Fraud On Cabo Charter Boat

This past week, FONMAR, the Marine Resources Protection Fund, conducted a surveillance operation on sportfishing charters departing the Cabo San Lucas marina. The operation was primarily deployed to check the validity of paperwork that charters must have and possess, such as Mexico sportfishing licenses, captains licensure, insurance documentation, and vessel registration.

During the operation, it was determined that one vessel with foreign tourists who had booked a sportfishing charter, were in possession of fraudulent Mexico sportfishing licenses. Unknown to the group, one or more individuals had provided them with the fraudulent documents which were not valid. Upon the discovery during the charter departure from the marina, the boat was immediately seized and the passengers were forced to leave the vessel once it arrived at the dock under escort by FONMAR authorities.

How can you avoid fraud on a Cabo charter boat?

1. Never book a charter of any type from a salesperson in the Cabo marina. These individuals do not care about your safety, nor issues such as the one above that happened this week, such as valid documents.

   
   

2. Do your due diligence. Does the charter company have legitimate reviews showing a track record over time? Do they have a Google business listing? With Google, legitimate business documents must be submitted before a Google business listing is approved and listed.

   
   

3. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Charter operations such as ours are well aware that there are "cheaper" charters offered by salespeople in and around the marina. We get it. Who doesn't want to save a few bucks on vacation and have some extra money for tacos and beer!?!? There is however a reason some of these charters are cheaper and that is because they are often doing unscrupulous things, as mentioned above. Use your judgement and instincts. If it feels off, it probably does for a reason.

   
   

4. Remember there is more at risk to you than losing a day of fishing. You're on vacation in Cabo and perhaps you've looked forward to going fishing during this trip for a very long time. Not only did these individuals lose out on a day of fishing, they also most likely did not and will not receive a refund for the money they spent.

   
   

5. Your Mexico fishing licenses should should have a QR code and the state logo in the upper right hand corner such as this one below. If it doesn't, or if they aren't provided to you, this can be a red flag.

   

   Legitimate Mexico fishing licenses should bear this seal and QR code.

6. Book with a reputable and established charter. We pride ourselves on doing everything that is legally required on all of our charters, dating back to our inception in 1991, when we first started offering sportfishing charters in Cabo San Lucas.

While the temptation of a low cost charter may seem too good to pass up, consider the greater risk that we have outlined above. Vacations are meant to be enjoyable, not stressful or disruptive to your plans, nor place you at potential risk for legal consequences in a foreign country.

www.topanglersfishing.com