Boat buying scams: how to spot a fake listing, a stolen boat or a flood boat

Most boat sellers are honest. But boats are expensive, often sold between strangers across state lines, with paperwork most buyers have never seen before. That makes them a favorite target for scammers. Almost every boat scam falls apart when you follow a few rules: see the boat and the seller, check the paperwork against the boat, and never wire money to someone you haven't met for a boat you haven't seen.

The fake-boat escrow scam

This is the most common one. BoatUS has reported clients who paid $22,000 to a bogus escrow company for boats that didn't exist.¹ It usually goes like this:

1. A listing shows a great boat at a great price, often far below anything comparable. The photos are beautiful because they were copied from a real listing.
2. The seller can't meet you or talk on the phone. They're overseas, deployed, working offshore or handling a relative's estate.
3. The seller suggests an escrow or shipping company with a professional-looking website, and insists on it.²
4. You wire the money to the "escrow service," which promises delivery after inspection.
5. The website disappears, and so does your money.

The warning signs

• A price far below every comparable boat
• A seller who won't talk on the phone or meet in person, with a sad or heroic reason why
• Pressure to decide quickly because "other buyers are interested"
• An escrow, shipping or inspection company the seller chooses and insists on
• Payment by wire, gift cards, cryptocurrency or a payment app
• Photos that appear in other listings under a different seller or location

How to protect yourself

• Reverse-search the photos. Upload a listing photo to Google Images or TinEye. If the same photos show up in an older listing somewhere else, walk away.
• Talk on the phone, then do a live video call where the seller shows you the boat with a note that has your name on it.
• Never use an escrow service the seller picks. Choose a known company yourself, find its contact details independently, and verify it before you send anything.
• See the boat in person, or send someone you trust: a surveyor, a broker you hired, a friend nearby.
• Pay only at closing, by a traceable method, after the title and lien checks.

Wire fraud in real deals

Even when the boat and the broker are real, criminals sometimes break into email accounts and send fake "updated wiring instructions" just before closing. The rule: before you wire any money, call the broker or escrow agent at a number you got independently, not from the email, and confirm the account details out loud. Treat any last-minute change to wiring instructions as fraud until proven otherwise.

Stolen boats and engines

Check the hull identification number (HIN)

Boats built or imported for sale in the US since the early 1970s should carry a 12-character HIN. The first three characters identify the manufacturer, the next five are the builder's serial number, and the last four show the month and year of manufacture and the model year.³ The primary HIN must be on the starboard (right) side of the transom, within two inches of the top, and a second, hidden HIN must be somewhere inside the boat. Both are meant to be permanent and hard to alter.⁴

Photograph the transom HIN and compare it with the title or registration, character by character. Look for ground-down areas, filler, fresh gelcoat around the number, or a plate riveted over the original. Ask the seller where the hidden HIN is: an owner who knows usually has nothing to hide.

Check the engine serial numbers

Outboards are stolen far more often than whole boats. Look for scratched or altered serial numbers and missing or scraped-off serial stickers, and make sure every number matches the paperwork. Many police marine units will run a serial number through the national crime database for a serious buyer if you ask.⁵

Hurricane and flood boats

After every major storm, damaged boats get salvaged, cleaned up and sold again, sometimes far from where the storm hit. Unlike cars, boats often carry no record of it. BoatUS has warned that few states brand salvaged boats' titles, and some states don't title boats at all.⁶ Florida has since passed a law that brands the titles of boats with significant damage,⁷ but that only helps when the boat was titled there.

Signs of a storm or flood boat:

• A gap in the ownership history, or a recent purchase from a salvage auction
• A boat recently in a storm area now being sold far away
• New upholstery, carpet and headliner in an otherwise old, tired boat
• Green and white corrosion inside electrical panels, rust on seat frames and hinges, dead gauges
• Silt, sand or a high-water line inside lockers and under floorboards
• Engines or electronics that are all new, or all missing, with no clear reason

Ask directly whether the boat has ever been sunk, flooded or in an insurance claim, and get the answer in writing in your purchase agreement.

The fake documentation renewal letter

Owners of federally documented boats get official-looking letters and find websites offering to renew their Coast Guard documentation for a much higher fee. The Coast Guard says these companies don't act on its behalf and can't issue documentation, and it listed the real renewal fee as $26 when renewing directly with the National Vessel Documentation Center.⁸ Renew only through the NVDC itself.

When the seller isn't the owner

• Estates: ask for the court paperwork showing the seller has authority to sell.
• Divorces and co-owners: every owner on the title must sign, or a court order must allow the sale.
• Company-owned boats: ask for a document showing the signer is authorized.
• "Selling for a friend": that's a no until the friend shows up with the title.

A safe buying workflow

Follow these steps on every purchase, in this order, and most scams can't reach you:

1. Screen the listing and reverse-search the photos. See how to read a boat listing.
2. Talk by phone and video. Confirm the seller's name matches the title.
3. See the boat in person, or send someone you trust.
4. Check the HIN and engine serials against the paperwork.
5. Run the title or documentation check for owners, loans and liens.
6. Make a written offer subject to survey, sea trial and clear title.
7. Put any deposit in escrow with a broker or company you chose and verified.
8. Survey and sea trial.
9. Close with a bill of sale, signed title or documentation transfer, lien releases, and a payment method you've verified by phone. See title, bill of sale and liens.

Common questions

Are boat listings on Facebook Marketplace safe?

Many are genuine private sales, and some are real bargains. Marketplace and other classifieds also carry most of the scams. The same rules apply: talk by phone, see the boat, check the paperwork, and never pay a deposit for a boat you haven't seen.

Is it safe to buy a boat sight unseen?

Only if someone you trust, such as your own surveyor or broker, sees it for you, and the money goes through escrow you chose and verified. Never wire money to a stranger for a boat nobody you know has seen.

How can I check if a boat is stolen?

Compare the HIN on the transom with the title, character by character, and look for signs of tampering. Check the engine serial numbers. Ask your local police marine unit whether they'll run the numbers for you.