Timeshare re-sale scams see sharp increase
Apr 26, 2013, 11:25 AM | Updated: Oct 10, 2024, 2:08 pm
Officials are issuing new warnings for time-share owners about scammers offering to re-sell or market their properties.
The Better Business Bureau and Attorney General’s office say they’re seeing a big spike in these scams this year. Both have received more than 50 complaints so far.
Most complaints are about scammers claiming to give timeshare owners a great deal to sell their properties.
“There are almost endless variations of timeshare resale fraud,” warns Robert W.G. Andrew, CEO of BBB in Western Washington, Oregon and Alaska. “Timeshare owners need to be wary when thinking about retaining the services of people and companies promising to market and sell properties on their behalf.”
The scammers usually demand money up front, using cash or wire transfers. They pose as legitimate real estate brokers, often using their identity.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson says even his elderly mother lost $8,000 in advance fees to a scammer offering to purchase her timeshare. “No matter what name the company uses, no legitimate timeshare resale business cold calls timeshare owners offering more than what the owner originally paid.”
The BBB has several guides on its website for timeshare resellers.
