'Catamaran for Sale' Scam

[catman]

Originally Posted by catman

I had a wanted ad ion Apollo Duck and got several responses one was for a Perry 43' and one for a 44' St Francis.

How about a Perry 43' Catamaran for $340,000US.
Dave at davisgraham99@yahoo.com said that he recieved a 43' catamaran from a company and that they may have another one for sale.
I e-mailed the contact company address belviewchan_company_ltd.com and inquired as the the availability of a 43' Perry, "yes indeed they did have one it is $340,000 and by the way how did you find out about it?"
They said that they wanted $340,000 and could arrange for transport.
I e-mailed back saying it was $100,000 over my budget and where are you and how much would it cost to ship to Vancouver, they responded... our lowest price is $260,000 and that it would cost $7,800 to ship it from China to Vancouver.
Okay now I am really suspicious..checked all the pics on Yachtworld.com and found the exact same pics for a 43' Perry for sale in Australia.
Not again.. same M.O different names.

The other was for a 'friends 44'St Francis' this guy was from Tanzania who did not respond to my e-mail.

I am still looking.

My mistake the e-mail address for the supposed seller is belviewchan_company_ltd@ymail.com
Cheers

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by Canibul

you guys are going to tell me I really can't buy a new Gemini for $ 59.95, aren't you...

Brrwwahahahah!


Wait ...sure you can....Would you like that in glossy 8 x 10 Color or B & W?..

[Aussiesuede]

Reminds me of a basic safety precaution my grandma taught me as a lad:

NEVER, under ANY circumstances, give ANYONE money that you can't stand to lose unless it's IN PERSON & IN THE PRESENCE of what it is you are purchasing. NEVER means NEVER. Follow that simple rule, and it's exceedingly unlikely you'll find yourself being scammed out of your hard earned money.

A couple years ago I ran into one of these type of scams with a motorcycle parts purchase. The fella was in Florida, and I was in California at the time. He went so far as to schedule a time to meet me for pickup, but kept pestering me to send him a deposit. When I refused (it was under 3 days time and I told him I didn't care if it got sold before I got there) he would relent, then come back with a story hours later that he needed to change the meeting place. Guess he figured that I'd eventually get tired of all the changes and just agree to his terms. I was flying for free on my companies dime, so the only thing I'd be out of was the lost time. I showed up at the last place we'd agreed upon and he was a no show, and never responded to another call from me. 2 days later, there was a guy complaining about having been scammed for the very same part, with a story that was exactly what had been attempted with me. The difference was that the guy that got scammed sent this fella the $300 deposit he'd requested, but was predictably a no show when the guy came to pick it up. Sadly that fell was out the $300, airfare, hotel, and car rental.

Thank's grandma!

[sokari]

G'day catman and everyone.
These fright scams have been around for a while with many variations,We run a site selling yachts and it was quite common a while a ago.We actually ask our clients to tell us when any strange approach is made to them and then inform everyone on the site .
The scam also includes people selling boats as well.
Just be ware if something looks to good but also these people are getting better,We kept one going for a few weeks just ti learn his angle .
Look for errors in the way they speak the language (I know some people have trouble any way) It becomes clear and they do not like bank transfers they prefer companies like western union.
Hope this helps in some way,By the way there is a guy who is pretty well up on these in the states(Most of these scams where with small trailer boats in the beginning).

Regards John