Disney Vacation Owners reservation numbers for reservation?

[Funjacs]

Hi,

I just might have been scammed. I recently posted wanted to rent a place in Disney World. I got a response and we agreed on a price for Disney Saratoga Resort for a week. I agreed to pay half in advance for them via wire transfer for the reservation and confirmation of that reservation. They have been very suspicious. There was a simple rental agreement without their phone number. Once I paid, it took a while for a confirmation. The screenshot didnt have any verificaiton or confirmation number but their name and address. The name and address font were very different from the rest of the page and I didnt see any Disney logo except a stock photo of Disney Saratoga. They then asked for guest certificate, each adult guests supposedly needed one at 150 ea and tax of the agreed on cost. The tax makes no sense. I kept asking for confirmation/reservation number so i can verify but nothing and still have not provided their phone number. I was also asked to wire the funds to his wife who is not listed on the email chains.

So two question.
Does DVC not provide a reservation number if owners do it?
Also, do each adult in the party need a guest certificate?
This was the confirmation i got. Am I being too suspicious?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[dioxide45]

DVC doesn't charge for guest name changes. So that part is certainly a scam. I would also expect the resort name to show the full name of Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

 

[Funjacs]

Hi,
I have been trying to confirm if they person I am renting from has a reservation. They claim there is no reservation/confirmation number for owner reservation. I already paid hald fo the agreed upon fee and they are asking to pay additional 150/ adult for guest certification. Is this legit? The snippet they sent doesnt look like its from disney since the address on it has different font, and they didnt correctly put commas after city and state. Am I being too suspicious. I dont usually pay full via wire without a confirmation number since its still in their name.

Anyone have experience with this?

 

[elaine]

They would absolutely have a reservation number if booked with DVC points. And, guest certificates are free. I'm sorry, but I'd say this looks like a scam.

 

[frank808]

Doesn't look right to me. As a DVC owner there definitely is a reservation number you get when booking a reservation. I always get reservation number when villa is booked.

My senses say wire transfer with no booking number is a scam.

I hope the half you paid as deposit is recoverable. I would get my money back unless they give you a reservation number and you can verify with DVC.



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[Funjacs]

DVC doesn't charge for guest name changes. So that part is certainly a scam. I would also expect the resort name to show the full name of Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

They arent changing the guests but giving us the guest certification. The Spa park totally makes sense. Thank you

 

[dioxide45]

They arent changing the guests but giving us the guest certification. The Spa park totally makes sense. Thank you

DVC reservations need to have every guest name put on the reservation. DVC doesn't really do guest certificates. The owner just calls and adds the guest names and then you can access the reservation in My Disney Experience and link it up to your account.

 

[travelhacker]

It definitely appears to be a scam. The points requirements for those dates are off, and like you said it looks very fake.

The thing is, it wouldn't be difficult to create a fake reservation that looked official.

 

[TUGBrian]

just the asking for a wire transfer to someone elses contact info would be a dealbreaker even if everything else looked legitimate.

its one of the biggest red flags there is.

where did you post the rental wanted and how were you contacted? hopefully not on tug and or by a tug member but if so id like to know so we can block them.

 

[rickandcindy23]

You need to contact your bank and try to get your money back.

Where did you ask for this reservation that some scammer found you?

How much did you pay for that?

 

[RX8]

@Funjacs The actual point's usage for a Three-Bedroom Grand Villa for 2/13/26 to 2/20/26 should be 621 points (see points chart below - $86 X 2 days, $77 x 1 day and $93 X 4 days). The scammer used 480 points on their fake confirmation.

"...and they are asking to pay additional 150/ adult for guest certification. Is this legit?" As @dioxide45 posted, DVC does not charge for a guest certificate, so it is absolutely not legit.

With the wire transfer request, the payment to a third party (not the DVC owner), lie about guest certificate, avoiding you with your request for a confirmation number, and using the wrong point total on the "reservation" they provided, all leads to scam.

So sorry.

 

[Funjacs]

You need to contact your bank and try to get your money back.

Where did you ask for this reservation that some scammer found you?

How much did you pay for that?

I put an add on tug site. I usually have a lot of success and had great experiences so yes a lesson learned.

 

[Funjacs]

Thank you everyone. I dont know if I can post his name. He is definitely a member from tug since he found me on this site.

 

[TUGBrian]

you can pm me their information.

I dont see any wanted postings on the forums, im guessing you posted on the marketplace looking for a rental?

anyone can contact you thru your marketplace listing, its not limited to TUG members.

 

[Funjacs]

Thank you everyone. I will go to the police and the bank.

 

[DanCali]

I am so sorry this happened to you.

I agree that this is 100% a scam. DVC points charts are available here: https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/vacation-planning/points-charts. As others have mentioned, the points required for this booking are over 600. I am not sure how much you paid, but normal rental rates for Disney points can go between $18-$25/pt ($15-$16 if "distressed" / last minute). A legit rental like this should cost at least $9000 so if the deal was too good to be true than that's a big red flag.

Asking/paying a small deposit is ok but the key word is "small". The idea would be to ensure that the owner is not wasting his time or having to chase for the balance of the money after sending a confirmation. But usually 10% (with a max of $300-$500) should accomplish that. 50% is excessive unless the owner has a good explanation for it (like having to borrow points, or booking inside 30 days).

Those familiar with DVC reservation can tell that the font and "look and feel" in your screenshot is off. There also should be a reservation number at the top.

Also, the official confirmation is sent via email (usually takes 15-30 minutes after booking) and the owner should forward that email, not a just screenshot of what shows up at time of confirmation. That email has everything... resort/dates/room type/ view/guest names/points per night/total points and a bunch of other info in pet policy, bedding, dining, theme parks, housekeeping. cancel policy etc.

 

[TheHolleys87]

I have nothing to add except to say that all the information in posts above is true. So I’m sad to confirm that you’ve been scammed, and I hope it wasn’t for a huge amount of money.

 

[rickandcindy23]

It's scary that this was a TUG ad. Are you sure you had it on TUG wanted ads?

480 points is huge, I would charge $20 per point for that. We are in the $10,000 range, and I hope you didn't lose that much.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Hi,
I have been trying to confirm if they person I am renting from has a reservation. They claim there is no reservation/confirmation number for owner reservation. I already paid hald fo the agreed upon fee and they are asking to pay additional 150/ adult for guest certification. Is this legit? The snippet they sent doesnt look like its from disney since the address on it has different font, and they didnt correctly put commas after city and state. Am I being too suspicious. I dont usually pay full via wire without a confirmation number since its still in their name.

Anyone have experience with this?

There is definitely a reservation number for an owner reservation, that’s what you use to add it to your “My Disney Experience” app. You’re being scammed, sorry.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I am so sorry this happened to you.

I agree that this is 100% a scam. DVC points charts are available here: https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/vacation-planning/points-charts. As others have mentioned, the points required for this booking are over 600. I am not sure how much you paid, but normal rental rates for Disney points can go between $18-$25/pt ($15-$16 if "distressed" / last minute). A legit rental like this should cost at least $9000 so if the deal was too good to be true than that's a big red flag.

Asking/paying a small deposit is ok but the key word is "small". The idea would be to ensure that the owner is not wasting his time or having to chase for the balance of the money after sending a confirmation. But usually 10% (with a max of $300-$500) should accomplish that. 50% is excessive unless the owner has a good explanation for it (like having to borrow points, or booking inside 30 days).

Those familiar with DVC reservation can tell that the font and "look and feel" in your screenshot is off. There also should be a reservation number at the top.

View attachment 119988

Also, the official confirmation is sent via email (usually takes 15-30 minutes after booking) and the owner should forward that email, not a just screenshot of what shows up at time of confirmation. That email has everything... resort/dates/room type/ view/guest names/points per night/total points and a bunch of other info in pet policy, bedding, dining, theme parks, housekeeping. cancel policy etc.

Just to dovetail onto this, for a DVC rental I would go further and say that a potential renter should never send any funds until they have received a confirmation number that they can add to their “My Disney Experience” app to confirm it is legit. That is the advice given on the disboards rental board. It is trivially easy for an owner to make an online reservation at zero risk to the owner if the renter bails, and the owner can cancel without any penalty. The only exception to this would be if the owner is borrowing points or making a last minute reservation within the holding period, but the danger of stranger rentals is great enough that I would say a potential renter should steer clear of this type of rental anyway.

 

[AnnaS]

The scammer will find a renter with little experience...I can't believe the scammer did not google the number of points needed for said reservation. It is way off. Can't be the scammers first time. Grab one here and there and they keep going.

So sorry this happened to you. I hope you can find a way to get money back.

 

[andre10056]

The only thing I would like to add is that it MAY maybe possibly perhaps be an Interval International exchanger who is not supposed to be renting out his "exchanged for" week. That may explain the low cost since he/she may just be looking for a payday but has no expectation of and no opportunity to get more (can't list with whatever Disney specialist). And also may explain why he's frightened by the prospect of the OP's confirming with Disney via phone call.

If so (and only if so), he/she also appears to be a newbie who doesn't know that he can call Disney and get the DVC reservation number using his II confirmation number which he can then provide the OP to set up his online My Disney Experience page.

So it MAY maybe possibly perhaps not be a scam per se, in the sense that the renter-outer really does want the OP to go to his/her week. He's (the renter-outer's) just overwhelmed by the Disney system idiosyncracies which he/she never encountered before in prior II exchange rentals.

 

[dioxide45]

The only thing I would like to add is that it MAY maybe possibly perhaps be an Interval International exchanger who is not supposed to be renting out his "exchanged for" week. That may explain the low cost since he/she may just be looking for a payday but has no expectation of and no opportunity to get more (can't list with whatever Disney specialist). And also may explain why he's frightened by the prospect of the OP's confirming with Disney via phone call.

If so (and only if so), he/she also appears to be a newbie who doesn't know that he can call Disney and get the DVC reservation number using his II confirmation number which he can then provide the OP to set up his online My Disney Experience page.

So it MAY maybe possibly perhaps not be a scam per se, in the sense that the renter-outer really does want the OP to go to his/her week. He's (the renter-outer's) just overwhelmed by the Disney system idiosyncracies which he/she never encountered before in prior II exchange rentals.

As a 3BR Grand Villa, it is NOT an II exchange.

 

[TUGBrian]

It's scary that this was a TUG ad. Are you sure you had it on TUG wanted ads?

480 points is huge, I would charge $20 per point for that. We are in the $10,000 range, and I hope you didn't lose that much.

was not a TUG ad. a non member contacted them privately via a want to rent listing.

 

[andre10056]

Thank you everyone. I will go to the police and the bank.

I would certainly go to the police and hope that you encounter someone who's outraged about such fraud and will endeavor to do something about it. But, just to temper your expectations, you'll just as likely encounter someone who could care less.

Case in point: in my former home of Brooklyn, NY, a 12 yo Muslim kid from Uzbekistan got his brand new $600 BMX bike stolen by a 16 yo Russian kid who casually asked him if he could ride it for a minute. The Uzbek kid (although he didn't seem like an ethnic Uzbek because he was very light-skinned European looking) knew me because I played bball at the park and, after our games, my friends and I would allow the younger kids to come onto the court to shoot around rather than telling them to get the F off the court. He told me what happened, I told him to get his father to walk with him to the nearby police station to report it, and he told me that his father could speak fluent Russian, Uzbek, Tajik, and Persian but couldn't speak English too well. So I walked with him to the police station to report it and they were completely uninterested. "It's just a bike", they said. I tried to tell them that the father worked low wage jobs and this was a major expenditure for the family, but it was obvious that they could truly care less.

The older teenage Russian kids later told me that the thief sold the bike in exchange for $25 worth of "pills" (Oxycontin). And told me that they could kick the purchaser's blankety blank and steal the bike back for a nominal amount of money. I chose not to get involved with further criminality.

Now in the Boston area, a person in my condo building got his brand new adult bike stolen from the bike rack in the garage. The bike rack was on camera and you could clearly see who stole the bike! The police didn't even want to look at it.

At a CVS in which I was shopping, I heard the cashier at the front of the store yell out "you have to pay for that. You have to pay for that. Hey! Hey!". I then looked to see a man and a woman (both white in case you want to know) carrying large boxes and simply walking out the front door. So I walked behind them and snapped cell phone pictures, including pictures of their late model, brand new-looking, huge SUV and its license plate. I came back to the store, told them what I had, and advised them to call the police. The store manager et al told me it was company policy to do nothing under these circumstances. Apparently, they knew all too well what the police might do (or not do).

The problem is that the police don't appear to be outraged as I am by stuff like this. Outrage would get people to act but there's no outrage there. They would certainly be outraged if it were their own kid's bike or whatever, but not someone else's.

Hate to say that as I'm a former Marine and many of my Marine Corps buddies turned out to be police officers. But it seems to be true. Perhaps it has to do with their experience that judges won't do anything about it, in which case judges would be the ones lacking "outrage", but it still sucks.

So....I'm thinking that the individual policeman/woman that you encounter may be outraged but may not be. In which case you'll run into a brick wall.

Therefore, by all means try the police, but a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission MAY be more fruitful.