B&O Engines

[Hightower]

I've just been browsing the Boats and Outboards website for a bigger engine and was amazed at the amount of ads for apparently new or nearly new engines at ridiculous prices. Are these all scams? If this is true, how can they post without being removed.

[Downhilldai]

Originally Posted by Hightower

I've just been browsing the Boats and Outboards website for a bigger engine ....

What's max hp your hull's rated to?

Originally Posted by Hightower

Are these all scams?

Oh yes!

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

What's max hp your hull's rated to?

Just Kidding I wondered how quickly I'd get a nibble

Mike said he'd be quite happy putting a 200 on the back, but thought a 175 would be a better bet. He told me he knew of a 5.8 with a 225 hung off the back, now that's just rediculous.

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

Oh yes!

So how come they're allowed to get away with posting these ads then? Don't B&O have a responsibility to have these this removed?

[JSP]

If when you contact the seller they come back asking you to oder through there site http://www.watersports24.co.cc/ there's a good chance it's a scam. I enquired about a 50hp 4 stroke Honda, but the response didn't sound to good.

[martini]

Originally Posted by Hightower

So how come they're allowed to get away with posting these ads then? Don't B&O have a responsibility to have these this removed?

I think they just go up quicker than B&O can take them down

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by martini

I think they just go up quicker than B&O can take them down

Oh, they do remove them then?

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Hightower

Oh, they do remove them then?

<sits patiently and waits for member 'boats' to arrive>

[Boats]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

<sits patiently and waits for member 'boats' to arrive>

Here he is!


It is very annoying and I am looking in to ways in which we can prevent this crud from spoiling our site.

The engines seem to be a real problem area, I will see what can be done and get back to you all.

In the meantime please be careful.

Stephen

[John Kennett]

How about having some moderators? You could recruit them from a variety of forums to suit the sections on B&O.

I'm sure that there are people like Nos4r2 who'd be happy to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.

John

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

How about having some moderators? You could recruit them from a variety of forums to suit the sections on B&O.

I'm sure that there are people like Nos4r2 who'd be happy to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.

John

I hope you're charging comission for hawking me...

[Jono]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

I hope you're charging comission for hawking me...

I think the correct term is "pimping".....

[JSP]

I' ve been a moderator on a few forums (photography based) which isn't that hard to do, but how would you go about mod'ing B&O? Unless you could have Moderators from different sections of the country to actually go and view the item.

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Jono

I think the correct term is "pimping"

And your pimp name is Sticky Fingers Kennett Slick

according to here .. get that swagger stick and leopard skin fed

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by JSP

I' ve been a moderator on a few forums (photography based) which isn't that hard to do, but how would you go about mod'ing B&O? Unless you could have Moderators from different sections of the country to actually go and view the item.

It'd be quite easy-just get the system to send an automated 'for sale' enquiry email from a list. The response will show a scam very obviously.

[m chappelow]

had a member of our boat club scammed last month for over £3000 for an engine that never appeared,via a certain web site and the police say that he has no chance of it getting back ,it wasent just him either quite a few by all accounts ,there were people covering up for the overseas company saying they had ordered things, bit late but eventually it turned up fine ,thing is they were alegidly in with the scam too so the police say ..

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by JSP

I' ve been a moderator on a few forums (photography based) which isn't that hard to do, but how would you go about mod'ing B&O? Unless you could have Moderators from different sections of the country to actually go and view the item.

I was thinking of weeding out the more blatant scams which would be pretty easy - at least make the scammers work a bit harder!

John

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

I was thinking of weeding out the more blatant scams which would be pretty easy - at least make the scammers work a bit harder!

John

I think that's the problem though. The scammers aren't that blatant unless you've got an idea what you're looking at. Unless of course there's a big yank motor or stars and stripes flying on an ad that says it's in the UK.

[John Kennett]

We seem to have spotted a few in the past without actually needing to go and look at anything. Here's a few for starters (from Ebay as well as B&O):

Boats & Outboards scam!!!
is this rib cheap?
Mug Required.......
Boatsandoutboards Scam?
Is this to good to be true?

John

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

I think that's the problem though. The scammers aren't that blatant unless you've got an idea what you're looking at. Unless of course there's a big yank motor or stars and stripes flying on an ad that says it's in the UK.

They're not obvious from the readers point of view but I would be surprised if there aren't trends in where they come from that B&O would spot, and take measures to hinder them. e.g.

• country of origin of IP address
• domain name used for email address
• specific IP addresses
• new users who have never posted an ad before; or of course those who posted scams before!
• categories being posted in
• number of photos (to get price cheap/free)
• trends for the default options for location, fuel etc

This sort of approach is common for email (and forum) spam assessment. So each ad gets a "scam score" and then based on some threshold gets rejected/requires moderated/accepted.

I think they have a fundamental error by not asking users to register. But there isn't even any verification that the phone number provided has a valid number of digits or that the postcode exists.

they are quick enough to refuse any advert that cross refers to ebay (presumably as it might get in the way of their revenue stream from phone calls) that they should be able to stop this too.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Polwart

They're not obvious from the readers point of view

They are from where I'm sat!