Fraud Prevention Tips for Boat Buyers
Fraud Prevention Tips for Boat Buyers
Boatsville cares about our users' internet safety. Please consider the information provided below before making any transactions with the buyer of your boat on this site or any site.
Some Important Tips To Protect Yourself From Being Scammed
- If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is
- Always check out the persons or companies FIRST before you conduct any transactions with them
- If they give you an email address, test it. Make sure they reply back to you.
- If they don't give you a phone number or refuse to provide one they are probably running a scam.
- Be cautious of anyone that uses a free email service that does not require a credit card at account creation.
- Get good contact information for the individual or company you want to do business with and test it.
- Be cautious if they refuse or delay getting you information on the boat
- A seller's phone number is out of service or rings to a fax machine.
- A seller is unwilling to show you proof of ownership (title, VIN number, registration)
- If dealing with a company, check with the Better Business Bureau from their area.
- If the boat is not in the location where the ad list the boat, or the seller is not in the States when they claim they are, you are dealing with a scam.
- Always try to get the sellers physical address and be wary of sellers that only use a p.o. box.
- BE VERY CAUTIOUS OF MAKING ANY TRANSACTIONS WITH INDIVIDUALS OR COMPANIES THAT ARE OUTSIDE YOUR OWN COUNTRY
- Only supply your credit card information or other personal information on secure internet sites
- Try to get the seller's drivers licence number or other traceable information.
- Ask the seller to provide the HIN, Hull Identification Number and use a service like BoatHistoryReport.com to check to see if the boat is damaged or stolen before you buy. Boatsville recommends BoatHistoryReport.Scammers usually don't even have a boat so this will send them running.
- A great way for both buyers and sellers to protect themselves is to use a LEGITIMENT 3rd party escrow or payment service. Boatsville recommends Escrow.com because it is a well established, fully liscensed service. If you use another service, be sure it is a reputable one. Be sure that you do not let the seller insists you use an escrow service you don't know.
If You're Buying A Boat, heres how the scam typically works
Please be aware of the following scenario:
- A seller offers a boat that is a fraction of its true value.
- They usually must sell it because of illness or divorce and only provide an e-mail address.
- The seller's boat is listed as being in one place, but tells you it's somewhere else (usually Europe or Africa).
- The seller wants you to send money for the boat and he will ship it to you.
How do you lose? Simple. You send the money, the con artist disappears. Your back pocket is now much lighter than it once was...
They usually want a deposit for a portion of the boat since they have other people interested as well. If you don't send money soon via WesternUnion, you may lose the boat. Before ever doing this ask for the HIN, Hull Identification Number for the boat. They won't provide it! There is no boat, so no HIN exist. If they
provide one then follow the steps shown above to verify the HIN before buying. Then use an Escrow company for any money transaction...do not use one they provide. We recommend Escrow.com
If you suspect that any advertiser is making a fraudulent offer, please let us know. We will investigate and report any advertisement that we suspect of being fraudulent to the proper authorities.
Disclaimer
Boatsville cares about our visitors and our customers safety and is actively doing everything in our power to prevent fraudulent activity on our site. Since the transactions are between the buying and selling party, with no intermediaries, we cannot be held liable for any fraudulent act perpetrated through this site. Please report any suspicious activity so we can investigate and ensure that The Boatsville Network remains a safe place to buy and sell boats.
Please also be aware that many scams will try to use an e-mail address that looks legitimate. We have seen many that use Boatsville in the e-mail address. You should be very cautious when recieving an e-mail showing Boatsville in the address. Since we DO NOT Sell or Buy boats, we will not be asking you for money, other than through a boat transaction to list your boat. Do not respond to these type of e-mails that look like they are from us. Do not give credit card information over the internet to one of these addresses. If you suspect that someone is trying to get money from you using an e-mail with Boatsville in the e-mail forward it to us to report any suspicious activity
Visit the sites below to learn more about Internet fraud.
Internet Crime Complaint Center
Federal Trade Commission
Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Practical Tips to Help You Be on Guard Against Internet Fraud
Top 10 Tips to Avoid Online Escrow Fraud
