toneeees
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By: Escrow.com
It’s best to be careful all year ‘round but, most (if not all) of us are in the midst of your annual holiday buying spree. However, and unfortunately for us all, scammers are consistently one step ahead of you, and they’re doing everything they can do to place that piece of coal in your stocking.
Keep these things in mind for buying or selling a boat and you’ll be sure to have a happy holiday season:
Footnote on licensing requirements: Government agencies perform regular audits of independently licensed escrow companies. The audit examinations serve to protect public funds, determine safety and soundness of operations and determine compliance with escrow statutes and regulations. For example, the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) in California conducts the most stringent examination of all government agencies. And, there are only three online escrow services (Escrow.com, Agreed.com, and Elance.com) licensed by the State to conduct business. (More information can be found here – DBO - Online Escrow Companies). However, if you reside in California and your Buyer (or Seller) lives out of state, the online escrow company you choose must be properly licensed as required by that particular state. So, no matter which State you are in, make sure the escrow service you choose is properly licensed.
It’s best to be careful all year ‘round but, most (if not all) of us are in the midst of your annual holiday buying spree. However, and unfortunately for us all, scammers are consistently one step ahead of you, and they’re doing everything they can do to place that piece of coal in your stocking.
Keep these things in mind for buying or selling a boat and you’ll be sure to have a happy holiday season:
- Many ‘alternative’ payment methods are used by scammers. Green Dot MoneyPak, wire transfers, Western Union, Cashier’s Checks, money grams and personal checks are the most common.
- Never give out personal banking information: If you are ever asked – don’t do the deal!
- When selling, only ship items once the payment has been secured by: (a) actually receiving good funds or (b) using a licensed and bonded online escrow service.
- You will be safe if you keep these two things in mind: As a Buyer, any payment is a donation until the goods are received. And, as a Seller, any sale is a gift until payment is received.
- Remember that Craigslist, or other such sites, are not held responsible for any fraud which occurs on their site. This means that if you get scammed by a buyer while selling on their site, there is nothing they can do for you. Most anyone who states that a site will guarantee payments is either misinformed or is a potential scammer.
- Anywhere that there is an opportunity for fraud, you can be sure that a scammer will try to commit it.
- Double-check the website’s URL (address) before you enter any of your payment details. Be certain that the URL begins with “https://”. The “s” at the end of the “http” confirms that the site has a secure connection.
- When paying with PayPal, there are many items that are not covered by their Buyer Protection program. With PayPal, or any other payment instrument, do yourself a favor and read the fine print!
- Always, check your bank and credit statements monthly for fraudulent transactions. Access it online and do it more often if possible.
- Stay away from boat listing sites that look fishy or are full of typos.
- Avoid clicking on attachments or hyperlinks sent from unknown senders.
- Never (EVER!) give out your social security number.
Footnote on licensing requirements: Government agencies perform regular audits of independently licensed escrow companies. The audit examinations serve to protect public funds, determine safety and soundness of operations and determine compliance with escrow statutes and regulations. For example, the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) in California conducts the most stringent examination of all government agencies. And, there are only three online escrow services (Escrow.com, Agreed.com, and Elance.com) licensed by the State to conduct business. (More information can be found here – DBO - Online Escrow Companies). However, if you reside in California and your Buyer (or Seller) lives out of state, the online escrow company you choose must be properly licensed as required by that particular state. So, no matter which State you are in, make sure the escrow service you choose is properly licensed.
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