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Online boat sale scams: how to spot a fake listing before you pay
Short answer
Boat listings that look too good to be true keep turning up online: a cheap yacht,
a seller abroad, payment in advance by bank transfer.
Never pay before a viewing and a look at the papers, and you avoid almost every scam.
Most used boats are now bought and sold online, and the scams have grown with the market. The pattern hardly changes. A well kept boat is listed well below the going price, the photos are good, the seller is working abroad and cannot show it, but a transport company will deliver once a deposit is paid or the money sits with an escrow service you have never heard of. As soon as the transfer goes through, the seller and the listing disappear, and the escrow website usually goes with them.
Warning signs are a price far below comparable boats, pressure to decide quickly, contact by email or messenger alone, vague answers when you ask to see the boat or the papers, a bank account in another country and an escrow firm the seller insists on. Run the photos through a reverse image search, since they are often lifted from old listings. Ask for the hull identification number, the HIN, and check it against the registration and the builder's plate on the transom. If in doubt, call the marina where the boat is supposed to lie and ask whether it is really there.
The safest rule is simple: no money without a viewing, a sea trial and the papers. Ask to see proof of ownership, the original bill of sale, the registration or title, and check whether the boat still carries outstanding finance or a lien, because a lender can claim it back from a new owner. Pay at handover, against a receipt and a written bill of sale, and on larger sums make the deal subject to a survey. Arrange insurance before you take the boat over so it is protected from the moment it is yours. If the worst has happened, call your bank and the police at once and keep every message and the listing.
Worth remembering
Too cheap
usually too good to be true
See it
then pay
No money without a viewing, the papers and a written bill of sale.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
How can I tell a boat listing is fake?
A price far below the market, a seller abroad who cannot show the boat, pressure to pay quickly and an escrow service you do not know are the classic signs.
Is it safe to pay a deposit on a boat I have not seen?
No. Pay nothing until you have seen the boat, checked the papers and the HIN and met the seller, ideally against a written agreement. Advance payment to strangers is the typical scam.
What should I do if I have been scammed buying a boat?
Call your bank at once so it can try to recall the transfer, and report it to the police. Save every message, the listing and any payment details as evidence.
Related
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