703-459-9788

That number is a TextFree app phone number; not a real phone number.  Someone texting via their iPhone or iPad.

Do not fall for this blatant scammer.

Did he try to scam you, too, Carrie?

I believe he is trying to scam me.  Says his name is Ronald and wants to buy a boat I have for sale; sight unseen.  At full price.

I got the exact same message for a boat i am selling. In addition, he also told me he was a marine engineer overseas, etc. and wanted a bunch of information from me. I stopped contact.

Yes, he texted my husband because we have our boat up on BoatTrader.com.

Ronald:  Hi, this is Ronald, is this boat still for sale?

Me:  Yes

Ronald:  Ok thanks. Your asking price is quite reasonable and affordable considering others I've seen lately, I'll take it. Anyway, if you don't mind me asking. What's your name? Who is the right owner? Do you have PayPal account for the payment? Kindly get back to me before we proceed with the transaction.

We knew immediately that this was a scam because no sane person buys a boat or even a car sight unseen and offers full price!  The second red flag was asking if we had a PayPal account.

If you take payment from a credit card or even paypal and it is discovered that the purchase was made using a stolen credit card or stolen funds (bank account), but you've already stupidly let your boat go off into the sunset with a thief, you are sh*t out of luck.  The seller is ultimately responsible for the stolen funds and you will have to pay the money back to PayPal or the credit card company to return the stolen funds to the rightful owner.  You, however, end up with nothing... no money and no more boat :(  So, sellers beware!!  CASH only (cash, cashier's check, certified funds) when selling your boat or car to a private party.

Got a call from this number about a boat I had for sale. Received the call within hours of placing an ad on BoatTrader.com. Wanted to purchase the boat sight unseen using PayPal. Only text contact.  Definitely a scam. Stay away.

Never exchange money on line.

Carrie C.,

Thanks for sharing.  I received the exact same contact (word-for-word) by the same named individual.  I placed boat on boat trader.com today.  Thought I had gotten lucky with a quick sale.  Thankfully text messages became too suspicious.

Forgot to mention the number I was being texted from.  It was 360-587-7163.

I just had the exact experience almost verbatim.  Marine engineer, can't talk, only text.  Asking for paypal account.
Ph# was 571-281-5633.  Person called themselves RL Green.