Verify TUG member for timeshare rental

[baybee210]

TUG recommends renting timeshare from TUG members to reduce possibility of scam.
How do I confirm/verify if someone offering to rent a timeshare is a TUG member?

 

[rickandcindy23]

Ask if they have a TUG name.

 

[PamMo]

...AND if they have a TUG name, search for it on TUG and check their history by clicking on their user name. I hate to say it, but just because someone is a registered TUG member does not mean that s/he is an angel. Successful scammers are good manipulators, so do your due diligence.

 

[silentg]

Ask Brian

 

[psimack]

TUG recommends renting timeshare from TUG members to reduce possibility of scam.
How do I confirm/verify if someone offering to rent a timeshare is a TUG member?

Tug Members! Do your research...my wife and I just fell victim to a TUG rental ad, acted without thorough research and verification, and were scammed on a rental week at Westin Ocean Resort Villas on Maui.
Beware of "renter" Mark Villegas (probably won't use that name again) from New York state.

 

[TUGBrian]

always follow the guidelines to verify as much as possible prior to money changing hands.

https://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/timeshare_rental_verification.html

every single scammer relies on you simply just believing them at face value. if anything cannot be verified so that you are comfortable with the transaction, you should move on. In the example above there was no such TUG member by that name, and the reservation was in a separate name, and payment was requested to another name etc etc...all extremely visible red flags


please note that ANYONE can contact you thru your wish ad in the marketplace, and can pretend to be anyone (including TUG members).

we are happy to verify membership for folks if you send us an email, although we dont provide personal contact details/info without permission. we would simply just let you know if a person was a member or not.

however again, even scammers can fork over $15 bucks to join, so you must verify the other items even if you are dealing with a TUG member themselves! its just one of the many steps to verify a rental and weed out scammers, not the only one!

 

[silentg]

Sorry this happened to you. We have had only positive transactions on TUG. Mutual trust and a love for Timeshare travel seems to be what we have encountered.
Thank you for letting us know about this scammer.
Silentg

 

[AnnaS]

This is why I could never rent from a random person. I don't trust anyone. I would not even rent from VRBO, etc. Too afraid to take the risk. Now if someone I knew recommended someone and used them multiple times, I might consider it. Otherwise, a hotel will have to do.

Thank you for letting us know about the scammer.

 

[Free2Roam]

Tug Members! Do your research...my wife and I just fell victim to a TUG rental ad, acted without thorough research and verification, and were scammed on a rental week at Westin Ocean Resort Villas on Maui.
Beware of "renter" Mark Villegas (probably won't use that name again) from New York state.

Would you mind providing details? At what point did you realize you had been scammed? Hopefully before you arrived for your vacation. When did this happen? Was it thru the marketplace or forum last minute rental?

 

[psimack]

The scam was via a TUG marketplace rental ad, this Aug 20 - Sept 3/4. The “owner” offered a 2br lockoff unit for $2900/week.
We emailed back and forth, all seemed legit. We made our payment and “owner” then told is the resort was asking for an additional damage deposit. We balked, called resort to verify.
Realizing scam we emailed requesting refund, “owner” disappeared.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

The scam was via a TUG marketplace rental ad, this Aug 20 - Sept 3/4. The “owner” offered a 2br lockoff unit for $2900/week.
We emailed back and forth, all seemed legit. We made our payment and “owner” then told is the resort was asking for an additional damage deposit. We balked, called resort to verify.
Realizing scam we emailed requesting refund, “owner” disappeared.

Did you report this to TUG Brian ?



.

 

[TUGBrian]

yes, it was reported but the ad had already been removed, another example of a likely existing member having their email compromised and an ad was posted pretending to be them with completely different contact details (also the location/person the victim was asked to send money too was yet another party, which is perhaps the biggest warning sign)

We did note that nearly all the red flags for a scam were tripped in the info gleaned from this rental, it is why its so important that any potential renter at least do the bare minimum of verification before money changes hands, it is truly the only way to protect yourself.

 

[tiara Burks]

always follow the guidelines to verify as much as possible prior to money changing hands.

https://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/timeshare_rental_verification.html

every single scammer relies on you simply just believing them at face value. if anything cannot be verified so that you are comfortable with the transaction, you should move on. In the example above there was no such TUG member by that name, and the reservation was in a separate name, and payment was requested to another name etc etc...all extremely visible red flags


please note that ANYONE can contact you thru your wish ad in the marketplace, and can pretend to be anyone (including TUG members).

we are happy to verify membership for folks if you send us an email, although we dont provide personal contact details/info without permission. we would simply just let you know if a person was a member or not.

however again, even scammers can fork over $15 bucks to join, so you must verify the other items even if you are dealing with a TUG member themselves! its just one of the many steps to verify a rental and weed out scammers, not the only one!

thank you so much for this. I am a new renter