Scam to Watch Out for if Selling Your C-Dory (Or any boat)

[JohnnyRambles]

I'm selling my 16ft Cruiser here in the classifieds and dealt with a fairly creative scammer the other day. They texted me with a few reasonable questions about my boat and set up a day to come look at it. That's when things got "fishy".


Here's the first reply from the prospective buyer/scammer that put me on guard.

"I am asking for a detailed hull history report of it not a maintenance record. It is a report which tells everything regarding the boat since the time it was built and contains the major records of the boat. It is like a carfax for the boats. I know a provider from where you can get the report. I have used it myself for my Mako 19 to get the hull report. It is just a 70 bucks report and I will reimburse you for its cost with total when we meet. You just need the hull number or the registration number to order it. If you want the information then please send me your email address as I have information saved on my email."


Seems reasonable at first, but making my living selling online (Not boats), I immediately knew something was up. After one or two quick questions just to be 100% certain I was dealing with a scammer I followed it up with my last question.

"How's the weather in Ghazlabad today"? I asked. (Ghazlabad is a city in India where a huge portion of the scam calls and text come from). The scammer had some unpleasant comments about my "mum" and that was that.

Just a head's up to try and prevent any other sellers here from getting scammed.