The ICUMSA 45 sugar scam has been running for so long that some buyers think it’s just how the sugar trade works. It isn’t. We’re DThai Company Limited, a Thai exporter, and we sell real ICUMSA 45 refined white sugar to buyers worldwide. Every week someone sends us a “procedure” or an “FCO” they got from somewhere else and asks if it looks right. Usually it doesn’t. This guide explains how the scam works, the warning signs to look for, and what a genuine sugar purchase looks like from start to finish.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What Is the ICUMSA 45 Sugar Scam?
The ICUMSA 45 sugar scam is an old fraud that uses the name of the most traded refined sugar grade to get money out of buyers who are new to commodities. The “seller” offers huge volumes of ICUMSA 45 at a price well below the world market. The sugar doesn’t exist. The aim is to collect fees, deposits or bank instruments before the buyer realizes nothing is going to ship.
Sometimes the people passing the offer along are victims themselves. A long chain of brokers forwards the same document, each adding a commission, and nobody in the chain has ever seen the sugar. Whether the person in front of you is a fraudster or just a hopeful middleman, the result for you is the same: you lose money and get no sugar.
ICUMSA 45 is the target because it’s the best-known grade. If you want to understand what the number actually means, our guide to ICUMSA sugar grades explained covers it. The short version: 45 refers to the color of the sugar, measured with methods set by ICUMSA. It’s real sugar, sold by real mills and exporters. The ICUMSA 45 sugar scam just borrows its name.
How the ICUMSA 45 Sugar Scam Usually Plays Out
The details change, but the pattern is very consistent. Here’s the typical sequence.
- You see an offer on a trading platform, social media or by email. Something like “ICUMSA 45 Brazil origin, 50,000 MT per month x 12 months, CIF any world port, well below market.”
- You’re asked to send an LOI (letter of intent) or ICPO (irrevocable corporate purchase order) with your company details and passport copy.
- The “seller” sends an FCO (full corporate offer) and a contract full of trade jargon.
- Then comes the money request. It might be called a document fee, a legalization fee, a registration fee, a “proof of product” fee, a dip test fee or an SGS fee.
- Or they ask you to issue an SBLC or bank guarantee to them first, via MT760, before they show any real sugar.
- Once money moves, the delays begin. A vessel is “being chartered.” Documents are “held at customs.” Another fee appears.
- Eventually the contact goes quiet.
If you’ve reached step 4 with any seller, stop and read the rest of this page before you pay anything.
9 Warning Signs of an ICUMSA 45 Sugar Scam
None of these on its own proves fraud. Two or three together almost always do.
1. The price is far below the market
Refined white sugar has a public benchmark, the London No. 5 contract, and the International Sugar Organization publishes a white sugar price index every day. In October 2026 that index was in the $560s per ton. An offer of $350 or $400 CIF is not a deal. Nobody sells refined sugar far below the benchmark for a year. This is the single most reliable sign of an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam.
2. The volume is enormous
The second classic sign of an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam is size. “50,000 tons a month for 12 months” is 600,000 tons. That’s a big chunk of a country’s exports. Real exporters sell in containers or in vessel lots they can actually load. A small company with a new website offering that much is not a sugar company.
3. Brazil origin, sold by someone who isn’t in Brazil
Brazil is the biggest sugar exporter in the world, so its name turns up in almost every ICUMSA 45 sugar scam. Ask who the mill is, where the warehouse is, and which port the sugar loads from. Real sellers answer quickly. Scammers give vague answers or a famous mill’s name without any way to check it.
4. “Procedures” written in heavy jargon
ICPO, FCO, SPA, POP, RWA, BCL, MT799, MT760. A genuine sugar contract uses some trade terms, but an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam piles them on to look official and to confuse new buyers. If you can’t understand what you’re agreeing to, don’t sign it.
5. You pay before you see anything
Fees for “documents,” “licenses,” “proof of product” or “dip tests” are the core of the ICUMSA 45 sugar scam. A real supplier pays its own costs to prepare a shipment. You pay for sugar, against documents, through a bank, not for permission to start talking.
6. They want your bank instrument first
Some offers demand an SBLC or bank guarantee from you before they show proof the sugar exists. That’s the reverse of how genuine trade works. Bank instruments are issued against a real contract with real goods. Fraudsters use them to raise money against your bank’s promise.
7. Inspection is refused or “already done”
Every real exporter accepts independent inspection at loading by a surveyor such as SGS, chosen or approved by the buyer. In an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam you’ll get a scanned “SGS report” that’s old, edited or belongs to another cargo. If the seller won’t let your inspector see the sugar, there’s no sugar.
8. The company can’t be checked
No physical address you can visit, no landline, a free email account, a website a few weeks old, a company registration you can’t find. Real exporters are easy to verify. We’d rather you check us than take our word for it.
9. Pressure and urgency
An ICUMSA 45 sugar scam always has a deadline. “Allocation closes Friday.” “Another buyer is ready.” Real sugar markets don’t work like that. A supplier who wants to sell to you will give you time to do your checks.
The Jargon, Explained Plainly
You’ll see these terms in almost every ICUMSA 45 sugar scam. Here’s what they mean in real trade, and how they get abused.
| Term | What it really means | How it’s abused |
|---|---|---|
| LOI / ICPO | A buyer’s statement of interest or intention to buy | Used to collect your company details and passport |
| FCO | A seller’s formal offer with price and terms | Sent with an impossible price to hook you |
| SPA | Sales and purchase agreement, the real contract | Written to make you pay first and receive later |
| POP | Proof of product, evidence the goods exist | Offered only after you pay or issue a bank instrument |
| SBLC / BG | Bank guarantees of payment or performance | Demanded from the buyer up front to raise money |
| MT760 / MT799 | SWIFT message formats between banks | Name-dropped to sound like serious finance |
| SGS report | Inspection certificate from a known surveyor | Forged, edited or recycled from another cargo |
None of these terms is fake on its own. A letter of credit, for example, is a perfectly normal way to pay for sugar, and our guide on the letter of credit for rice import explains how it works for any commodity. The problem is the order. In an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam you are always asked to commit money or a bank instrument before anything real has been shown to you.
What a Real Sugar Purchase Looks Like
Here’s how buying ICUMSA 45 from us actually works. It’s slower to read than a fake procedure and much less exciting, which is a good sign.
- You send an inquiry with grade, packing, volume, port and preferred Incoterm.
- We send a quote with a price close to the current market, the Incoterm, shipment period and validity.
- We send samples with a lab analysis if you want them. You can test them yourself.
- We agree a contract that names the product specs, quantity, packing, inspection, documents and payment.
- You open payment, usually a letter of credit at sight from your bank, or other terms we agree.
- We load, and your nominated inspector can sample and weigh the sugar at the warehouse or port.
- We present documents to the bank and get paid. You collect the sugar at your port.
No fees for documents. No bank instrument from you to “unlock” anything. No secret procedure. That’s the gap between a real deal and an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam.
The Sugar We Actually Sell
For contrast, here’s what a real ICUMSA 45 offer from us includes.
| Parameter | Our ICUMSA 45 refined sugar |
|---|---|
| Color | 45 ICUMSA units max |
| Polarization | 99.80° min |
| Moisture | 0.04% max |
| Ash | 0.04% max |
| Reducing sugars | 0.05% max |
| SO2 | 20 mg/kg max |
| Solubility | 100% dry and free-flowing |
| Origin | Thailand, cane sugar |
| Packing | 50kg PP bags with PE liner, 1,000kg jumbo bags, retail packs |
| Minimum order | One 20ft container, about 25 tons |
| Inspection | SGS or another surveyor approved by the buyer |
| Payment | Letter of credit at sight or other agreed terms |
| Load port | Bangkok or Laem Chabang |
Every lot comes with its own lab figures. If the color, moisture or ash on your inspection certificate doesn’t match the contract, you have a real claim. See the product on our ICUMSA sugar for sale page.
How to Check a Sugar Supplier, Including Us
Run these checks on anyone offering you sugar. We’re happy for you to run every one of them on us.
- Company registration. Ask for the registration number and look it up with the official registry in that country. In Thailand that’s the Department of Business Development.
- Physical address. Look it up on a map. Better still, have someone visit. Our office is in Khlong Toei, Bangkok.
- Phone and video call. A real exporter will talk to you and show you around if asked.
- Bank details. The beneficiary bank account should be in the seller’s company name, in the seller’s country.
- Samples. A real seller sends samples. Fraudsters invent reasons why they can’t.
- Independent inspection. Insist on your own surveyor at loading. A seller who refuses is the clearest sign of an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam.
- Trade history. Ask for references from other buyers, and actually call them.
- Price check. Compare the quote with the public white sugar index. If it’s far below, you already know the answer.
The ICC Commercial Crime Services works on trade fraud, including fake documents and suspect bank instruments. If an offer looks suspicious and a lot of money is at stake, their bureaus are one place to start.
“But the Broker Says It’s Real”
We hear this a lot. Someone’s cousin, colleague or friend knows a mandate who knows the seller. The chain is long and everyone is very confident.
Here’s the problem. In most ICUMSA 45 sugar scam cases, the people in the middle have never seen the sugar either. They’ve seen a PDF. They’re hoping for a commission, and they believe the offer because they want to. A long chain of intermediaries doesn’t make an offer more real. It just means more people are waiting to be paid.
Ask the broker one question: has anyone in this chain ever received a single container from this seller? If the answer is no, treat the offer as fake until proven otherwise.
Three Kinds of Messages We Get
Buyers forward us all sorts of offers. Most fall into one of three groups. Details are left out, but the patterns will look familiar.
The “too cheap” offer
A buyer sends an FCO quoting ICUMSA 45 at well under $400 CIF to West Africa, while the world benchmark is in the $560s. They ask why our price is so much higher. We explain that ours is the real market. The other offer is a textbook ICUMSA 45 sugar scam, because no one can buy refined sugar, bag it, ship it across the ocean and still sell it for less than the raw cost.
The “pay for proof” offer
A buyer has been asked to pay a few thousand dollars for “proof of product” before the seller will show a warehouse receipt. They’ve already sent a passport copy and company papers. We tell them to stop. A real seller proves the product exists by sending samples and letting your inspector in, not by charging you for a PDF.
The “bank instrument first” offer
A buyer’s bank has been asked to send an SBLC by MT760 to a seller nobody has met. The procedure says the seller will then issue proof of product. That order is backwards. In any ICUMSA 45 sugar scam built this way, the bank instrument is the real prize, and the sugar never appears.
A Checklist Before You Pay Anyone
Print this out if it helps. Before any money leaves your account for sugar, you should be able to tick every line.
- I’ve checked the price against the public white sugar index, and it’s within a sensible range.
- I’ve confirmed the seller’s company registration with the official registry.
- I’ve spoken to the seller by phone or video, not only by chat or email.
- I’ve received and tested a physical sample.
- The contract names an independent inspection company at loading, and the seller accepts my choice.
- The payment goes through a bank against shipping documents, not as an up-front fee.
- The beneficiary account is in the seller’s company name, in the seller’s country.
- Nobody is asking me to pay for documents, licenses, proof of product or dip tests.
If you can’t tick every box, treat the deal as a possible ICUMSA 45 sugar scam until it’s proven otherwise. A real supplier will help you tick them. We do it for new buyers all the time, because it’s in our interest that you trust the sugar you’re paying for.
What to Do If You’ve Already Paid
If you’ve paid a fee and you now think you’ve hit an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam, act quickly.
- Stop all further payments, no matter what new reason you’re given.
- Contact your bank straight away and ask if the transfer can be recalled.
- Keep every email, chat message, contract and bank record.
- Report it to the police in your country and, where relevant, to the financial crime unit.
- Warn your broker chain so nobody else pays.
Getting money back is hard once it has left your account, so speed matters. It’s also worth talking to a lawyer who knows trade fraud if the amount is large.
Why the ICUMSA 45 Sugar Scam Hurts Real Sellers Too
It’s not only buyers who lose. Every fake offer makes genuine buyers more suspicious and slower to trust real exporters. We’ve had buyers refuse to believe our price simply because it was close to the market, after months of seeing fake offers far below it. In their minds, real sugar now looked expensive.
That’s why we’re open about how we work. We’d rather you spend a week checking us and buy with confidence than lose money to an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam and give up on importing sugar altogether.
Realistic Prices Protect You
The best defense is knowing what refined sugar really costs. Our guide to the ICUMSA 45 sugar price per ton shows how a genuine quote is built from the benchmark up, and our wider guide to the refined sugar price per ton covers what moved prices in 2026.
Once you know the real range, an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam becomes easy to spot. If someone offers sugar for much less than the world market, they’re either not selling sugar, or they’re not going to deliver it.
Documents You Should Expect With Real Sugar
Knowing the real paperwork is another way to avoid an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam. A genuine shipment comes with a proper set of papers, all prepared before or at loading. Typically:
- Commercial invoice and packing list
- Bill of lading from the shipping line
- Certificate of origin
- Quality and weight certificate from the inspection company
- Phytosanitary or health certificate where your country requires it
- Fumigation certificate where required
- Insurance certificate on CIF terms
Our bulk sugar import documentation checklist walks through each one. If someone is asking you to pay for documents before there’s a contract, a shipment or a bill of lading, you’re looking at an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam, not a real document process.
Other Sugar We Supply
Alongside ICUMSA 45, we also sell white sugar in other ICUMSA grades, brown sugar, demerara, muscovado, powdered sugar and coconut sugar. If you buy raw sugar for a refinery, our comparison of VHP sugar vs ICUMSA 45 will help you pick the right grade. You’ll find everything on our sugar for sale page.
We ship worldwide from Thailand, and we also supply Thai rice and sunflower oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is every ICUMSA 45 offer a scam?
No. ICUMSA 45 is a real grade sold every day by real exporters, including us. The ICUMSA 45 sugar scam is about how an offer is made: impossible prices, huge volumes, fees up front and no inspection.
Why do scammers always use ICUMSA 45?
The ICUMSA 45 sugar scam uses that grade because it’s the best-known refined sugar grade in world trade. The name sounds technical and official, which makes a fake offer look more believable to new buyers.
Is it normal to pay for an SGS report before buying?
No. Inspection is arranged for a real cargo, after a contract is signed, usually at loading. You never pay a seller in advance for an inspection report on sugar you haven’t bought.
Should I issue an SBLC to a sugar seller I’ve never dealt with?
Not before you’ve seen the sugar, inspected it and signed a proper contract. Most first orders with real exporters are paid by letter of credit at sight, which protects both sides.
How can I check DThai Company Limited?
The same way you’d check anyone when you suspect an ICUMSA 45 sugar scam. Ask us for our company registration details, call our office, visit us in Bangkok, ask for samples and appoint your own surveyor at loading. We’ll help with all of it.
What’s a realistic minimum order for real ICUMSA 45?
One 20ft container, about 25 tons. If someone says they only sell 50,000 tons a month and nothing smaller, be very careful.
The ICUMSA 45 sugar scam only works on buyers who don’t have time to check. Take the time. Compare prices with the market, insist on inspection, never pay fees up front, and talk to suppliers who are happy to be verified. When you’re ready to buy real sugar, contact us with your grade, volume and port, and we’ll send you a genuine quote.