Scams Prevalent in Yacht Buying Transactions

Two scams are impacting the successful completion of yacht buying transactions. It was bound to happen as these documentation and wire-transfer scams have plagued the real estate industry for years. And, buying a yacht often involves larger sums of money than people's homes.

We have personally seen one of these scams play out with a broker and it was a nightmare for both him and his client. Hundreds of thousands of dollars vanished into thin air! It seems that these scammers hijacked the email communications between the two parties and diverted the money to their own bank account. The broker and his client were totally oblivious to it and only figured this out days later when the money transfer did not appear in the escrow bank account. It is crucial that you talk to the person receiving the money tranfer to confirm wire transfer details BEFORE you wire the money.

Learn more about these scams and how to protect yourself from them.