Scam Alerts!
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The Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is alerting consumers to Southwest Airlines-branded mailers being sent out across Tucson, claiming the recipient has been “selected” to receive two round trip airfares on Southwest Airlines. Consumers who call the number on the back of the card are told that in order to claim the airline vouchers they must own a timeshare, and they must attend a seminar this Saturday, Sunday or Monday at the Hilton Tucson East, located at 7600 E Broadway Blvd, in Tucson. I contacted a representative of the Hilton Tucson East who stated that they have no meeting rooms reserved this weekend for any type of timeshare or travel company.
The BBB article states that the offer of airlines tickets in the mailer is not in any way affiliated with Southwest Airlines, despite the company’s logo appearing on the front of the card. The BBB has published the following advice to timeshare owners who are looking for help in selling their timeshare: Confirm Licensing Requirements – Some timeshare resellers will use fake addresses or PO boxes in order to mislead timeshare owners. Confirm where the company is located and in what states it does business. Ask if the company's salespeople are licensed to sell real estate where your timeshare is located. If so, verify this with the state licensing board. Be Wary of Upfront Fees – Many complainants to BBB were burned by companies charging an advance "appraisal" fee for services or were told that they just had to pay closing costs and the timeshare would be taken off their hands. Consider opting for a company that offers to sell for a fee only after the timeshare is sold. Don’t Fall for the Hard Sell or an Offer that Sounds Too Good to Be True –Take the time to think it over and don’t be pressured. Unscrupulous timeshare resellers may claim that your property is in demand and they can sell it immediately; unfortunately, these promises are often empty. If you have received one of these postcards in the mail or believe that you have received a mailing targeting you for a timeshare or other consumer scam, please take the time to report the crime to the United States Postal Inspection Service. Another Con Artist Convicted in the Universal Marketing Solutions / Creative Vacation Solutions Scam9/10/2011
Stephen R. Wigginton announced that Ralph Johnson, 34, of Delray Beach, Fla., has pled guilty to a one-count criminal charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud perpetrated under the company names of Universal Marketing Solutions and Creative Vacation Solutions.
"While I urge consumers to always be wary of internet or telephone solicitations which sound too good to be true, I will never cease in my determination to prosecute scammers who prey upon the citizens of southern Illinois," said Wigginton. This is the fourth case against the Florida-based telemarketing scam operating under the names Universal Marketing Solutions and Creative Vacation Solutions. The con artists targeted timeshare owners throughout the United States. Ralph Johnson was a telemarketer for Creative Vacation Solutions and is believed to have cheated more than one hundred victims or more than a quarter of a million dollars in scam fees. In previous cases related to the Universal Marketing Solutions/Creative Vacation Solutions scam, authorities have stated that the overall scam bilked over 22,000 victims of $30 million before being raided by police. A reader has submitted a possible new timeshare scam alert targeting prior victims of the possible Sierra Resort Services fraud. He reports that a gentleman calls claiming to be affiliated with the law firm of Sirkin and Associates out of San Francisco, a well respected agency. The caller claims to have the timeshare owner's sale proceeds in "escrow", but requires that a large upfront fee be paid to a Mexican bank before the money can be released. The reader states that the alleged con artist is using the phone number 415-670-9320.
Several agencies have reported an increase in secondary scams, which simply target lists of victims who were previously taken by a timeshare scam. Often, these cons will promise to make good or refund the original upfront fees. However, these "advocacy groups" only turn out to be another consumer scam. If you believe that you have been the victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by this individual, please take the time to report the crime to the California Attorney General's office. I contacted the true office of Sirkin and Associates and the receptionist did confirm that they are aware of this potential scam using their name and are taking steps to investigate the matter as well. The Sun Sentinel has published an article detailing the emergence of a new form of potential timeshare fraud, the "timeshare recovery scheme". In this con, a company promises to recover upfront fees that consumers have previously paid to fraudulent upfront fee timeshare marketers.
The article names Audit Recovery Systems out of Boca Raton as one of the "recovery" companies currently under investigation by the Florida Attorney General. This company was previously named in a potential timeshare scam alert from Vacation-Times.org back in October of 2010. The "recovery" con basically promises to obtain refunds for consumers who have previously paid upfront fees to timeshare marketing firms. The recovery company will either charge an upfront fee, or will charge a percentage of the potential recovered amount. The recovery company will often just file a chargeback request with the client's credit card vendor and then send a refund request letter addressed to the prior upfront fee scam. The credit card company will issue a "temporary" refund to the client's credit card, at which point the recovery company will take their "payment" for services rendered. If the credit card company later rejects the chargeback request (which is common), the consumer is then often unable to obtain a refund for the charges made by the recovery company- essentially scamming the same victim twice. The article quotes a representative from the Florida Attorney Generals office with stating that they have received more than 600 complaints about these "recovery schemes", and that they believe that many of the same individuals who operated the original upfront fee scams are now calling the same victims as a "recovery" operation and soliciting these fraudulent recovery fees. The Sun Sentinel has published an article providing details of the Federal Trade Commissions lawsuit against the owners and operators of Timeshare Mega Media and Marketing for consumer fraud.
Follows is an except from the article, but please take the time to read the full article as it sheds light on some of the inner workings and individuals responsible for this type of timeshare scam. "....From an unmarked Fort Lauderdale storefront sandwiched between a men's bath house and a dry cleaner, a timeshare resale company raked in money — an estimated $5 million in less than a year. Founded by two convicted felons who went by "Posh" and "Joey," Timeshare Mega Media and Marketing Group capitalized on cash-strapped people in Florida and beyond, playing on their hopes of unloading their costly vacation rentals, according to federal authorities. A regular chorus of "Congratulations! We have a buyer for your timeshare!" came out of the one-room operation as salesmen pressed clients to put down as much as $10,000 to "lock in a deal," a former employee said in a sworn statement. "Needless to say, there are no buyers," wrote Federal Trade Commission attorneys in court filings against Timeshare Mega Media. "Consumers receive absolutely nothing for their money. This is naked fraud." Legal proceedings involving the now-defunct business offer a rare look into the inner workings of a Florida timeshare resale company— a fraud-riddled industry that has become big business in the current economic downturn. The amount of timeshare resale complaints in Florida jumped from 800 in 2007 to 11,509 in 2010, according to the Florida Attorney General's Office. Since 2009, the Attorney General's Office has reached consumer protection settlements with 16 timeshare resale companies totaling $7.3 million. Another 30 companies are currently under state investigation. Authorities say many of the unscrupulous resale companies operate the same way: They claim to have a buyer for a prospective client's timeshare or the advertising capabilities to attract one. They demand an upfront fee, sometimes charging people's credit cards before they have even signed off on paperwork. Once the money comes in, nothing ever happens to the timeshares and clients' messages are often unreturned...." A reader has reported a possible timeshare scam involving a company believed to be operating out of both Michigan and Wyoming. The reader received an unsolicited cold call from an individual claiming to have located a buyer for their Wyndham points ownership. The seller signed a contract, which called for an upfront fee to be paid to cover a title search and other "legal expenses".
After paying more than $2,000., the reader stated that the promised sale and transfer have never occurred. He has been unable to obtain any type of refund, and his credit card company has declined the charge back request since the transaction occurred more than 90 days ago. He stated that he is filing a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General, as well as the Wyoming Attorney General. Additional reports of this scam have been posted on Redweek and also on the Timeshares Users Group. If you believe that you have also been a victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by Tele Teton Corporation, please take the time to report the crime to authorities. You can file a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General by clicking HERE. You can file a complaint with the Wyoming Attorney General by calling (307) 777-7841. A reader has submitted a possible timeshare scam alert concerning an individual using the name Jeff Pape of 1 Vision Inc. The reader states that the caller identified himself as a third party rental company that specialized in providing temporary housing for a number of businesses. He stated that he had a contract to provide housing to a construction crew from VI Engineering out of Houston, Texas. He promised a rental payment of $75,000 for twelve weeks of lodging using Wyndham Vacation Club points.
On August 31, 2011- the con artist was using the phone number (760) 330-3344. A google search attributes this number to a company out of San Diego called Mary & Janes that sells medicinal marijuana. However, when I called the number today, it went directly to a voice mail using the name Michael Stafford. The reader also contacted VI Engineering, and a company representative told him that they have no relationship nor have ever heard of a company called 1 Vision! If you believe that you have been a victim of consumer fraud by 1 Vision, Jeff Pape, or Micheal Stafford- please take the time to report the crime to your state's Attorney General! As always, the best way to avoid the vast majority of timeshare scams is simply to NEVER pay any type of upfront fee to sell or rent an unwanted timeshare! A reader has submitted a possible timeshare scam alert for a company out of Orlando, Florida called Dead Equity Solutions. The reader stated that the company promised him that they could get prior upfront fees he had paid to other timeshare companies refunded to him, as well as get his timeshare ownership cancelled.
He states that he paid another upfront fee to Dead Equity Solutions to transfer the timeshare out of his name and also to get his other upfront fees refunded. However, he states that all they did was use his own credit card information to file a charge back request for the fees he had paid. When his credit card company gave him a temporary credit pending the investigation, his rep, Leandro, claimed that the temporary credit was sufficient for the company to earn its "fee". The reader believes that the chargebacks will be reversed since the original charges were from more than a year ago. The reader states that he has filed a complaint with the Florida Attorney General for timeshare related fraud and identity theft (since they used his personal information to file the chargeback requests). As always, please take all reader submitted scam alerts with a grain of salt and understand that the allegation of fraud does not mean that any fraud actually occurred. Upfront fee scams are one of the most commonly reported consumer frauds reported to the Florida Attorney General year after year. Never pay any type of upfront fee for any timeshare liquidation process. If you believe that you have also been a victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by Dead Equity Solutions, please take the time to report the crime to the Florida Attorney General at http://myfloridalegal.com/timeshares A reader has sent in a warning about a potential timeshare rental scam allegedly involving Property Marketing Group in Chicago and International Closing Company located in New Orleans. The reader believes these groups are running a marketing scam, where they cold call timeshare owners with a unbelievably high rental offer that requires the timeshare owner "prepay" maintenance fees before receiving any promised rental proceeds.
"...Property Marketing Group in Chicago and International Closing Company in New Orleans seem to be running a blind call timeshare rental scam requiring a wire transfer of maintenance fees before the deal can close. Glad we found your web site describing a very similar scam before falling for this one. That $20,000 did seem a bit too good to be true. Thanks- Scott W..." If you believe that you have been a victim of a timeshare scam involving other of these "companies", please take the time to report the crime to the Attorneys General in Illinois, Louisiana, as well as your home state and the state where your timeshare resort is located. Reporting timeshare fraud is the most effective way to combat these type of schemes. You can locate contact information for all the United States Attorney Generals at the website www.naag.org. A reader has submitted a possible consumer fraud alert involving a telemarketing company calling itself Winners International Awards Company, that cold calls consumers telling them they have won a contest for an automobile and a cash prize. The consumers are told that to claim the prizes, they must send in a payment for storage and claims fees.
..."My grandmother has been getting has been receiving calls in south Louisiana. From Premium Gifting, and Winners International Awards Company, telling her that she has won 3rd place, which apparently consists of a 2011 Pearl White Mercedes Benz, and One Million dollars. Now After telling her this they say she has to send a money-gram of $250.00 to pay for storage fees. Then they proceeded to tell her that if she didn't send the money that they would send the police to pick up my grandmother, because it's all supposedly already proceeded. When she asked them where she supposedly signed up for this contest and it was processed they told her that it is automatic when you buy more than $25.00 of groceries or other items at Walmart. My grandmother called the police and reported this and they told her it was a BIG SCAM SCARING OLDER PEOPLE ON FIXED INCOMES..." A similar warning about this company or individual has also been posted online in another venue. If you believe that you have been the victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by this company and the crime involved telemarketing and the United States Postal Service, please take the time to report the crime to your state's Attorney General, to the FTC, and to the US Postal Inspector. |
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