[4 tips to protect yourself from chartering fraud] Don’t want the yacht party to become “empty at the pier” to crack the 7 major traps and go to sea with peace of mind.

The Scammer’s Five-Step Playbook: How Your Party Dreams Get Stolen Step by Step

The methods of scammers are actually the same, as long as you see through this “five-step”, you can easily avoid traps.

1. Step 1: Throw the Lure (The Lure 🎣).

   Scammers will set up professional-looking IG/FB pages, steal official photos of other legitimate charter companies, create the illusion of “their own fleet”, and deliver the purchase advertisement to you accurately.

2. Step 2: Lure you into The Hook 💰

   The core incentive of fraud is “unreasonable low price”. A luxury yacht with a market price of about HK$20,000, they may only quote 12,000 yuan, attracting you who don’t know the market with ultra-low prices.

3. Step 3: The Conversation 🗣️

   Scammers will soon use high-pressure sales tactics, such as “the shipping schedule is full, you can get the last seat”, “you can get this discount price when you place an order today”, creating a sense of urgency and leaving you with no time to think calmly and verify the facts.

4. Step 4: The Transaction 💸

   This is the key to the scam! The fraudsters will ask you to deposit the deposit or even the full amount into a personal bank account through an irreversible method such as Faster Payment System (FPS). They will never provide a business account or accept credit cards.

5. Step 5: The Disappearance 👻

   After receiving the money, on the agreed day, you and your friends wait at the dock until the end of the day, only to find that the other party’s phone can no longer be connected, and you will be directly blocked on social media. Eventually, the scammers will delete the entire page and give it a makeover to find their next target.

See through at a glance! 7 Red Flags of Charter Scams

Don’t want to be in the middle? In fact, the tricks of scammers are full of flaws. If you see any of the following red flags, please immediately “pull the trigger away” and terminate the transaction!

• 🚨 The price is “so cheap that you can’t believe it”: This is the most obvious warning sign! If the quotation is 30% or more lower than the formal platform, it is almost certainly a trap.
• 🚨 Turn off the comment function on social pages: Scammers are most afraid of being “kicked” by others, so turning off the comment function to prevent past victims from warning others is an extremely strong red flag!
• 🚨 Request payment to personal bank account: Formal companies must use their registered corporate bank account. Anyone who asks you to transfer money to your personal account with FPS should refuse it immediately!
• 🚨 Constantly exerting high-pressure sales pressure: “Place an order immediately, otherwise it won’t work”, these words are all aimed at creating panic and preventing you from verifying.
• 🚨 Refusal to provide supporting documents: When you ask the other party to provide a vessel licence (Class 4 vessel) or a company’s business registration number, if the other party refuses to do so, 99% of them are fraudsters.
• 🚨 Familiar images: Photos from scammers’ pages are often stolen. You may want to use Google’s “Search by image” feature to find the true source of the image.
• 🚨 Lack of physical contact information: Except for social accounts and a WhatsApp number, the other party cannot give the company address, official website or office phone number at all.

Be a smart consumer: 4 golden rules for safe chartering

Instead of being nervous, it’s better to take the initiative! By following these golden rules, you can minimize the risk of being scammed.

• Trust, but Verify: Prefer a reputable and long-established boat charter platform like Holimood . The most crucial step is to verify their travel agency license. For example, Holimood’s travel agency license number is 354248, and you can check its legal operating qualifications on the website of the Travel Industry Authority of Hong Kong. This is the strongest weapon against anonymous scammers!
• Insist on Requesting a Written Contract: Before making payment, always request a detailed written quotation and lease contract that clearly outlines the inclement weather arrangements and cancellation policy. Don’t trust any verbal promises!
• Adopt secure payment channels: Insist on paying to the company’s registered bank account or through the secure payment system provided by the platform. Try to pay by credit card as much as possible, and adhere to the rule of “pay part of the deposit first, pay the balance a few days before departure”, and refuse any request for 100% prepayment.
• Trust Your Instincts: During communication, if the other party feels unprofessional, flickering, or the trading terms are too good to be reasonable, trust your straightforward instincts! If you have any doubts, you would rather give up than take risks.

What should I do if I am unlucky enough to be tricked? A guide to dealing with scams in 4 steps

If you unfortunately become a victim, stay calm and take the following actions immediately:

1. Preserve all evidence: Immediately take screenshots of the scammer’s social page, all conversation history (WhatsApp, IG/FB Messenger), and payment history (such as FPS confirmation screen).
2. Contact your bank: Notify your bank of a fraudulent transaction as soon as possible. While FPS transfers are difficult to reverse, immediate reporting is a necessary procedure.
3. Report the crime to the police: Bring all the evidence and report the crime in person at the police station or using the police’s “e-Report Centre”, clearly stating that you suspect that the other party has committed the crime of “obtaining property by deception”.
4. Alert the community: Without affecting the police investigation, share your experience on consumer forums or social groups (remember to hide your personal information) to remind others to be vigilant.