More Scams

[Dave]

Recently a couple of "too good to be true" posts have come up where someone is shopping for an item and finds a price that is "too good to be true." The come on is pretty professional. A store website is created with thousands of items for unbelievably low prices, in some cases hundreds of dollars below similar pricing on legitimate websites.

On the surface these websites look legit. They have contact information, list an address, return policies, shipping policies, etc. It is all part of the set up. They aren't. One conspicuous absence is a phone number.

If you should encounter such a site an easy way to check its validity is checking the address. Use Google Maps or Apple Maps, search for the address and use satellite view to see the location. Ask yourself, "Does this look like a business that has a warehouse full of boating items?" One recent address check showed the business in a house in a nice upscale residential development.

By ordering something from them, you reveal your email address, phone number, street address, and credit card information, even if the charge does not go through or a refund is issued. This information can be used for all kinds of nefarious purposes.

There is truth in the adage, if it seems too good to be true, then it's too good to be true and isn't. Be careful out there.

 

[Stu Jackson]

One conspicuous absence is a phone number.

That's a good "tell." IIRC, it's become a repetitive issue of having to remind folks of the old mantra ...if it seems too good to be true... Or, what mamma said. And for years we've been replying to skippers who post "...they haven't replied to my emails. So call them, that's why they call it a phone!"

Thanks for reminding everyone of these issues. Kinda like these recurring articles I see in newspapers: "How to get out of your own way."

 

[PaulK]

Came across something like this looking for a snowplow for my tractor. Really cheap. In Alaska. The address was a big box store with a different name. Decided I didn't need to lose that much money, thanks.

 

[capta]

Recently a couple of "too good to be true" posts have come up where someone is shopping for an item and finds a price that is "too good to be true." The come on is pretty professional. A store website is created with thousands of items for unbelievably low prices, in some cases hundreds of dollars below similar pricing on legitimate websites.

On the surface these websites look legit. They have contact information, list an address, return policies, shipping policies, etc. It is all part of the set up. They aren't. One conspicuous absence is a phone number.

If you should encounter such a site an easy way to check its validity is checking the address. Use Google Maps or Apple Maps, search for the address and use satellite view to see the location. Ask yourself, "Does this look like a business that has a warehouse full of boating items?" One recent address check showed the business in a house in a nice upscale residential development.

By ordering something from them, you reveal your email address, phone number, street address, and credit card information, even if the charge does not go through or a refund is issued. This information can be used for all kinds of nefarious purposes.

There is truth in the adage, if it seems too good to be true, then it's too good to be true and isn't. Be careful out there.

I've found several sites where I can find the veracity of other, questionable sites. Just search scam checker and enter the dubious site's name.

 

[jaysweet]

Last week, I tried to place an order with marinetechsupply dot com for some marine tinned wire. The price was quite good, but this wasn't all that expensive an item. When I tried to pay by credit card, the payment failed for no good reason, several times, and I ended up ordering from a well known site.

Today, the card got hit with several fraudulent charges, and I had to have it cancelled.

Those are the facts.

 

[BigEasy]

Last week, I tried to place an order for some marine tinned wire.
Those are the facts.

I have used Greg’s Marine Wire for years. Good quality, price, & customer service.

 

[Will Gilmore]

I have been ordering parts for my boat recently and I normally try Amazon, Defender, West Marine, and SBO, but a number of the parts I want are not available from those sources, like the Hayn Hi-Mod swageless fittings. I found some prices for some of these items, such as a roller furler that were so good, I couldn't believe I could actually afford a new roller furler. I asked Gemini about the item and the price and the site, and Gemini told me it was common for scam sites to focus on marine equipment because of the notorious pricing scale that attracts buyers to the outrageously low prices.

I got reassurance from a couple of sources that P2 Marine was legitimate, so I ordered the swageless fittings from them. I didn't hear from them for weeks, but they answered my eventual email about their shipping status. They had printed out the shipping label, so USPS showed them as pending, once I got a tracking number from P2. Another week and I was starting to think I actually had been scammed, but P2 sent me another email explaining that they hadn't received the item, and would contact me with further details as soon as they did. I got the fittings. Communications is key, for me. If they hadn't responded, I would have thought for sure they weren't real and would have moved to cancel my card.

We'll see how the Hayn Hi-Mod swageless fittings stand up for replacing the portside lower shroud. It looks good.

-Will

 

[jaysweet]

I'm embarrassed to admit that when my first credit card was declined with the aforementioned vendor, I popped out another card, and that too was declined for the same bogus reason. That's when I realized "oh, this is probably one of those bogus marine websites just trying to steal your credit card info". The problem is that this does, in fact, sometimes happen with legitimate web sites, so it's hard to tell which is what. My second card hasn't been sold. Yet. But I'm watching it.

 

[jaysweet]

I have used Greg’s Marine Wire for years. Good quality, price, & customer service.

I did actually hunt around for the wire I needed. I think I might have even looked for the site you mentioned, based on your earlier recommendation, so thanks for that. (Don't recall whether they had what I was looking for, but probably not?). The problem was that many places had 10 AWG wire in red in a 25' spool, but no one that I could find had the same length of white wire. This is what led me to the scammy website. As I mentioned elsewhere, I ended up having to buy 100' of white.

 

[shemandr]

I'm embarrassed to admit ...

Maybe, but your post opened my eyes about what can happen so I appreciate your openness.

 

[JBP-PA]

I have been ordering parts for my boat recently and I normally try Amazon, Defender, West Marine, and SBO, but a number of the parts I want are not available from those sources, like the Hayn Hi-Mod swageless fittings. I found some prices for some of these items, such as a roller furler that were so good, I couldn't believe I could actually afford a new roller furler. I asked Gemini about the item and the price and the site, and Gemini told me it was common for scam sites to focus on marine equipment because of the notorious pricing scale that attracts buyers to the outrageously low prices.

I got reassurance from a couple of sources that P2 Marine was legitimate, so I ordered the swageless fittings from them. I didn't hear from them for weeks, but they answered my eventual email about their shipping status. They had printed out the shipping label, so USPS showed them as pending, once I got a tracking number from P2. Another week and I was starting to think I actually had been scammed, but P2 sent me another email explaining that they hadn't received the item, and would contact me with further details as soon as they did. I got the fittings. Communications is key, for me. If they hadn't responded, I would have thought for sure they weren't real and would have moved to cancel my card.

We'll see how the Hayn Hi-Mod swageless fittings stand up for replacing the portside lower shroud. It looks good.

-Will

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[PEBI]

Well is it not true that websites can be fake if there is no encrption when you go to pay? There are some services that offer encryption that other sellers use, if they don't then you know it's likely a fake right?

 

[Davidasailor26]

Well is it not true that websites can be fake if there is no encrption when you go to pay? There are some services that offer encryption that other sellers use, if they don't then you know it's likely a fake right?

Encryption helps ensure you’re really talking to the site that’s identified in the browser’s address bar, and that no one else on the internet between you and there can read that traffic. It generally doesn’t really provide any assertion that the site itself is legit. There are many services that provide encryption certificates, some even for free, to advance the use of encryption, without providing any assurance of the legitimacy of the site.

For example, I could register the site totally-not-a-scam-site.com, and I could get a free certificate to encrypt all the traffic to and from my site. A user going to the site could rest assured that only me and them can read credit card numbers sent to my site via the browser. But that doesn’t mean anything about what I do with those credit card numbers once I have them.

 

[PEBI]

Encryption helps ensure you’re really talking to the site that’s identified in the browser’s address bar, and that no one else on the internet between you and there can read that traffic. It generally doesn’t really provide any assertion that the site itself is legit. There are many services that provide encryption certificates, some even for free, to advance the use of encryption, without providing any assurance of the legitimacy of the site.

For example, I could register the site totally-not-a-scam-site.com, and I could get a free certificate to encrypt all the traffic to and from my site. A user going to the site could rest assured that only me and them can read credit card numbers sent to my site via the browser. But that doesn’t mean anything about what I do with those credit card numbers once I have them.

I did not know you can get them for free now. But that is why you should only buy from a website that pays for them. Also doing a search for complaints about the site can weed out scams right. Unless your the very first victim.

The other thing to note is: Last time I checked in order pay using interact or credit cards such as american express or mastercard, the business owner has to pay a monthly fee of $30.00 or so. So if you order something less then that.

Paypal isn't the only service out there anymore where your credit card details stay hidden. The seller can still rip you off. Not send you the product. Or send you something else and not refund you. But atleast they won't be able to charge you again and again.

 

[Davidasailor26]

did not know you can get them for free now. But that is why you should only buy from a website that pays for them.

At this point the free certificates (especially through the non-profit Lets Encrypt) are so common that I don’t think free vs paid is a very good indicator of maliciousness. The paid services don’t really do any more validation than free ones anyway, at least for the usual “domain validation” certificates. There are other more expensive “organization validation” and “extended validation” certificates that provide higher assurance, but they’re not universally used even by reputable companies, and most browsers don’t do a really good job of distinguishing them from regular domain validation certs. To put it in perspective, even shop.sailboatowners.com is signed with a free Let’s Encrypt cert.

 

[dlochner]

If something is too good to be true, then it must be too good to be true. If you find a product at a greatly reduce price than other vendors are selling it, it is likely a scam. The scammers are looking for valid CC numbers, expiration dates, and security codes and importantly a valid physical address associated with the card.

One option some SBO members have used is to ask in the forums if a particular vendor is legit.