SCAM: The Futurlec Electronic Components and Semiconductor Superstore Scam

The Futurlec Electronic Components Scam is run from Australia
Here is another scam-busting blog post. Futurlec Electronic Components and Semiconductor Superstore is supposedly an electronic components supplier, with a “superstore” that at face value is every engineer’s dream. You can find and purchase virtually every electronics components that you might need for your project. They even offer “PCB Manufacturing” services to clients, mostly engineering students running against time to complete their projects. The shopping process is relatively straightforward. Even the billing is perfect. You can add components ranging from SMT surface mount devices to printed circuit boards in a matter of minutes. The pricing is also perfect; they charge almost 50%of what other online electronics component stores charge. But that is where it ends. It is all a scam.


I was hit with the Futurelec scam sometime back when I was doing my final year engineering project. I had prepared my project proposal and designed the required circuits. All that I needed were the components to complete my assembly. Of course back then I had not mastered the practice of reading reviews about online stores. Because the Futurlec scam website is highly search engine optimized, you are likely to land there if you are searching for any electronics components for your project. So that is how I landed at the website and lost my over $100 and almost got disqualified. A friend of mine lost over $200 and there are hundreds of engineering students around the world who are still losing money to the Futurlec scam as we speak.

So who is behind the Futurlec Scam?
As someone who deals with domains, one of the best ways use to find people involved in scamming others is to look at the WHOIS information of the domain they use for their website.  If there is no WHOIS privacy for the domain, the names under which the domain is registered are usually the owners of the business.  Why else would I let someone register the domain for my business under their name. So from the WHOIS information of Futurlec.com, the domain was registered by the following people:

• Alan Bonnard based in 2/136 Broadmeadow Road, New South Wales Australia Tel: +61 249623231
• Dominic Main based in Chippendale, New South West Australia, P.O. Box  270 Chippendale
• The domain is registered under the email sales@futurlec.com  i.e. Alan Bonnard

Australian Alan Bonnard is also the company’s “Sales Manager”.

Additional Details on the Futurlec.com Scam
They claim to source the electronics components from the Asian region from where they dropship them to global clientele. Their website also includes contact details for clients in North America, Middle East and Europe. Of course all these are part of an elaborate scam. Ask people like us who have dealt with these crooks and seen our money disappear into thin air.

So next time you are buying electronic components or looking for reliable PCB manufacturers and you see Futurlec.com website appearing at the top of the SERPs, please ignore. This is one of the most enduring scams that has fleeced thousands of engineering students trying to buy electronic components online.

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