Scam Alerts!
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WFTV Channel 9 is reporting that agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement tracked down a suspected con artist who was selling timeshare interests that never existed. Authorities began receiving complaints earlier this year from vacationers arriving at the condominium, only to find out that the unit they believed they had purchased was actually a privately-owned residence and the individual they thought was their salesperson had left town with their money.
"...........Sandra King, 57, sold timeshare rights to a unit at the Peninsula Condominium located on South Atlantic Avenue from late 2010 through the summer of 2011, agents said. The unit, which was privately-owned by an out-of-state resident, had been rented by King's associate, investigators aid. Agents said the associate showed the unit to prospective buyers and told them that timeshare rights to the unit were available for purchase from her companies, Ambassador Club and VIP Vacations. Investigators said they found eight victims, but there are likely many more. Anyone who feels they may be a victim of Sandra King, Ambassador Club, or VIP Vacations should call Detective Brian Brueggemann at 386-763-5347 or Special Agent Josh Mead at 386-274-3829....." Kelly Blue Book has issued a consumer warning about cyber thieves claiming to be affiliated with Kelly Blue Book and perpetrating an escrow scam targeting online car buyers. The con artists look to solicit money from car buyers via promises of an escrow-based, guaranteed buyer-protection program, which in fact Kelley Blue Book does not offer.
"...The FBI claims that every 90 minutes a complaint is filed and an auto shopper loses $1,000 every hour due to fraudulent websites and phony vehicle listings. Car shoppers that encounter this type of offer from online sellers are strongly urged to report the seller to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. How the Scam Often Works:
A reader has submitted a new timeshare scam alert alleging that a company calling itself Tribal Events and Services is perpetrating a version of the Mexican timeshare tax scheme and attempting to collect fake closing costs and government taxes from timeshare owners.
"...They asked me and my wife to send money to Mexico for a so called Transfer fee. First of all The secretaria of Turisim main office is in Guadalajara and they wanted me to send money to Puerto Vallarta, first red flag. 2nd Red flag I asked them for their company Lic.# They couldnt provide me with one. 3rd red flag I sent a buddy of mine to their location [and] they don't exist. My wife insisted we send them the 10% it was only $1100 dollars needless to say, they later asked for more money, we contacted the secretaria of turisim, the money [we paid] never made it there. It turned out to be a huge scam.. TORRENZA OWNERS BEWARE TRIBAL IS A SCAM!!!..." If you believe that you have been a victim of online fraud perpetrated by this company, please take the time to report to the crime to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by clicking HERE. Con Artist Steven Folan pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and twelve counts of mail fraud. The prosecutor alleged that Steven Folan was a manager of Universal Marketing Solutions, and later Creative Vacation Solutions, in South Florida and scammed timeshare owners from 2007 until the operation was shut down in 2010.
Telemarketers for Universal Marketing Solutions and Creative Vacation Solutions made cold calls to timeshare owners from black market lists, and then falsely promised that their company had buyers for timeshare properties. The con artist then demanded upfront fees of up to several thousand dollars from each victim, claiming the fees to be required closing costs that they promised would be refunded to the timeshare owner at closing. Despite collecting fees from more than twenty thousand victims, not a single timeshare was sold or transferred. Folan faces a penalty of up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. His sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2012. SavannahNow.com is reporting that another Craigslist rental scam has hit consumers hoping to locate rental property along the Georgia coast. The scam should be a familiar one to Vacation-Times readers, as we have seen it many times before. The con artist copies a local real estate listing and posts the information on Craigslist, pretending to be the home owner. When a prospect renter contacts the con artist, the scammer tries to convince them to send money for the rent and deposit, often by electronic wire. Once they send money, they discover that the entire advertisement was just a scam!
“Craigslist is a bad place for it,” said Star Cpl. Ray Woodberry of the Savannah-Chatham County Metropolitan Police Department’s financial crimes division. Craigslist rental scams aren’t just targeting long-term rentals either. Fake listings for vacation rentals are also being reported at an alarming rate! Critics of the classified website claim that the company does not do enough to try to stop these types of scams from happening. The article talks about a specific Craigslist ad that was actually flagged as a potential scam but wasn’t removed until Tybee police contacted Craigslist late last week. The article goes on to claim that the company is less than cooperative with law enforcement as well, often forcing authorities to work through legal channels just to obtain information. Local police say Craiglist has never provided their policies and procedures regarding scams. My advice to readers is simple- Don't rent or buy property from Craigslist classifieds! Don't risk being scammed! Possible Timeshare Scam: Malibu Event Management, Bayside Management Group and San Diego Resales11/15/2011
Readers have reported another instance of the Mexican resale scam.Whether these groups are related, or simply another instance of con artists feeding off the same lists- they are allegedly calling timeshare owners and promising ridiculously high sale prices for Mexican timeshare ownerships. In most instances, they appear to offer at least twice what the consumer originally paid and promise that there are no upfront fees of any kind. They then later notify the seller of a fake tax that must be prepaid by the seller prior to closing. They are reportedly using different addresses in California as well as Alabama which all go to mail box rentals, and not physical addresses.
There have been numerous cases of this Mexican Timeshare Scam, so consumers should be very cautious whenever dealing with any timeshare reseller. While a real estate license is not required to sell a Mexican timeshare- consumers should always consider insisting on only dealing with a properly licensed real estate broker when trying to resell and unwanted timeshare. That broker should accept listings without any type of upfront or advance fees. I just attended a meeting with representatives from the Florida Attorney Generals Office as well as various other state agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of timeshare scams and consumer fraud, and each individual I spoke with echoed the same belief- that the vast majority of all timeshare scams are perpetrated by individuals that do not have a real estate license. Kudos to WorldMark by Wyndham for posting a warning to members about possible timeshare resale scams and timeshare rental scams impacting their owners. Currently on the WorldMark the Club website, the following message is posted.
*** Scambusters - BUYER BEWARE LIST Below are the names of companies that WorldMark by Wyndham owners have recently and/or repeatedly complained to us about:
A realtor in Wellington, Florida is warning consumers to be extremely cautious before completing any online rental transaction. She reports that a con artist copied a rental listing onto the website Trulia.com, in an attempt to steal money from consumers searching for a home rental in that area.
"...The listing is priced at $1,100 a month and this scammer took my ad content, then posted it on Trulia for only $750 a month. I know this happens on craigslist all the time, but I had no clue it was happening on Trulia too..." The con artists hope to convince consumers to send money transfers for rent and down payment without confirming the identity of the property owner or rental agent. Before sending any money for a rental transaction, consumers should always take the time to confirm that the individual is in fact the owner of the property or is a licensed real estate associate and the transaction involves a true escrow account. Details of yet another recent Craigslist rental scam were released Wednesday afternoon at a press conference. Tuesday morning, LAPD detectives raided an apartment near Silver Lake and arrested two suspects there and one across town. 29-year-old Keith Adkins, a registered sex offender, is the alleged ringleader. According to victim reports, police said the victims responded to cheap listings for housing in Baldwin Village and Hollywood areas of Los Angeles on Craigslist.
The suspects would direct them to the location, provide them with a lockbox code and in some instances would conduct a tour of the property over the phone. The victims would then deliver a security deposit using cash or money order, then discover that the key given to them did not unlock the property in question. The suspects would then be unreachable through phone. Since the arrest, detectives have located the suspects' bank account and are in the process of freezing the account to "get restitution for our victims." Anyone with information about the scam or knows of a victim is asked to contact the Southwest Detectives Burglary Station at (213) 485-6795 or to come to Southwest Community Police Station, located at 1546 West Martin Luther King Boulevard, and file a report. KSFY, and ABC affiliate out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota has published an article from the local Better Business Bureau warning consumers about potential scams from individuals or companies claiming to have an affiliation with military veterans during the holiday season. The report states that call centers will often script dialogue to create the impression that the caller is affiliated with a Veterans group in order to try to gain the consumers confidence. Also, they report that numerous charities will claim to be associated with official veterans organizations but that often they do little or nothing to support actual military veterans.
... They also say look out for fake charities with names that reference the Armed Forces and want donations. The BBB says you should hang up the phone on people calling themselves veteran advocates..." Here's what the BBB says people can do to avoid these scams.
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