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Consumerfinance.gov - anyone reported a timeshare scam (or sales presentation experience?)

TUGBrian

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Had not previously thought this new government entity would cover timeshare sales/scams/etc, but perhaps its worth a shot and cant be any worse than reporting to the BBB!

I plan to add this as an option for our advice articles to help scam victims moving forward and was curious if anyone had successfully submitted a complaint to them and what the outcome was?

 

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have updated the TUG scam victim retaliation/options page to reflect this new goverment agency and look forward to see how they respond to timeshare scam complaints!

 
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Um, doubtful! Here's what it says right on the front page of the website: a U.S. government agency dedicated to making sure you are treated fairly by banks, lenders and other financial institutions.

It was created in response to the Mortgage Debacle in '08. Besides, how much longer is this agency going to be around?
 

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Um, doubtful! Here's what it says right on the front page of the website: a U.S. government agency dedicated to making sure you are treated fairly by banks, lenders and other financial institutions.

It was created in response to the Mortgage Debacle in '08. Besides, how much longer is this agency going to be around?
They can perhaps help with issues related to timeshare loans. But I don't see it as a general agency to help with complaints related to timeshare sales and ownership issues.

The agency was created by Congress and can't just be squashed. Though they could be kneecapped by any new administrations.
 

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a U.S. government agency dedicated to making sure you are treated fairly by banks, lenders and other financial institutions.
I skimmed through some of the timeshare complaints they have resolved, and most of them revolve around fair lending and credit reporting issues. It does not appear that they go after timeshare companies for selling overpriced, confusing products.

 

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id imagine just like most others, if they are ill equipped or unable to handle the specific complaint they would forward it to the correct department....but id still think it useful to report scams everywhere you can!

would likely imagine that this would be more beneficial to those lied to during sales presentations that signed contracts with loans attached vs reporting exit or resale scammers :(

perhaps its much like AGs offices where nothing happens until enough complaints come in!


time will tell!
 

pedro47

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I wish Ralph Nader could be in his forty again and was able to address the timeshare system.
 
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dioxide45

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id imagine just like most others, if they are ill equipped or unable to handle the specific complaint they would forward it to the correct department....but id still think it useful to report scams everywhere you can!

would likely imagine that this would be more beneficial to those lied to during sales presentations that signed contracts with loans attached vs reporting exit or resale scammers :(

perhaps its much like AGs offices where nothing happens until enough complaints come in!


time will tell!
I know that individual finance related complaints get forwarded to each financial institution. The big banks all have teams that work these individual complaints. They really only regulate OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) regulated institutions. I suspect that most timeshare loans are seller financed (by the timeshare developer) and thus fall under state regulation. They may forward these types of complaints to the state AG.
 

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In August 2024, I filed a complaint with the CFPB against a large American bank and the US subsidiary of a Mexican brokerage firm. The complaint was based on their failure to comply with anti-money laundering regulations, specifically their obligation to report suspicious transactions, which they failed to do in my case.

I was a victim of a timeshare rental scam in 2021. The amount involved was relatively small (US$ 7,000) because I did the business just to see where the scammers' offers would lead us. I must also say that before going ahead with the business I did my due diligence but that was not helped by the erroneous information contained in a state registry about the Title Company used in the fraud scheme.

Although the relatively small amount involved, I decided to pursue the fraudsters. I reported the scam to authorities in both Mexico and the USA. I have reported and updated this information with the FBI, FinCEN, FTC, and the State Attorney's Office. I also filed a report with FINRA in the USA and with the Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission.

I also managed to contact four other victims who confirmed that they – like me - had transferred money to a dissolved American title company, which however appeared as active in the State Registry. The funds were transferred to an account with the American bank, held by the Mexican brokerage firm, which then immediately forwarded the money to a Mexican company.

In my opinion the use of the account of the Mexican brokerage house in the American Bank, which regularly received from different persons (mostly - like myself - from Latin America) funds for a company with which the account holder had no relationship, funds that were immediately transferred to a Mexican company, should have sounded all the alarms as suspicious operations, which did not occur. That is what I claimed through CFPB.

Although the bank denied responsibility twice, I formally requested that they establish a verification system for potential scam victims to verify the authenticity of trust account statements that scammers sent to their victims. However, despite my efforts, I couldn't convince the bank to establish that dedicated email for use of potential victims.

The positive outcome: The bank is now aware of the irregular use of the account, and they run the risk of being held accountable in the future for any inaction. At least that´s what I hope. As for the brokerage firm's U.S. subsidiary, my final step is to report them to the SEC.
 

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we wish more victims would be so comprehensive in reporting! though I also wish there werent victims in the first place that required that level of effort to fight back :(
 

Janann

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I was a victim of a timeshare rental scam in 2021. The amount involved was relatively small (US$ 7,000) because I did the business just to see where the scammers' offers would lead us. I must also say that before going ahead with the business I did my due diligence but that was not helped by the erroneous information contained in a state registry about the Title Company used in the fraud scheme.
This part is hard to follow.

What does "to see where the scammers' offers would lead us" mean? Did you know that the rental was a fraud from the start?

Why was a title company involved in a timeshare rental?

I also managed to contact four other victims who confirmed that they – like me - had transferred money to a dissolved American title company, which however appeared as active in the State Registry.
The state registry doesn't prove that a business is actively operating. There are companies that have been registered for years that have never had a dollar of revenue. There are also companies that used to have a huge amount of revenue, but all of the assets have been sold. The state registration can be kept active by filing a couple forms along with about $100. Nobody checks to see if the company has any assets or revenue.
 

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This part is hard to follow.

What does "to see where the scammers' offers would lead us" mean? Did you know that the rental was a fraud from the start?

Why was a title company involved in a timeshare rental?


The state registry doesn't prove that a business is actively operating. There are companies that have been registered for years that have never had a dollar of revenue. There are also companies that used to have a huge amount of revenue, but all of the assets have been sold. The state registration can be kept active by filing a couple forms along with about $100. Nobody checks to see if the company has any assets or revenue.
An entity can also be reinstated and that is what many of these scammers do. They find a long inactive entity, file some forms, pay the fee and then they now have a new active entity again. The original members of the entity may have no clue that it even happened.
 

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This part is hard to follow.

What does "to see where the scammers' offers would lead us" mean? Did you know that the rental was a fraud from the start?

Why was a title company involved in a timeshare rental?


The state registry doesn't prove that a business is actively operating. There are companies that have been registered for years that have never had a dollar of revenue. There are also companies that used to have a huge amount of revenue, but all of the assets have been sold. The state registration can be kept active by filing a couple forms along with about $100. Nobody checks to see if the company has any assets or revenue.
The operation never really appealed to my wife or me, but the scammers were very convincing, and we decided to take a small risk.

We are not Americans and had never had any experience with any title company, but the fact of including one in the negotiation gave us a false sense of security, believing it was a company somehow under the supervision of a government entity, which was not the case.

The title company turned out to be a dissolved entity since 1981 and never revived. The state registry had an error in its system that made it appear as active. I myself requested in 2021 a certificate of good standing of the company and obtained it from the registry. So, to me, it was a real, legal, and active company. In October 2022, after the state AG's office informed me that the title company was not operating in the state, I directly requested the state registry to confirm it, and they informed me that it was their error that kept it as an active entity and that the entity was indeed dissolved since 1981. I requested that they make the corrections, and it currently appears as inactive.
 

pedro47

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The operation never really appealed to my wife or me, but the scammers were very convincing, and we decided to take a small risk.

We are not Americans and had never had any experience with any title company, but the fact of including one in the negotiation gave us a false sense of security, believing it was a company somehow under the supervision of a government entity, which was not the case.

The title company turned out to be a dissolved entity since 1981 and never revived. The state registry had an error in its system that made it appear as active. I myself requested in 2021 a certificate of good standing of the company and obtained it from the registry. So, to me, it was a real, legal, and active company. In October 2022, after the state AG's office informed me that the title company was not operating in the state, I directly requested the state registry to confirm it, and they informed me that it was their error that kept it as an active entity and that the entity was indeed dissolved since 1981. I requested that they make the corrections, and it currently appears as inactive.
I got up the illegal entity stole an inactive entity and they were never registered in the state with a valid state or federal ID Number.
 

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I got up the illegal entity stole an inactive entity and they were never registered in the state with a valid state or federal ID Number.
Indeed. They supplanted the Title Company, which didn't even exist.
For someone who is not a US resident to check the legitimacy of the companies can be quite difficult. There are official websites that do not give access from outside the USA or do not accept payments from outside to access or register. In my case I was able to obtain a certificate of good standing only through an agent. Obviously,, my due diligence was not enough and I have learned my lesson and I try to get others to learn from me.
And, believe it or not, as of June 2024, the same scammers were still trying to collect new upfront payments from some of the victims. Obviously, no one was paying anymore. The State AG's office as well as FBI were informed of this.
The scammers are still there.
Last year my wife and I (as well as other original victims) were again contacted with the same scam scheme by what we believe to be the same group of scammers. This time assuming the identity of Canadian companies. I could not even get the lawyers appearing as their agents to confirm their existence, so I reported the matter to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
 

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and they informed me that it was their error that kept it as an active entity and that the entity was indeed dissolved since 1981
Too small an amount to be worth it, but you legitimately could have a claim against the state here.
 

dioxide45

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Indeed. They supplanted the Title Company, which didn't even exist.
For someone who is not a US resident to check the legitimacy of the companies can be quite difficult. There are official websites that do not give access from outside the USA or do not accept payments from outside to access or register. In my case I was able to obtain a certificate of good standing only through an agent. Obviously,, my due diligence was not enough and I have learned my lesson and I try to get others to learn from me.
And, believe it or not, as of June 2024, the same scammers were still trying to collect new upfront payments from some of the victims. Obviously, no one was paying anymore. The State AG's office as well as FBI were informed of this.
The scammers are still there.
Last year my wife and I (as well as other original victims) were again contacted with the same scam scheme by what we believe to be the same group of scammers. This time assuming the identity of Canadian companies. I could not even get the lawyers appearing as their agents to confirm their existence, so I reported the matter to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
THe main problem for US authorities is that the scammers are usually outside the USA and beyond reach of US authorities.
 

Evitaestafas

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Too small an amount to be worth it, but you legitimately could have a claim against the state here.

THe main problem for US authorities is that the scammers are usually outside the USA and beyond reach of US authorities.
And vice versa.
The first reaction of the authorities in Mexico is to say that they have no jurisdiction because the crime was committed in the USA, through accounts in the USA.
The problem with transnational crimes is that they create jurisdiction problems.
 

dioxide45

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And vice versa.
The first reaction of the authorities in Mexico is to say that they have no jurisdiction because the crime was committed in the USA, through accounts in the USA.
The problem with transnational crimes is that they create jurisdiction problems.
Do you know where the account was located that the funds went to? Was it a US or international based account? These funds usually get split and bounced around after receipt in order to obscure the transaction. The scammers know that authorities won't take action and in some places the necessary authorities are "on the payroll."
 

Evitaestafas

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Do you know where the account was located that the funds went to? Was it a US or international based account? These funds usually get split and bounced around after receipt in order to obscure the transaction. The scammers know that authorities won't take action and in some places the necessary authorities are "on the payroll."
The brokerage firm holding the account in the American bank to which the swindled funds were transferred confirmed to me in an email of September 2022 that it had transferred those funds immediately to a Mexican company whose name it gave me but of which it would not give me information as to who its representatives were. I provided the information to the Mexican Attorney General's Office and also to the FBI. The company is registered in Guadalajara. However, I could not get access to the Registry´s website.
 

pedro47

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Indeed. They supplanted the Title Company, which didn't even exist.
For someone who is not a US resident to check the legitimacy of the companies can be quite difficult. There are official websites that do not give access from outside the USA or do not accept payments from outside to access or register. In my case I was able to obtain a certificate of good standing only through an agent. Obviously,, my due diligence was not enough and I have learned my lesson and I try to get others to learn from me.
And, believe it or not, as of June 2024, the same scammers were still trying to collect new upfront payments from some of the victims. Obviously, no one was paying anymore. The State AG's office as well as FBI were informed of this.
The scammers are still there.
Last year my wife and I (as well as other original victims) were again contacted with the same scam scheme by what we believe to be the same group of scammers. This time assuming the identity of Canadian companies. I could not even get the lawyers appearing as their agents to confirm their existence, so I reported the matter to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Thanks for sharing your experience; hopefully, this will help some other timeshare owner in the future.
 

Evitaestafas

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Someone once wrote that the first and most important victim of the scam is trust.
I hate that everything must be viewed with distrust.
 
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