Remove boat registration #?

[massnspace]

I have bought and sold quite a few sailboats in my life, and I am selling one now.

Should I be editing out the boat registration number from photos in ads? Why? Why do I see some others doing that? What harm can come from someone seeing what the registration number is?

[psk125]

Maybe they guys who are cutting out their numbers have liens on the boat that they don't want anyone to know about?

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by massnspace

Should I be editing out the boat registration number from photos in ads? Why? Why do I see some others doing that? What harm can come from someone seeing what the registration number is?

The reason people do it is that, in theory at least, occasionally someone will take some photos they've found on the internet of something, report the item as stolen, and submit an insurance claim using the photo as proof of ownership. This can then create headaches for the legitimate owner since the item shows up as stolen in NCIC (the national database of goods reported as stolen).

A related con is for someone to report the item as stolen and then contact you and ask you to "return" it to them and threaten to call the police if you don't. Then they offer to drop the whole matter in exchange for money.

I find these scenarios to be extremely farfetched and believe it is primarily a problem when the "legitimate owner" has difficulty establishing their, well, legitimacy.

[Montanan]

Been asked before on at least one other forum.

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/w...ng-boat.54418/

[psk125]

Originally Posted by Jammer

The reason people do it is that, in theory at least, occasionally someone will take some photos they've found on the internet of something, report the item as stolen, and submit an insurance claim using the photo as proof of ownership. This can then create headaches for the legitimate owner since the item shows up as stolen in NCIC (the national database of goods reported as stolen) .

So what's to keep anyone from taking their own photo of any boat registration numbers anywhere, and submitting that to the insurance company?
Wouldn't the insurance company at least need a police report? Like you say, this does not make a lot of sense. I like the lien idea better.

[wholybee]

I think that people are just so used to seeing personal information blacked out they think it's the right thing to do. It doesn't accomplish anything, as anyone can walk by any marina, see the registration numbers, and take a picture.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by psk125

So what's to keep anyone from taking their own photo of any boat registration numbers anywhere, and submitting that to the insurance company?

Nothing. These are low-level cons, people are lazy.

The practice of blurring identifying numbers started years ago on eBay with things like serial numbers on cameras. Those made for more effective cons because they aren't registered. It is very hard for an insurance company to prove that a camera you claim was stolen from you (or destroyed in a fire, etc) was never yours to begin with. With boats I think it's mostly urban legend, because a quick lookup in the state database will show the ownership history.

Wouldn't the insurance company at least need a police report?

Yes. People file fake police reports as part of insurance fraud all the time. Doing so is a crime. There's a whole subculture out there of people who just don't care.

[SailingHarmonie]

Originally Posted by Jammer

The reason people do it is that, in theory at least, occasionally someone will take some photos they've found on the internet of something, report the item as stolen, and submit an insurance claim using the photo as proof of ownership. This can then create headaches for the legitimate owner since the item shows up as stolen in NCIC (the national database of goods reported as stolen).

A related con is for someone to report the item as stolen and then contact you and ask you to "return" it to them and threaten to call the police if you don't. Then they offer to drop the whole matter in exchange for money.

I find these scenarios to be extremely farfetched and believe it is primarily a problem when the "legitimate owner" has difficulty establishing their, well, legitimacy.

I have to say I find all of these completely implausible, and either urban myths, or the product of a paranoid imagination.

If any of these scams would ever really work, you would not need to troll sales posts for pictures of registration numbers. Just for example, I’ve never heard of an insurance company underwriting a boat with a picture of the registration numbers as “proof” of ownership. Insurance companies are not stupid.