80-Year-Old California Couple Tricked Out of $500,000 by Mexican Timeshare Scammers
According to the Better Business Bureau Institute’s Scam Tracker, travel/vacation/timeshare scams are the riskiest situation for people 65 and older. For Mary and Mark from Carson, California, falling for an increasingly common Mexican timeshare scam cost them $513,766.24, leaving them broke.
It All Started With a Phone Call
More than a year ago, they received a call with an offer to buy their timeshare in Mexico. However, it required them to pay Mexican fees and taxes upfront. Then, the anonymous buyer canceled the deal, leaving them with the costs to “unwind it.” Unfortunately, it only got worse from there.
Then More Promises
“Then it became a business deal where we could buy timeshares with the broker, cheap, and resell them at a huge profit. I was promised millions,” Mary shared on the Timeshare User Group’s forum, outlining her experience to warn others.
It Went On For 18 Months
Hundreds of emails, letters, and phone calls continued for one and a half years. Friends and family warned the couple that it was an obvious scam, but they continued sending money. Finally, an offer to get their money back. But they’d have to first pay an additional $150,000.
They sold their primary residence and a rental property to get cash. After sending the final funds months ago, and not getting anything back, they realized their money is long gone.
Savvy Scammers
“In hindsight, I should’ve known it was too good to be true, but there was just enough real stuff to keep me convinced. I got greedy when they were dangling the money in front of me, and everything happened in a way that seemed so official. I even received bank statements on official letterhead from legitimate banks, including Bank of New York Mellon,” she continued on Reddit.
They Aren’t the Only Ones Falling For Timeshare Exit Scams
Recent news articles have outlined how the Mexican cartel is targeting thousands of people who own a timeshare in Mexico as part of a large-scale operation.
“Most timeshares in the United States and Mexico have little to no resale value, and owners by and large are initially unaware of this fact or otherwise unwilling to believe it. Timeshare scammers can exploit the virtual unknown of timeshare resale or real estate transactions across international borders,” said Brian Rogers, who runs Timeshare User Group (TUG), the oldest and largest timeshare owners group and advocacy organization in a dedicated YouTube video on the subject.
They Act Professional
Citing fake Mexican laws, fees, and fines as their reasons for needing money now, they get their hook into owners blinded by the large sales price and windfall it means for them.
“These are all simply just variations of tried and true scams that revolve around nothing more than telling you exactly what you want or need to hear in order to let your guard down and send the scammer money,” Rogers adds.
Not Just Happening in Mexico
And it is happening here in the United States as well. In 2020, the State of Washington sued Dave Ramsey Endorsed Timeshare Exit Team after they charged thousands of timeshare owners an upfront fee between $3,000 and $9,000, and years went by without any resolution. Now closed, owners are unsure if the million-dollar settlement will cover the money they sent.
The Washington State Attorney General’s stack of consumer complaints tells one tragic story after another. One owner of a Branson timeshare filed a complaint with Washington State after they gave $11,000 to the Timeshare Exit Team, and two years later, they still had their timeshare.
Many Sharks Are Circling
“While there are timeshare exit companies that claim success in their marketing, there are many exit companies that are the subject of criminal and civil investigations that take money from consumers without providing any services and that have shut down, leaving consumers high and dry,” said Robert Clements, vice president of regulatory affairs at ARDA-ROC.
Remember, It Starts With a Phone Call
The best way that timeshare owners can prevent falling for scams is to educate themselves and trust their gut; if it is too good to be true, then it most likely is.
“This is going to sound basic: if someone calls or contacts you first, stop right there. 99.9% of the time, it is a scam,” stated Jason Gamel, President and CEO of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), during an Elder Law Interview with Krause Financial.
It’s The Biggest Red Flag
“Anyone who cold calls you out of the blue with an offer to buy, sell, rent, cancel, or exit your timeshare is only interested in convincing you to send them money and nothing more,” adds Rogers. “The absolute biggest red flag that you’re about to encounter as a scam in this industry is someone asking you to pay them a large upfront fee before doing anything. Every single scam in the timeshare industry works off this model.”
How To Exit Your Timeshare Without Getting Scammed
You don’t need to hire a company to end your timeshare commitment. Your first call should be to your timeshare resort or chain. If you own your timeshare free and clear, many will allow you to deed it back to them. Get started at the Responsible Exit website, which guides people through the deedback process as well as the options to sell your timeshare to another person safely and securely.
NEXT: An Owner Explains How to Sell a Timeshare Without Getting Scammed: 5 Proven DIY Ways
Approximately 850,000 people are looking to get rid of their timeshare, especially as yearly maintenance bills come due in January. While 7 out of 8 U.S. timeshares owners are satisfied, half of American households are having trouble paying their bills. In a world of tough choices, a timeshare invoice is probably placed at the bottom of a stack of bills.
As a fellow timeshare owner, I know how complicated it can be to find reliable information on how to sell a timeshare legally with your credit score in tack. Here are five ways you can “divorce” your timeshare legally that doesn’t include paying thousands of dollars of upfront fees to timeshare exit companies or to a timeshare lawyer.
An Owner Explains How to Sell a Timeshare Without Getting Scammed: 5 Proven DIY Ways
An Owner’s Guide To Successfully Rent Out Your Timeshare: 6 Options with Their Pros and Cons
Are you not using your timeshare? Or perhaps you’d like to rent it out and use the money to cover your annual maintenance fees? If you haven’t looked into timeshare rentals before, today’s options can seem overwhelming. Add into the mix uncertainty around which sites to trust and how to protect yourself, and you might be thinking about staying away from timeshare rentals altogether!
But what if I told you that timeshare rentals are a $2 billion+ annual business in the United States alone? With 92% of timeshare resorts offering some type of rental program, most timeshare owners today have options to generate real money to cover their timeshare bills.
An Owner’s Guide To Successfully Rent Out Your Timeshare: 6 Options with Their Pros and Cons
The 8 Most Common Travel Scams Tricking Americans
According to AAA booking data, international travel is up more than 200% even with higher airfares. A shocking 52% of Americans surveyed by Scams.info have either lost money to travel scams or know someone who has, with the average loss totaling $380. So keep your money in your own pocket by preparing to face these most common scams targeting tourists around the world.
