Norland Systems Scam

Following my last post on the suspicious activities of “Norland Systems”, I have received dozens of messages from companies that have been caught up in Norland’s activities. Norland is an Israeli-registered company that has been contacting small European food manufacturers with dubious importation and distribution schemes, promising to promote and to guarantee sales of their products in Israel. The company’s pattern of behaviour strongly suggests that it, or those claiming to represent it, is perpetrating an importation scam. From the information received it appears that:

• Manufacturers are approached by the company without any prior interaction. Often, the approach is made by “Maya Lapina”.
• The company is keen to share its certificate of incorporation and registration number. While this appears legitimate – this company appears to exist and is registered with the Israel Corporations Authority – the registration alone shouldn’t be considered as legitimising its activities.
• The company also says it is a member of the Haifa District Chamber of Commerce. While this may (or may not!) be the case, please be aware that this does not amount to proving anything.
• Norland offers to distribute the manufacturer’s products in Israel, while often guaranteeing sales figures (often for hundreds of thousands of $). The company then “only” demands that the manufacturer pay for various fees – including ‘certifications’ and ‘product importation fees’. Sometimes, Norland even offers to ‘contribute’ half of these fees. You should be aware that any demand by an Israeli importer for upfront payment of fees is extremely suspicious, particularly since any importation fees are payable by the importer.