The scams that target boat buyers and sellers are well worn and easy to spot once you know the shape of them.
Boats attract fraud because the sums are large, the buyer and seller are often in different parts of the country, and the transaction is unfamiliar to most people. Nearly every attempt follows one of a handful of patterns.
If you are selling
- The overpayment. A buyer sends more than the asking price, often by cheque or a forged transfer notice, and asks you to refund the difference or pay their "shipping agent". The original payment is reversed days later. Never refund an overpayment; return the whole amount by the route it arrived.
- The buyer who will not view. Anyone willing to buy a boat unseen, at the asking price, without negotiating, is not a buyer. Genuine remote buyers send a surveyor.
- The fake payment confirmation. Screenshots and emailed "confirmations" prove nothing. Do not release the boat or the paperwork until the money is in your account and your bank confirms it has cleared — not merely that it is showing.
- The advance-fee approach. An agent claims a waiting buyer and asks for a listing or valuation fee. There is no buyer.
If you are buying
- The boat that is priced too well. A well-specified boat at a fraction of the going rate is bait. The story is usually a forced sale, a divorce, or a relocation.
- The seller who cannot meet you at the boat. If they are abroad, deployed, or can only communicate by email, walk away. Insist on seeing the boat where it lies, with the seller present.
- Escrow you did not choose. A seller who directs you to a specific escrow service almost always controls it. If you use escrow, pick the provider yourself and verify them independently.
- Deposits by irreversible means. Never send a deposit by bank transfer to an account you cannot tie to a verified identity, and never by cryptocurrency, gift card or money transfer service.
Do these things on any sale
Verify who owns the boat: ask for the bill of sale and the registration document, and check the hull identification number on the boat matches the paperwork. On anything financed, ask for written confirmation the finance is settled — an outstanding marine mortgage follows the boat, not the seller.
For a boat of any value, use a marine solicitor or a broker's client account, and put the terms in writing: the price, the deposit, what happens after the survey, and who pays for what. It costs a fraction of one per cent of a purchase and it is the only thing that helps if the deal goes wrong.
Keep the conversation on the site
Use the enquiry form on the listing for first contact. If something later looks wrong, the exchange is on record, and it means your own email address is not in the hands of someone who turns out not to be a buyer.
