Fishing boats scams

[Big Dood]

Watch out

I have been looking for a fishing boat on Kijiji and other local listings and I have come across a couple of boats that seemed to be too good to be true. Lunds, Crestliners, Tracker boats that should be selling for $14,000 are being sold for $3200. Some responses say that they are women who have recently been divorced etc and have the boats in storage with a shipping company. they will initiate a transaction thru Ebays secure buyer protection and get all your info and in three days you get your boat

below I have pasted what the responses look like. Remember these are two different sellers but notice the similarities

Hi there,

 

First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my boat. I am selling it at this price ( CAD $3100) because I just finished the divorce with my husband. Now the divorce is final and i own this boat. Now as a woman i don't need it. This boat is in excellent working condition, no scratches, flaws or any kind of damage, slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions and comes with a clear title, 3 months transferable warranty.

From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services.

We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account for $20,000. The final price that I want for this boat is $3100 CAD including shipping and handling.

If you are interested please let me know. Then she followed up with

All that you have to pay is CAD$2800 including shipping and handling.

The boat is located in Saint John,NB at a shipping and storage company. The sale will be managed through eBay under their Vehicle

Purchase Protection Program since they offer the highest rate of

safety and reliability during online transactions.Here is how it works :

- you give me your full name and shipping address

- I start a transaction with eBay,

- they send you the payment instructions,

- you send the money into eBay trust account,

- they confirm me that the payment was received,

- I ship the boat,

- you receive the boat in 3 days,

- they send me the money.

 

The payment type will be establish by eBay after start the transaction. They will hold the money until the boat is delivered to you, with properly executed title. You have 5 days for the inspection period. If the boat is not like described you will have to ship it back in 30 business days on my expense, but I am sure that you will love it.

 

In order to move forward I will need the following info from you so I can set up a new transaction case through eBay:

1. full name

2. shipping address

 

Should you find that the boat is not as I've described it, you can return it to me on my expense. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

Let me know if you are still interested.

2.The boat is in Washington,DC

Here is how it works if you have never used eBay.

You send me your full name and your shipping address so I can initiate the transaction.eBay contacts you with further details regarding the payment and shipping process.You submit the payment to eBay, eBay confirms the payment and asks me to release the shipment.I ship the boat which should be at your door within 5 business days.You have a 3 days inspection period before you confirm the deal and eBay forwards the payment to me or you cancel the deal and you get your money back and return the boat free of charge.

Basicly eBay holds your money safe until you confirm that the boat is what you have been expected and you want to buy it. It is not a sight unseen deal.

On the other hand I can ship the boat knowing eBay has your money and you won't dissapear with my boat. We are both covered.Sorry for the long emails I have tried to touch all bases.

 

I have contacted Ebay and made them aware of the problem

 

Please beware, the scammers are finding new ways to try to grab your cash

[Joey]

My friend just about got scammed by this same thing on Autotrader.ca. She read me the email and I told her I was skeptical and not to do it. She went so far as to get a quote for her insurance on the car and was ready to set up an ebay account. I strongly advised her not to. The woman said she was in BC. Same M.O. Husband left her for another woman, didn't need the car, yada yada. So I emailed the woman and got the same response, except this time she said she was from the Yukon.

 

Thanks God my friend listened to me or she would have been out some serious cash.

 

I alerted Auto Trader and the ad was gone the next day.

 

Be careful out there people, there's lots of scammers with nothing better to do.

 

Joey

[Lunker777]

these things pop up on kijiji all the time ! For boats, atvs, cars, etc.

 

Usually I find that when you click the add the first time.... after thats its magically gone ? hahah I found a guy near me trying to sell 2 Polaris 800 ATVS for like $2000 and they were BRAND NEW.... maybe 20 hours on each..... I called my uncle... he said get ahold of the guy and we'll get them right now.... went to go back to the listing and POOf..... it had be removed from kijiji !

 

If it has to do with the internet.... I want to be able to see and touch the thing before money is exchanged... and if its to good to be true .... when it comes to the net..... IT IS !

[smally21]

this has been going on for years. started on ebay then the trader networks then kijiji. its been on every news special and articles in the paper. if you think someone will sell you a 60,000 dollar BMW for 3,200 you might deserve to lose a little money!

[Dutch]

Common sense dictates action in the case of these ads.

 

I noticed Kijiji has taken off the link one can click on to report fraud/scam.

 

Every one of these ads is easily spotted and I used to report them all.

[Lunker777]

this has been going on for years. started on ebay then the trader networks then kijiji. its been on every news special and articles in the paper. if you think someone will sell you a 60,000 dollar BMW for 3,200 you might deserve to lose a little money!

 

EXACTLY !!!!!!!

 

An episode of Oprah comes to mind.... the one where she had these guests on that were SOOOOO upset they were taken for THOUSANDS of dollars by these scam groups all over the world

 

"Hey there Mr. X....... I live in south africa and my brother in America died.... I have an acount with 10 MILLION dollars in it, that he has left me... and your the one I chose to help me.... just send me EVERY peice of personnal info you have and ill transfer the money to your account.... I just want a quarter of it back, you can keep the rest for your troubles.... sound good ???? "

 

How do people fall for this stuff ????? I hate when they use the excuse " I was just trying to help out" or " the person sounds really down on their luck " .......... COME ON !!!!!!!

[Fish4Eyes]

I have seen this on kijiji as well. Exact scenario actually. I always ask them, proove to me that this is not a scam. Sure enough they don't respond. Then I scare them and tell them I have already notified authorities . If you can't see the boat before purchasing, don't even bother.

[BillM]

Common sense dictates action in the case of these ads.

 

I noticed Kijiji has taken off the link one can click on to report fraud/scam.

 

Every one of these ads is easily spotted and I used to report them all.

 

 

Yup, if they are to good to be true, they usually are.

 

Anything that states shipping is INCLUDED in the price and that the boat/trailer is not in the province the ad is placed in should SCREAM SCAM to someone reading it.

[camillj]

Watch out

I have been looking for a fishing boat on Kijiji and other local listings and I have come across a couple of boats that seemed to be too good to be true. Lunds, Crestliners, Tracker boats that should be selling for $14,000 are being sold for $3200. Some responses say that they are women who have recently been divorced etc and have the boats in storage with a shipping company. they will initiate a transaction thru Ebays secure buyer protection and get all your info and in three days you get your boat

below I have pasted what the responses look like. Remember these are two different sellers but notice the similarities

Hi there,

 

First of all I want to thank you for your interest for my boat. I am selling it at this price ( CAD $3100) because I just finished the divorce with my husband. Now the divorce is final and i own this boat. Now as a woman i don't need it. This boat is in excellent working condition, no scratches, flaws or any kind of damage, slightly used in 100% working and looking conditions and comes with a clear title, 3 months transferable warranty.

From the beginning you have to know that for the payment I request only secure pay, I prefer the payment to be done using eBay services.

We will use a safe payment method because I am affiliated at eBay and I have a purchase protection account for $20,000. The final price that I want for this boat is $3100 CAD including shipping and handling.

If you are interested please let me know. Then she followed up with

All that you have to pay is CAD$2800 including shipping and handling.

The boat is located in Saint John,NB at a shipping and storage company. The sale will be managed through eBay under their Vehicle

Purchase Protection Program since they offer the highest rate of

safety and reliability during online transactions.Here is how it works :

- you give me your full name and shipping address

- I start a transaction with eBay,

- they send you the payment instructions,

- you send the money into eBay trust account,

- they confirm me that the payment was received,

- I ship the boat,

- you receive the boat in 3 days,

- they send me the money.

 

The payment type will be establish by eBay after start the transaction. They will hold the money until the boat is delivered to you, with properly executed title. You have 5 days for the inspection period. If the boat is not like described you will have to ship it back in 30 business days on my expense, but I am sure that you will love it.

 

In order to move forward I will need the following info from you so I can set up a new transaction case through eBay:

1. full name

2. shipping address

 

Should you find that the boat is not as I've described it, you can return it to me on my expense. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

Let me know if you are still interested.

2.The boat is in Washington,DC

Here is how it works if you have never used eBay.

You send me your full name and your shipping address so I can initiate the transaction.eBay contacts you with further details regarding the payment and shipping process.You submit the payment to eBay, eBay confirms the payment and asks me to release the shipment.I ship the boat which should be at your door within 5 business days.You have a 3 days inspection period before you confirm the deal and eBay forwards the payment to me or you cancel the deal and you get your money back and return the boat free of charge.

Basicly eBay holds your money safe until you confirm that the boat is what you have been expected and you want to buy it. It is not a sight unseen deal.

On the other hand I can ship the boat knowing eBay has your money and you won't dissapear with my boat. We are both covered.Sorry for the long emails I have tried to touch all bases.

 

I have contacted Ebay and made them aware of the problem

 

Please beware, the scammers are finding new ways to try to grab your cash

 

Interesting ... I am looking for a boat myself (and I recently bid on one and got outbid with like 3 seconds to go) ... my question to the professionals is what SHOULD the process of buying a used boat look like ... of course I would go SEE the thing and take it out for a spin before I actually paid ... but .. seriously ... even then, how can you be sure its not just some guy showing you someone elses boat at the marina ... papers or no papers ... and if you were the seller I guess you need to get a certified cheque to be sure you are gonna be paid ....definitely scary business when big dollars are involved ...

[BillM]

If you can see the boat in person and actually take it out on the water for a rip, I wouldn't think scam at all.

[hoops12]

I also have been looking for a boat and found scams on Kijiji, Autotrader, and Ebay. Make sure you can view the boat before you send any money. If it's too good to be true, then it is. I haven't been scammed yet but close!!

[misfish]

If you can see the boat in person and actually take it out on the water for a rip, I wouldn't think scam at all.

 

 

Just make sure there are no outstanding loans or leans against it.

[TC1OZ]

The whole point of Kijiji is to avoid the scams of online purchases by buying locally and meeting up with the person to exchange products/payments.

 

 

Off the Kijiji rules :

 

"When buying or selling, you should meet in-person to see the product and exchange funds. Kijiji is all about local transactions."

 

 

This goes back to the facebook thread, people just use things/assume things are a certain way without reading the rules.

 

If you knew what Kijiji was really about before using it, you would know 100% that anything that involves an online payment is a scam!!

[smally21]

i bought the boat in the picture with 4 hours on it from a nice fella in michigan, thru ebay. when i showed up to pick up the boat, and hand over my cheque, we both breathed a huge sigh of relief. "we were'nt being scammed!"

 

there are no authorities to report these guys to. in the countries they originate from it is legal and even considered a respectful occupation to scam north americans by turning their own greed against them. kijiji, ebay and the trader really cant verify all of their postings. offer your prospective seller escrow on a large dollar item if you're serious.

[TC1OZ]

i bought the boat in the picture with 4 hours on it from a nice fella in michigan, thru ebay. when i showed up to pick up the boat, and hand over my cheque, we both breathed a huge sigh of relief. "we were'nt being scammed!"

 

there are no authorities to report these guys to. in the countries they originate from it is legal and even considered a respectful occupation to scam north americans by turning their own greed against them. kijiji, ebay and the trader really cant verify all of their postings. offer your prospective seller escrow on a large dollar item if you're serious.

 

 

Kijiji you aren't supposed to be exchanging anything via mail or the internet.

 

Ebay there is the risk because the premise of the site is to make these transactions online, but if you follow the Ebay RULES you will not get scammed as there is insurance/protection for the Ebay client.

 

Its when people ignore the rules of Ebay (or aren't aware of them) and use a money order or some other type of transfer thats not part of ebay to complete the sale...There is then NO recourse for the person who got scammed because they didn't get scammed on ebay....they got scammed sending a random stranger money who they MET on ebay but did not actually do a transaction via ebay!

[misfish]

Kijiji you aren't supposed to be exchanging anything via mail or the internet.

 

We bought our boat off of Kijiji. The best part was, they were from Barrie aswell.Just up the street.

[TC1OZ]

We bought our boat off of Kijiji. The best part was, they were from Barrie aswell.Just up the street.

 

The whole point of Kijiji is to avoid the scams of online purchases by buying locally and meeting up with the person to exchange products/payments.

 

 

Off the Kijiji rules :

 

"When buying or selling, you should meet in-person to see the product and exchange funds. Kijiji is all about local transactions."

 

 

This goes back to the facebook thread, people just use things/assume things are a certain way without reading the rules.

 

If you knew what Kijiji was really about before using it, you would know 100% that anything that involves an online payment is a scam!!

 

 

That is how its supposed to be done!

[Paully]

Show me the stuff and i'll show you the money...

[TC1OZ]

Show me the stuff and i'll show you the money...

 

LOL! Make sure they aren't packin' heat first

[BillM]

Just make sure there are no outstanding loans or leans against it.

 

 

Brian, excellent point.

[Billy Bob]

In the summer of 2006 the wife and I went out west with a new Pop Up camper. After the trip I put a add in a trailer forum much like this one. A young family guy seen the add and asked for more pics......I sent him via email and he sent me the full amount of $6200.00. He was about 300 miles away in PA. We met (3 weeks later) half way in Cortland, NY 3 hours before my son's football game. Tried to teach him everything and anything about the trailer in that short amount of time and we went our separate ways........BUT I couldn't have done what he did, paying for something I never seen.....I couldn't cheat someone because I wouldn't be able to sleep at night...I am glad it did work out for the both of us.

 

BUYER BE WARE.......

Bob

[camillj]

I just bought a 9.9 hp off Kijiji .... it came up I went and picked it up next morning ... gonna test it out next weekend ... I am confident itll be just fine ... but I know where he lives ...