Scam Alerts!
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Scroll down this page to search and view possible scam alerts that are reported by our readers! You can also search using the categories list or the text box tool.
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A reader, Tyler O, has submitted a warning about a company that he believes attempted to scam him with a fake resale offer. An excerpt from his email is below:
"...Received a call from Donna Garcia at World Event Management in Denver, CO with an unsolicted offer to purchase my timeshare for $49,500, which is way more than it is worth. She even emailed me a written offer to purchase, but wanted more information (full legal name and other personally identitfying information). I did some research because this sounded like a scam. I'm glad I did. This company fits the profile. They did not want to use an independant title company to handle the escrow, instead wanted to have money sent to them...." When I checked the company's website, it appears to be just a marketing site and not licensed as a real estate broker. Under the FAQ's, this statement appears: "Does World Event Management own or rent properties directly? No. World Event Management is a service which allows vacation rental owners/managers to advertise their vacation rentals and helps potential renters to find a suitable vacation rental property. To rent properties." If the company only acts as a by-owner advertising medium, there would be no reason for an employee to contact a timeshare owner with any offer, and it would be illegal for an unlicensed company or individual to perform real estate services without being properly licensed. As always, it is very important for consumers to be very wary of any unsolicited phone call offering any type of resale or rental service. In some cases, it is not even a representative of the company making the call, but rather just a con artist pretending to be affiliated with a legitimate business. If you believe that you have been the victim of a timeshare scam or any other type of consumer fraud perpetrated by this company, please take the time to report the alleged crime to the Colorado Attorney General by clicking HERE! Another reader has submitted a possible timeshare scam alert using the name Global Partner Network. The technique she reports is one that readers here will be very familiar with that commonly targets owners of timeshares in Mexico.
The consumer receives a telemarketing call telling her that a buyer has been found for her Mexican timeshare, and normally promising a ridiculously high selling price. The seller is told that there are no upfront fees and sent what appears to be a legitimate contract. Eventually, the transaction will be given to a "closing company" who then goes into the Mexican transfer tax con game. If the consumer pays the non-existent tax (which is in reality just a camouflaged upfront fee)- the con artists will then normally try to bleed the victim for a few more payments (all of which they promise will be refunded) until the timeshare owner finally realizes that it just a scam! An except from the reader's warning is below: "...I was contacted at home by a man by the name of Darren Lucas from Global Partner Netowrk out of Toronto, Canada. He told me that a buyer is interested in purchasing my timeshare week (in addition to others) at the Villa Del Palmar Resort in Mexico. He asked for my email and said he would send an offer letter within 72 hours. I agreed to the offer and completed all the forms. I also spoke with a David Klein and Kenneth Wade during the process. When it came time to go to escrow, I received a few documents via email for closing. One of them was in Spanish and was stating that I need to pay a SAT tax in the amount of $2650.00 before they would wire transfer my payment to my account. I called to discuss this with Kenneth Wade, who took me to a website that supposely explained SAT taxes and he had me write a letter to explain why I should get a refund of the tax. He replied within an hour stating that he received approval to refund my tax money and it would come back to me with the money for my timeshare. I didn't have the money so borrowed it from my parents. They suggested that I look into this because of potential scam. I have not heard back from Global Partners Network since I told them that I had the money to pay the fee. I looked at their website globalpartners-network.com and they appear to be legitimate, but I have a bad feeling that it is a scam. I looked up the BBB in Toronto and they have not had any reports. I have not proceeded with the sale. As I reread the sales contract, a flag went up when I read a paragraph that told me not to contact my resort or they would try to stop the sale..." You can find more examples of the Mexican timeshare resale scam at the following links: Mexican Transfer Tax Scam Mexican Tax Scam Mexican Timeshare Closing Cost Scam As previously reported HERE on Vacation-Times.org, there are now numerous reported cases of unlicensed con artists who steal the identity of respected resale brokers and place online ads for timeshare resales and timeshare rentals in an attempt to bilk unsuspecting consumers.
A new article in the Union.com details the arrest of a former California real estate agent who has been accused of posting ads on Craigslist offering timeshares for sale. William "Bill" Lordier was allegedly using the identity of a legitimate timeshare resale broker who he previously worked for to gain credibility with the victims so he could gain access to their bank account information. “He used to work for a reputable company a long time ago, and he was using their name to sell fictitious timeshares,” Det. Jason Doolittle said. “The victims would sign a fictitious contract, provide their bank information and he would then make withdrawals. Then they would never hear from him again.” Doolittle said the timeshares were for different locations; he declined to release the name of the timeshare company due to the ongoing investigation. Detectives have located multiple victims in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Anyone who may have fallen victim to Lordier's scam is asked to contact Doolittle at (530) 889-7844. A reader has submitted a possible scam alert for a company she believes to be operating as Resort Trust Solutions. It appears to be the same bait and switch routine common to telemarketing scams, where a cold call promised a buyer at a ridiculously high selling price- but requires a large upfront fee.
After the fee is paid, no sale ever occurs! It is unclear at this time if this is the same group previously reported as a possible timeshare scam using the name Resort Solution Trust. That alert can be viewed at https://vacation-times.org/1/post/2011/12/possible-new-timeshare-scam-resort-solution-trust.html. Follows is an excerpt from the email I received: ...Jonnie Cokesey from Resort Trust Solutions called me and told me she had a buyer for my timeshare, I was skeptic but she was really sincere. She had her salesman call me Shawn Kane he said the people were pre approved for 18,000. all he neded from me was 2287.00 for misc expenses. He proceeded to send us the papers to sign once he received them the deal would be done. The laugh was on me because the deal was done when I gave him my credit card number. Also his boss Anthony reassured us everything was ioo% legitmate. I hope no one else falls for their silver tongue lies.... If you believe that you have also been a victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by this company, please take the time to report the crime to your state Attorney General. There have been two recent warnings posted on the Timeshare Users Group as well as TimeshareMarketPlace that are warning consumers to avoid a company based out of Orlando using the name Vacations Digest LLC.
However, when I visited the website for that company I did not see anything that appeared to be outright fraud- just what appears to be a very expensive online classified for timeshare! It is not illegal for a consumer to pay for an online classified, so it is simply up to the consumer to make a smart decision as to the value of that service. One report stated Vacations Digest charges $1,299. for an online classified ad- which consumers can obtain for free on a number of respected venues and pay no more than $50. on other popular websites such as Redweek.com and MyResortNetwork.com. The website does provide the proper disclosure which informs timeshare owners that they are ONLY paying for advertising services and that "...Vacations Digest, LLC does not provide or engage in real estate broker services. Because Vacations Digest, LLC does not provide real estate services, Vacations Digest, LLC has itself sold zero (0) timeshare Properties..." As a general rule, consumers should never pay any type of large upfront fee to sell or rent a timeshare- and should always HANG UP when a telemarketer calls you to offer resale or rental services. The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning to consumers that are trying to sell their timeshares to be wary of a company called Financial Enterprises III, that has indicated on its website and contracts that it is located in Greenville, SC. The BBB has found that there is no one located at the address given by the company and that the address has in fact been vacant for years.
"We called one of the supposed testimonials only to find that no one by that name exists at the company. We also checked with the SC Department of Real Estate and they do not have a SC license to do business in the state", stated a representative of the BBB. The BBB has also identified another company Financial Advantage Resources with almost an identical website to Financial Enterprises III making the same types of claims. The best advice timeshare owners can take to hear is simple.. NEVER pay any type of upfront fee to sell or rent an unwanted timeshare! The BBB is reporting that a possible timeshare resale scam has been operating under the name of Great Western Funding, Inc- allegedly operating out of the state of Arizona.
The Better Business Bureau Serving Central, Northern and Western Arizona has issued a release stating that timeshare owners across the country allege losing thousands of dollars to the Phoenix-based company that claimed to have buyers ready to purchase their timeshares. Consumers have reported that Great West Funding, Inc. contacts timeshare owners allegedly claiming they have buyers ready to purchase the owners’ timeshares. Consumers allege that GWF representatives assert the company will arrange for the sale of the property, but that an upfront fee, usually $2,175, is required to begin the process. Consumers allege that after they sent the money to GWF, sales were not completed as promised. Some consumers maintain that GWF representatives again contacted them, claiming that the timeshare sale will not be completed unless they send additional funds. The report states that the company did not have a real estate license, and the address used is false as mail to that address could not be delivered. If you believe that you have been a victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by this company, please take the time to report the crime to the Office of the Arizona Attorney General at www.azag.gov or 602-542-5763; and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.ftc.gov or 1-877-382-4357. The BBB has issued a consumer warning about a company perpetrating the Mexican timeshare resale scam, that has now vanished with upfront fees and fake "Mexican tax" payments from timeshare owners across the country. Since March, the BBB has received several complaints about this company from across the United States and Canada. Consumers have alleged Silver Star took money to sell their timeshares and then company representatives stopped answering phone calls or returning messages.
The BBB reports that mail sent to the company’s address on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi came back undeliverable. According to the property owner, that is because the suite does not exist. He said he has had to explain to multiple callers that there is no suite 320 in his building. BBB attempted to contact Silver Star Real Estate Group multiple times about the complaints, but the phone number is disconnected and the website has been shut down. Five more people have been indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud in a time-share resale scheme operated under the names Creative Vacation Solutions and Universal Marketing Solutions. The con game defrauded 22,000 people nationwide out of $30 million, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud were Anthony Colon, 37, of Delray Beach; Troy Dye, 48, of Boynton Beach; Chris Gilkey, 30, of Lake Worth; Marc Martinangelo, 33, of Boynton Beach; and Robert Santiago, 26, of West Palm Beach. They are the latest employees either indicted or sentenced in connection with the fraudulent telemarketing scheme. The company took upfront fees from time-share owners across the nation, claiming the payments were for closing costs on sales that never happened. Craigslist and Ebay Scams Continue to Target Consumers- Perpetrating More Than $100 Million in Fraud5/25/2012
A respected tech blogger recently shared an attempt to scam him after he posted an item for sale on Craigslist. The report shows just how sophisticated and individualized these con artists have become, often creating large networks of thieves that can be spread across the world.
The poster also refers to a Reuters story originally published last summer which claimed that internet based fraud using sites like Craigslist and Ebay have cost consumers more than one hundred million dollars. Follows is an except of that article.... "U.S. and Romanian police have arrested more than 100 people in a year-long effort to stop Internet fraud schemes that have cost Americans more than $100 million, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday. Romanian police carried out 117 raids on Friday, the Justice Department said. They arrested 90 people in sweeps in nine cities, the BBC reported. The schemes worked like this: Romanians posing as U.S. citizens would advertise on Craigslist or eBay websites that they were selling a car or boat or other expensive item, and offer delivery if the seller wired money to them. Once the money was sent, people called "arrows" would retrieve it, often using faked identities. "They would subsequently wire the funds overseas, typically to individuals in Romania, minus a percentage kept for their commissions," the Justice Department said. Police have arrested "arrows" or money mules in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Texas in the past 18 months." |
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