Don’t Take the Bait

Old scams, better bait

Southern Boating’s November 2026 issue looks at how altered invoices, intercepted wires and AI-generated impersonations are now aimed squarely at boat owners. Yard bills, dockage, fuel and repairs all move electronically, and that convenience is exactly what fraudsters step into: a compromised vendor inbox, wiring instructions changed partway through an email chain, even a familiar-sounding voice on the phone.

The scale is real. Americans reported nearly $20.9 billion in internet-crime losses to the FBI in 2025, up 26 percent on the year before.

Why AI changes the threat

Asset Card co-founder Kyle Jadevaia, who comes to fintech from Special Operations and technology, told the magazine that generative AI has not invented a new scam. It has made the old one far more convincing and far cheaper to run. A polished message can reference your boat, your yard and the repair you actually approved, and much of that context is already public, from marina check-ins and yard photos to brokerage listings.

“The answer is verified process, not verified identity.” Kyle Jadevaia, co-founder, Asset Card

A process, not a payment

That thinking is built into how Asset Card moves money. Payments follow set approvals, not inbox requests: who can spend, how much, and what has to happen before a payment is released. A request to wire funds to a new account, however urgent it sounds, should start a process and never a payment.

Before you pay

• Call back on a number you already trust, never one from the message.
• Treat any change to bank details as a red flag, even mid-thread.
• Use unique passwords and multifactor authentication everywhere money moves.
• Turn on alerts, set spending limits, and require a second approval for large payments.

No single message, however convincing, should be enough to move money.