Documentation

[Cedar22]

Another scam just arrived. Documented vessel owners - PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR ANY SOLICITATIONS FROM "PRIVATE ONLINE APPLICATION PORTAL" entrepreneurs! Just received one from" NATIONAL DOCUMENTATION PORTAL" telling me, "At this time, public records indicate that your vessel's USCG Documentation is SET TO EXPIRE." NOT TRUE. We renewed the vessel's documentation back in May of 2022 and have received the updated documentation certificate. This entity is asking me to log into their website and then pay for their assistance in renewing our documentation which is still very much in effect. Don't fall for anything except the real thing. BOATUS advises:
"While the Coast Guard does send official annual renewal notices by U.S. mail, BoatUS reports that members have been receiving notices that are not from the Coast Guard but from third-party companies whose names or return addresses may appear similar to that of the official U.S. Coast Guard National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC)." Pay attention and do not fall for the bogus mailings which will charge a lot more than the USCG - and often will simply pocket the payment and you will hear nothing further.

 

[Creek]

I received the same solicitation from the same outfit a few days ago. It makes an excellent attempt to appear to be from the U.S.C.G.. It even uses an email address of NVDC*******.us address, thereby trying to look like an actual address of the C.G. renewal center in Falling Waters W. Virginia. It also uses an official looking government seal at the top of the letter. It would be very easy to mistake this as an official communication.


I presume it is illegal to pretend to be an official government agency.

 

[Comodave]

I don’t think what they are doing is illegal but it is unethical.

 

[Creek]

It's hard to believe that sending letters that pretend to be from an agency of government is legal. However, I'm not a lawyer and don't have a professionally educated point of view on this.

 

[denverd0n]

I presume it is illegal to pretend to be an official government agency.

If, somewhere in the literature, they actually said that they are an official government agency then, yes, that would be illegal. They don't, however. So what they are doing is completely legal.

Of course, it is obvious that they hope that you won't look at it too closely, and will THINK that it is from the USCG. Once again proving that, just because something is legal, that doesn't mean that it is right, or ethical, or that it is not a complete scam.

Their attempts to confuse people into thinking that this is an official government agency makes it a complete scam, even though -- technically -- it is not illegal.

 

[markpierce]

These tactics must work or they would have stopped such behavior.

 

[markpierce]

Regardless, do not renew documentation earlier than two months before expiration (unless you want less than a year's renewal).