A Test of Faith: How One Hair Care Company Avoided a “Hairy” Situation with Due Diligence

Mississippi-based Strands of Faith has been a champion for hair care solutions that cater to all hair types, especially for those with coily or kinky hair, since 2018. After receiving suspicious emails from a prospective distributor in Asia, Strands of Faith looked to the U.S. Commercial Service (CS) Office in Jackson, MS for further assistance. Their local trade specialist, also the Regional Rural Export Center (REC) Specialist for the Southern Region, then referred them to the Rural Export Center to pursue a REC Check in late 2024.

The REC Check is a brief assessment of a potential partner to identify any potential concerns or red flags. The purpose is to quickly highlight any risk that may impact the viability of a partnership. In conjunction with CS Singapore, the REC found multiple areas of concern that tainted the credibility of the company that approached Strands of Faith. Searches in databases such as D&B Hoovers and Lexis Nexis, along with other resources such as Google Maps and multiple social media platforms, revealed the following about the company in question:

The company is located in the same tower as 19 other entities that are on the “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,” which is a sanctions list.
CS Singapore was able to confirm that the company does not occupy the space that they claim is their address.
The company’s website lists working with several well-known American brands, but there is no evidence of these partnerships.
The LinkedIn profile photo of the person who contacted Strands of Faith may have been a general, professional photo that was pulled from the internet.

Ameka Coleman, founder and CEO of Strands of Faith, was thankful for the joint efforts of CS Jackson, the National Rural Export Center, and CS Singapore.

“[The REC Check] was very detailed to further back up that this wasn’t a legitimate company…it was a very robust report without it being overwhelming.”—Ameka Coleman, Founder and CEO.

Ameka Coleman also noted that the report made her “wonder if they were specifically targeting [her] or other small businesses.”

If you or your business are concerned about the legitimacy of a potential partner, please read “How to Avoid Scammers and Win at Exporting” or contact the Rural Export Center at rural@trade.gov to receive a Due Diligence Resource Guide. Also, contact your local CS office to learn about U.S. Commercial Service’s in-depth due diligence tools.