Timeshare owners across the country are being scammed out of millions of dollars by companies promising to sell or rent the unsuspecting victims’ timeshares. In 2022, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received over 600 complaints with losses of approximately $39.6 million from victims contacted by scammers regarding timeshares owned in Mexico.
A scam perpetrated for many years, timeshare owners receive unexpected or uninvited telephone calls or e-mails from criminals posing as sales representatives for a timeshare resale company. The sales representatives often use high-pressure sales tactics to add a sense of urgency to the deal. Timeshare owners who agree to sell are told they must pay an upfront fee to cover anything from listing and advertising fees to closing costs. Once the fee is paid, timeshare owners report the company becomes evasive – calls go unanswered, numbers are disconnected, and websites are inaccessible – or the company creates additional fees that victims are required to pay before the real estate transaction becomes final.
In some cases, timeshare owners defrauded by a timeshare sales scam are subsequently contacted by a fraudulent timeshare fraud recovery company. The representative from the recovery company promises assistance in recuperating money lost in the sales scam. Some recovery companies require an up-front fee for services rendered. At times, scammers purport to be a government entity requesting payments for fees associated with the sale of the timeshare.
Listed below are tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of a timeshare scam:
- Be cautious of uninvited telephone calls, texts, or e-mails from anyone interested in your timeshare.
- Research all entities you are in contact with, contact offices independently to confirm if you are speaking to a representative of their company, and enlist the help of a real estate agent or lawyer you trust.
- Scammers will use tactics such as pressure and time-sensitive offers.
- Know that when opportunities appear “too good to be true,” they often are.
REPORT IT
If you or anyone you know has fallen victim to a timeshare-related scam, file a complaint with the IC3 at www.ic3.gov. Be sure to include any available information including:
- Emails, phone numbers, domains, company names.
- Transaction information even if no funds were lost.
- Details regarding the interaction with the scammers.
