29 April 2026
British Marine is encouraging all members to remain vigilant and formally report any suspected fraudulent activity following a number of recent enquiries from businesses concerned about what appears to be a possible confidence scheme operating within the inland marine sector.
Several members have contacted British Marine after receiving approaches that raised concerns around legitimacy, including suspicious business dealings and activity that may indicate organised fraud targeting marine businesses.
After speaking directly with the national police reporting service, British Marine has been advised that any business with concerns should submit details through Report Fraud — the UK’s national reporting service for cyber crime and fraud, which replaced Action Fraud and is overseen by the City of London Police.
Why reporting matters
Even where a business has not yet suffered a direct financial loss, reporting suspicious activity is extremely important.
Report Fraud advises businesses to submit as much detail as possible, including:
- Names of individuals and businesses involved
- Email addresses, phone numbers and websites used
- Bank account details where payments were requested
- Copies of invoices, contracts or suspicious correspondence
- Dates, timelines and descriptions of what happened
- Any supporting evidence such as screenshots, payment requests, or unusual documentation
If the fraud is actively happening, the suspect is known, or they are still in the area, businesses should also contact police on 101 (or 999 in an emergency).
What happens after you report
Once a report is submitted, businesses receive a crime reference number and the case is passed to Report Fraud Analysis Services and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), overseen by City of London Police.
The police may not investigate every individual report separately, but every report helps build intelligence.
This intelligence is used to identify patterns across multiple reports — for example, repeated use of the same company names, payment accounts, email addresses or scam methods across the marine industry and beyond.
The NFIB collates and analyses this information, identifies viable lines of enquiry, and passes cases to local police forces and law enforcement partners where there is sufficient evidence for investigation and potential prosecution. This helps make the UK “a more hostile place for fraudsters to operate” and can prevent further victims from being targeted.
A message to members
British Marine strongly encourages members not to dismiss suspicious activity as “just one of those things.”
Confidence fraud often succeeds because businesses assume they are isolated cases. By reporting concerns early, members help protect not only their own organisations, but the wider leisure marine industry.
If you believe your business may have encountered suspicious or potentially fraudulent activity, please report it via Report Fraud or by calling 0300 123 2040.
The more information that is shared, the stronger the evidence becomes and the greater the chance of stopping fraudsters before others are affected.