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Fake manning agencies, recruitment-fee fraud, document phishing, fake STCW courses, copycat company websites — these scams cost seafarers thousands of dollars every month and can leave you stranded without a passport. This hub catalogues the patterns and gives you the verification steps and tools to defend yourself before signing or sending money.
How fraudulent manning agencies imitate licensed agents, what they ask for, how to verify the real licence, and what to do if you have already paid.
The fees you should never pay, and the dishonest framings that make them sound legitimate.
Social-media recruitment is now a top scam channel. What to look for, how to verify, when to walk away.
Sites that imitate a real shipping or manning company. How to tell the real one from the imitation.
How fraudulent training providers sell certificates that won't pass a port-state inspection.
A repeatable 10-step verification process before signing or sending money.
What to send, when, and to whom — to keep your identity documents under your control.
How to read an offer email like an ITF inspector.
An ordered response — bank, regulator, evidence, helpline — to give yourself the best chance of recovery and to stop the scam catching the next seafarer.
Why Facebook / Instagram / TikTok groups are now the highest-volume scam channel.
A short, repeatable checklist a seafarer can run against any offer before sending money, documents, or signing — combines the recruitment-fee, vessel-naming, licence-verification, and contract-substitution patterns into one decision tool.
Scams that piggy-back on the genuine complexity of crew transit visas — C1/D, Schengen, UK Joining-Ship, Australian MCV, Brazil crewman — to extract 'processing fees' that never reach the consulate.
A step-by-step verification process for any recruiter — combining the regulator licence directory, the principal cross-check, the vessel verification, and the wage / SEA reality check.