Or acting sketchy

What to do if you encounter an issue

So, you found an illegitimate business from another country, now what?

The first step is to save all the evidence — any proof you did business with them, their licence information, or registration, and any messages that may prove their guilt.

After saving the information, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in America, the attorney general, or the local government for the country the company is in.

By filing a report, you help keep the business from scamming anyone else or committing other crimes.

Doing business internationally can be beneficial in saving you money and the ability to find things not available in your home country, but it can be dangerous.

It is vital to know how to do a Taiwan company check or a Singapore company check if you are doing business in these countries.

Checking the business licence information against the information filed with the government is the best way to know if the business is legitimate.

If you find an illegitimate business, do not exchange money with them and report them to the FTC or their local government.