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safety notes
Protect yourself from fraud!
Please report irregularities to info@boats24.com so that we can prevent possible fraud better and send in doubt no money!
The most common fraud schemes, we want to introduce here:
YOU ARE BUYER
How you can recognize a fraudulent seller?
What should you do as a buyer?
1. Be careful with offers far below market value!
Boats are often offered by scammers far below the market value of the boat to attract as many potential buyers. Be wary of supposed bargains. After contact the seller is trying to persuade you to transfer money. Please keep in mind that it is almost impossible to get the money back, you transferred abroad.
2. Never pay in advance!
Scammer often offer to send the boat for visual inspection against perpayment or deposit.
Please try to inspect the boat on your own and be carefully if the seller dosen´t agree.
3. Pay attention to the choice of the trustee services!
Seller sometimes want to settle payment via escrow service.
The following three fraud variants are known:
a) The seller might have a fake escrow service.
b) The seller uses a payment compound as escroe service which is his own.
c) The seller works with a genuine escrow service but falsifies payment documents.
The proposal to send a boat to view, when you deposite money in an escrow account is uncommon and should not do this.
Our tip: Please choose the escrow service on our own and be carefully if the seller doesn´t agree with your choice.
If in doubt, please contact us info@boats24.com, before you transfer money.
4. Be wary of cash transfer systems!
The seller proposes to use a money transfer like Western Union, MoneyGram, Escrow or an other system, so the money is there, when you want to buy the boat after the inspection. This is almost always a fraud!
Cases are reportets where the scammer has raised the money with a fake identity card at Western Union.
5. Faked seriousness confirmation
To gain your trust the boat market confirms per e-mail the authenticity of the offer. The seller has asked the boat market for this confirmation.
No boat market sends emails to potential buyers in order to confirm the authenticity of the offer
When you get such ann e-mail, please send it to us on
info@boats24.com. If you transferred money and hear nothing or only excuses from the seller, you should reort it as soon as possible to the police.
- Is the price of the boat far below the market price? Does the offer seem too good to be true? Then it most likely is.
- You can not reach the seller by phone?
- Is the seller asking you for payment before you have seen the boat?
- Has the seller requested to use a transportation company that delivers the boat? And you should transfer money to the shipping company?
What should you do as a buyer?
- Always ensure that you are dealing with a legitimate seller. Secure absolute contact details including their name, address and phone number. Can you reach him by phone? Call the seller at different times of the day to see who and how they respond.
- Never send a copy of your identity card to anyone you know only by email or by telephone.
- Request the seller to provide any hull number, serial numbers of engines, motors, etc. You can check these by the respective manufacturers.
1. Be careful with offers far below market value!
Boats are often offered by scammers far below the market value of the boat to attract as many potential buyers. Be wary of supposed bargains. After contact the seller is trying to persuade you to transfer money. Please keep in mind that it is almost impossible to get the money back, you transferred abroad.
2. Never pay in advance!
Scammer often offer to send the boat for visual inspection against perpayment or deposit.
Please try to inspect the boat on your own and be carefully if the seller dosen´t agree.
3. Pay attention to the choice of the trustee services!
Seller sometimes want to settle payment via escrow service.
The following three fraud variants are known:
a) The seller might have a fake escrow service.
b) The seller uses a payment compound as escroe service which is his own.
c) The seller works with a genuine escrow service but falsifies payment documents.
The proposal to send a boat to view, when you deposite money in an escrow account is uncommon and should not do this.
Our tip: Please choose the escrow service on our own and be carefully if the seller doesn´t agree with your choice.
If in doubt, please contact us info@boats24.com, before you transfer money.
4. Be wary of cash transfer systems!
The seller proposes to use a money transfer like Western Union, MoneyGram, Escrow or an other system, so the money is there, when you want to buy the boat after the inspection. This is almost always a fraud!
Cases are reportets where the scammer has raised the money with a fake identity card at Western Union.
5. Faked seriousness confirmation
To gain your trust the boat market confirms per e-mail the authenticity of the offer. The seller has asked the boat market for this confirmation.
No boat market sends emails to potential buyers in order to confirm the authenticity of the offer
When you get such ann e-mail, please send it to us on
info@boats24.com. If you transferred money and hear nothing or only excuses from the seller, you should reort it as soon as possible to the police.
YOU ARE SELLER
How you can recognize a fraudulent buyer?
Where you should be careful as a seller
1. Sending documents
Never send the boat documents or identity documents by e-mail! The receiver can assume your identity and act on you behalf, what can have unpleasent consequences.
You can, of course, send the hull number or engine number of your boat to the buyer, so he has the opportunity to verify the authenticity of your offer.
2. Check fraud
The buyer, mostly from abroad, immediately accepted your price and pays by check. However, the sum on the check is too high. He apologizes for this mistake and asks you to transfer the difference between the selling price and the check by money transfer system or to give it him cash.
Your bank accept the check under reserve, but the check bounces at a later time.
The verification of a foreign check can take several weeks. In worst cae you can lose your boat and your money.
Please never use for business transactions cash transfer systems like Western Union, MoneyGram or similar provider.
There are intended for transfer money between people who know each other and not for business payments.
3. Notary for payment in advance
A buyer from abroad contacts you, wants to send an expert and pay the boat cash, if it does not have any serious defects. The purchase contract will be concluded.
Allegedly the sales contract must be certified by a notary, according to the compatition law. According to law, the seller must bear the costs. The notary fees will be added on the selling price, so there are no additional costs for the seller.
Just before the delivery date agreed with the expert, the seller receives a notary’s invoice requiring the seller to remit the notary fee before the sale. After the transfer the seller never hears something from the buyer.
4. Phishingmails
a) You receive an email with a forged sender Boats24.com and you will be asked to send your user information (username and password). By disclosing your login information, a foreign third-party receives access to your account, and thereby starts fraud on your account.
Boats24.com will NEVER ask you to give us your password! Please contact us in case of doubt among info@boats24.com.
b) You get a fake request with the sender Boats24.com that looks similar to a real request, but the buyer aks for an unknown boat. When you klick on a link, you will lead to a replica website that is similar to the real site. You have to login before you can see the ad.
You recognize a fake page in the wrong url in the adress bar. There ist not www.boats24.com but www.boats24.tf.uk or equivalent.
You can view each advertisment on our site WITHOUT ENTERING LOGIN INFORMATION!
If you get such an e-mail, please hand off it to info@boats24.com.
Have you entered your login information? Call us! 49 40 244 249 360
5. The trick with your bank account
A buyer, mostly from abroad, is interested in your boat. He wants to transfer a small amount of money (cents) to verify the bank account, before he pays the total amount. You have to say him the amount of the purchase or an code in the purpose of transfer.
Here the scammer makes use of the verification process for opening an account with online payment services like PayPal or Click-and-Buy. With your account information and the knowledge of the bank transfer details he can open his own payment account and has access to your bank account.
- The buyer wants to buy your boat without testing it?
- The buyer offers you a higher price than your stated price?
- The buyer suggests a transport company and wants to assume all costs?
- You can contact the buyer only via e-mail? You can not speak him on the phone?
- The byuer is abroad?
Where you should be careful as a seller
1. Sending documents
Never send the boat documents or identity documents by e-mail! The receiver can assume your identity and act on you behalf, what can have unpleasent consequences.
You can, of course, send the hull number or engine number of your boat to the buyer, so he has the opportunity to verify the authenticity of your offer.
2. Check fraud
The buyer, mostly from abroad, immediately accepted your price and pays by check. However, the sum on the check is too high. He apologizes for this mistake and asks you to transfer the difference between the selling price and the check by money transfer system or to give it him cash.
Your bank accept the check under reserve, but the check bounces at a later time.
The verification of a foreign check can take several weeks. In worst cae you can lose your boat and your money.
Please never use for business transactions cash transfer systems like Western Union, MoneyGram or similar provider.
There are intended for transfer money between people who know each other and not for business payments.
3. Notary for payment in advance
A buyer from abroad contacts you, wants to send an expert and pay the boat cash, if it does not have any serious defects. The purchase contract will be concluded.
Allegedly the sales contract must be certified by a notary, according to the compatition law. According to law, the seller must bear the costs. The notary fees will be added on the selling price, so there are no additional costs for the seller.
Just before the delivery date agreed with the expert, the seller receives a notary’s invoice requiring the seller to remit the notary fee before the sale. After the transfer the seller never hears something from the buyer.
4. Phishingmails
a) You receive an email with a forged sender Boats24.com and you will be asked to send your user information (username and password). By disclosing your login information, a foreign third-party receives access to your account, and thereby starts fraud on your account.
Boats24.com will NEVER ask you to give us your password! Please contact us in case of doubt among info@boats24.com.
b) You get a fake request with the sender Boats24.com that looks similar to a real request, but the buyer aks for an unknown boat. When you klick on a link, you will lead to a replica website that is similar to the real site. You have to login before you can see the ad.
You recognize a fake page in the wrong url in the adress bar. There ist not www.boats24.com but www.boats24.tf.uk or equivalent.
You can view each advertisment on our site WITHOUT ENTERING LOGIN INFORMATION!
If you get such an e-mail, please hand off it to info@boats24.com.
Have you entered your login information? Call us! 49 40 244 249 360
5. The trick with your bank account
A buyer, mostly from abroad, is interested in your boat. He wants to transfer a small amount of money (cents) to verify the bank account, before he pays the total amount. You have to say him the amount of the purchase or an code in the purpose of transfer.
Here the scammer makes use of the verification process for opening an account with online payment services like PayPal or Click-and-Buy. With your account information and the knowledge of the bank transfer details he can open his own payment account and has access to your bank account.