Used boat: beware of online scams

Determined to buy a boat, Laurent fell victim to one of the many scams involving the purchase of used vessels on the web. With his permission, Bateau-immatriculation tells the unfortunate story of a boater who would have been better off being wary...

Laurent had spotted the perfect ad: a 2010 Sea-Doo Islandia jet boat, in impeccable condition. On a website dedicated to buying and selling used boats, the unit was offered at a price of €12,500, which was half the price of other models for sale that the boater had seen in North America. Since the boat was also based in Malta, it would allow him to make significant savings, between the attractive sale price and the reduced repatriation cost.

The seller also owned a trailer suitable for the jet boat, which he was also selling. "It was perfect!" Laurent comments. And being naturally impulsive, it didn't take him long to set his mind on buying the unit.

He recounts:

"The first contact was made by email. All our exchanges, in fact, were done that way. I never called the seller directly, I never even asked him for his number. I don't speak English very well and it was simpler for me to communicate by email, with the help of a translator."

Laurent's interlocutor puts him at ease. He sends him numerous photos and videos of the boat, taken in an environment that could easily correspond to the Mediterranean Sea. Nothing raises Laurent's suspicions, and until now, he hasn't asked any questions. The alleged owner also sends a copy of the boat's papers, his identity documents – passport and driver's license – and Laurent learns more about him: he is from Mexico and owns a second home in Malta, as well as several restaurants in Spain. Everything seems to be in order, and Laurent doesn't doubt the reliability of his interlocutor.

At this point, he has two options: his interlocutor suggests he either pick up the boat directly in Malta, or use a shipping company for container transport, with the seller offering to handle the formalities. Residing in France, Laurent inquires about the ports where he could receive the boat and decides to have it sent to Genoa, Italy.
He provides his contact details to the seller. The latter informs him that the transporter will contact him directly to follow up on the matter. He will have to pay the full cost of the boat to the transporter, who will then transfer the money to the seller if the received boat is indeed in the advertised condition.

Laurent explains:

"I did receive a sales contract. All the conditions were well detailed: an inspection would be done by the transporter before departure and, as soon as I received the boat, I would have 5 days to try it out, check it over and verify that everything was compliant. If I found an anomaly, everything would be covered by the transporter. So, I called my banker, whom I know well, asking him to make a transfer to Malta, to the transporter of my future boat. He didn't ask any particular questions, and he carried it out."

Once the transfer order was received, the alleged seller informs Laurent that he will deliver the boat the next day, on its trailer, to the transporter. Then, Laurent receives an acknowledgment of receipt for the boat from the transporter: the teams have carried out the inventory of the boat and placed it in a container, ready to depart. The arrival dates and times in Genoa are also indicated, where he will need to be present to receive the unit. As the journey takes several days, Laurent is expected at the port of Genoa 5 days later.

The boater set off for Italy a little early, to give himself time to scout the location: "I was always in contact with the seller. I sent him an email to ask how I should go about collecting the boat once I was there. The procedure to follow was clear and made sense. I didn't ask any more questions! The port of Genoa is huge, but I found the place where the boat from Malta had arrived. But unfortunately, on the boat, the unit I had just bought wasn't there."
Laurent recounts that at that moment, the central office and the port agents at the port of Genoa all scrambled, along with him, to find the container that should have been in his name. Informed that another boat should arrive, also by container, on the next trip, and on the advice of the on-site teams, he decided to stay in the Italian city for a few days.
Laurent then had the idea of contacting the transporter by another means: "I had always communicated by email with the same contact person. With him, I had received a link to track my container, on a website that looked every bit like a professional site. But when I actually contacted the customer service of the transporter I should normally have dealt with directly, they unfortunately informed me that the number I had did not correspond to any file."

The supposed new owner then discovered the truth: the alleged seller, after sending him fake documents, had usurped the identity of a globally known shipping company by identically reproducing their website and practices. Laurent never made the €12,500 payment to a trustworthy shipper, but directly to the person who would never deliver the boat to him.
Laurent concluded: "5 days was the supposed travel time, but also the number of days it took my contact to receive the money, before closing their bank account immediately afterwards."

This is a very sad story that, unfortunately, we are not hearing for the first time. Because scams concerning the purchase of used boats on the web are, ultimately, quite common.

It cannot be repeated enough: when buying a boat, it is essential to carry out several very important checks before signing a contract. This is to ensure the veracity of the file!

We recommend that you systematically check the correspondence between the information provided by the seller or owner and the official administrative situation. You can, for example, query the register, consult mortgage registrations and check the proper maintenance of the documents necessary for post-purchase administrative procedures.
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