Verify Before You Pay
Check It Before You Send the Money
A payment is easy to send and often impossible to reverse. If you're about to pay a person, seller, supplier or 'investment' you only know through a screen, this is where you check it first.
Why timing matters
Verification works before payment, not after
Once money has left your account, your options narrow sharply. Before it leaves, they are much wider.
Payment recovery, chargebacks and fraud reports are handled by banks, payment providers and law enforcement, and outcomes vary widely and cannot be guaranteed by anyone. Pre-payment verification is a different exercise entirely: it establishes whether the person, company or opportunity you are dealing with holds up against publicly available information, before you are financially exposed.
This does not require suspicion of fraud. Careful buyers, investors and businesses routinely verify unfamiliar counterparties as a matter of course — it is one of the simplest ways to avoid becoming a case study rather than a customer.
Common situations
Where this applies
Verify-before-you-pay cases usually fall into one of these patterns.
- An overseas supplier requesting an advance or deposit payment
- An unfamiliar seller on a marketplace, classifieds site or social platform
- A dating or online partner asking for financial help or an emergency loan
- A new business partner, agent or distributor you have not met in person
- An 'investment' or trading opportunity introduced online
- A landlord, property manager or rental listing you cannot inspect in person
What gets checked
What research can look at
Findings are built from lawful, publicly available sources and cross-checked against each other.
- Public company registration traces where such records exist
- Domain registration history and how long a website has existed
- Whether website content, images or text has been reused from other sites
- Apparent contact routes and whether they appear genuine or newly created
- Public sanctions and watchlist sources that are openly accessible
- Adverse public reporting, complaints or reputational red flags
- Whether the presented persona is corroborated across independent sources
Honesty about limits
We verify. We do not recover funds.
This is stated plainly because it matters: if money has already been sent, this service cannot get it back. What it can do is document the case clearly for your own decisions, your bank, or a report to the relevant authorities.
Services
Choose your starting point
These are the services most often used for pre-payment verification.
Company Verification
Confirm whether a company appears genuine before you pay it. From $349.
Business Due Diligence
Deeper research into ownership, history and public risk indicators. From $899.
Online Scam Investigation
For situations that already look like fraud, or after money has been sent. From $549.
Someone is asking me for money
A situation guide for people being asked to send funds to an online contact.
Verify a business partner
A situation guide for checking a new partner or counterparty before committing.
Guides
Read first
Free guides covering the same ground in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get my money back if I've already paid?
No. This service is preventative and investigative, not a recovery service. If money has already been sent, an online scam investigation can document what happened for your own records, your bank or a report to authorities, but recovery of funds cannot be promised or arranged.
How fast can this be done? The payment deadline is soon.
Typical turnaround is 2–5 business days. Say so clearly during case assessment if you have a deadline, and expedited handling can be discussed — but thorough verification is not instant, and rushing corroboration defeats its purpose.
What if the company or person checks out fine?
That is a normal and useful result. A report that finds no red flags, alongside what could and could not be corroborated, gives you a documented basis for proceeding with more confidence.
Can you check a cryptocurrency wallet or investment platform?
Public information about a platform, its operators, its domain history and its public reputation can often be researched. Blockchain transactions themselves are not private financial records and certain public data can be reviewed, but ownership of a wallet cannot generally be proven from the wallet address alone.
Is this only for individuals, or can businesses use it?
Both. Individuals verifying a seller, landlord or online partner, and businesses checking a new supplier or counterparty, use the same underlying research approach at different depths.
What do you need from me to start?
Whatever you already have: the company name, website, contact names, payment details you've been given, and a description of what you're being asked to pay for. The case assessment form will guide you through it.
Related pages
- How it worksThe six-stage investigation process.
- PricingStarting prices for every service.
- Sample reportSee how findings are presented.
- Online dating investigationsFor relationship-based cases involving money.
- Countries we coverHow cross-border verification works.
- ConfidentialityHow your case is handled.
Check it before you send anything
Describe who you're being asked to pay and what you already know. You'll receive a scoped, priced assessment before any research begins.