Rant about Cold Calling Scammers using their business as a shield against consequences.

[RX8]

This thread was prompted about a recent post about a cold calling scammer called Select Travel Options (though the name could be any name), offering to rent their target's get-away weeks, for an upfront fee of course.

I am about to go on a rant about these scammers. it is also a long rant, so I apologize in advance.

How in the %$&* can these scammers keep stealing for multiple years without any recourse? This is the exact reason why these scammers are in business - rob people blind and pay no consequences.

Just to pick one to rant about, Select Travel Options is just another newish "company" that was established in 2021 to steal people's hard-earned money. It appears that Attorney General's offices across the country have no interest in going after these criminals, so these companies just keep doing what they are doing, opening and closing businesses on a daily basis, collecting upfront fees for no value in return. I have said before that a majority of these cold calls pushing the "get-away weeks" lie are advertising/listing companies that charge huge upfront fees in return for a generic advertisement of the resort itself - nothing personal about an individual's ad that someone paid significant money for. They lie on the phone because even they know that the advertising/listing model is a sham and all they want is the upfront fee, and lying about it makes that part of the job easier. The advertising/listing business model is simply a front to shield themselves from civil and criminal prosecution.

It is my opinion that this scam is no different than this scenario:

Cold Caller - "Hello, I wanted to verify if you were interested in selling your six extra envelopes that the USPS provides you every year. We attend mailer conventions around the country and can confirm that we can sell your envelopes for $100 each for a total of $600 profit! If that sounds great, all we need from you is an activation fee of $50 per envelope for a total of $300."

Envelope owner - "That sounds great! I can use the extra money and didn't even realize that I had extra envelopes."

Contract is sent to envelope owner. The envelope owner doesn't notice that the contract is really just a contract to advertise envelopes for $100 each, with an upfront advertising fee of $300. The "advertisement" that was paid for is a copy/paste from the USPS website describing envelopes. Of course, no one wants to buy an envelope for $100 and very few people even see the website because it is new and has no traffic. The company argues in court or to the Attorney General that they were only paid to advertise envelopes and provides the contract as proof.

So how do we know that Select Travel Options is not legit? I will detail a few below but in most cases, if not all, these or similar discrepancies can be found in every other advertising/listing scam.

Website discrepancies:

• Select Travel Options claims on their website that they are a member of the Orlando Chamber of Commerce, but their name doesn't appear in the COC directory.
• They also claim to be a veteran owned business. Since they lied about being a member of the chamber of commerce, this is likely a lie too in an effort to gain trust. They have already shown a willingness to lie by cold calling and lying about get-away weeks. What's another lie or two, or hundred?
• They claim to be a "Proud Sponsor" of the Cincinnati Home and Garden Show, even stating "Accommodations provided by Select Travel Options". However, the Home and Garden show lists their sponsors and Select Travel Options is not one of them. They are also not listed as an exhibitor. That is also a lie because Select Travel Options has no inventory as they connect timeshare owners with renters. Thinking about it, are there even any timeshares in the Cincinnati area?
• All of the reviews seem fake. Here is a review from another website that was posted well before Select Travel Options was even created - "Communication and expanded services during the pandemic have been wonderful. Even though our business travelers are not traveling very much right now, when the need arises I feel better prepared to know what to expect." Compare that to one of Select's own "reviews" which is virtually identical and was posted well over a year later - "Communication and expanded services during the pandemic have been wonderful. Even though our business travelers are not traveling very much right now, when the need arises, I feel better Select Travel Options is there for our business". If that one is suspect, so is every other review.
• The website has a supposed running total with a tally of 97 resorts, 301 offers, 847 website visitors and 35 visitors online. These numbers are static and never change.
• There are certain disclosure requirements that Florida requires of advertising/listing companies (primarily Florida Statute 721.205), disclosures I have seen with other advertising/listing company's websites. However, Select Travel Options has no disclosures anywhere on their website.

Looking for info on "Select Travel Options"

Got a cold call from them. They say they will sell my "RCI Get-a-way" weeks. That sounds like last minute "open season" bookings. [scammers website line deleted.]

tugbbs.com

Everyone who is cold called by these scammers should file a complaint with the state Attorney General's office. If enough pressure is put on these companies maybe the states would do something about it.

Rant is over, back to your regular scheduled programming.

 

[LannyPC]

This is the exact reason why these scammers are in business - rob people blind and pay no consequences.

Everyone who is cold called by these scammers should file a complaint with the state Attorney General's office. If enough pressure is put on these companies maybe the states would do something about it.

I'll agree with a lot of what you're saying. But to me, the biggest reason why these scammers are still in business is because the victims keep falling for this scam. If there were no feeders for these scammers, the scammers would realize that running their scam is not worth the time, effort, or risk, and then move on to something else.

Unfortunately, there are many TS owners out there who are either ignorant or delusional (or both) about the realistic resale and rental value of their TSs and keep thinking an hoping that they can some way, somehow get a big pay day for the sale or rental of their TS.

I guess this is a similar reason why so many people fall for the infamous Nigerian Prince scam and its variants.

 

[SmithOp]

To add to this rant, how and why are they allowed to use robo callers that spoof my local area code? The caller ID system is useless at blocking this abuse.

 

[RX8]

To add to this rant, how and why are they allowed to use robo callers that spoof my local area code? The caller ID system is useless at blocking this abuse.

Just another part of their scamming ways, and just another government entity that should be able to hold their feet to the fire, but do not.

This is from the FTC:
“Under the Truth in Caller ID Act, FCC rules prohibit anyone from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongly obtain anything of value. Anyone who is illegally spoofing can face penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation.”

People need to file complaints but realistically, these scammers will always be one step ahead by starting a new business under a different name.

The best solution, which @LannyPC outlined, was for people to simply stop falling for the scams.

 

[artringwald]

Our landline is through our Comcast modem. They started using technology to screen caller ID spoofers. If an incoming call is verified to be legit, Comcast will add a "V" to the beginning of the caller ID. If it detects a spoofed ID, it adds "SPAM" to the beginning of the caller ID. It's not perfect, but it works well most of the time.

Comcast Adds Verified Caller ID Feature to Combat Landline Robocalls

The company is leveraging STIR/SHAKEN technology to curb spammers.

www.pcmag.com

Android phones can screen calls that aren't in your contact list. The caller gets a message that the call is being screened and is asked to state the purpose of the call. You can see their response before deciding if you really want to answer it.

Screen your calls before you answer them - Phone app Help

You can use Call Screen to find out who’s calling and why before you pick up a call. Call Screen works on your device and doesn't use Wi-Fi or mobile data. Calls answered by the Google Assistan

support.google.com

Even without these recent technical advances, I would not do business with any company making cold calls. I wish more people could be warned of the danger of scammers that say:

• This is Microsoft contacting to let you know your computer is infected with a virus.
• We have a client that wants to buy your timeshare.
• Your roof may be damaged. We'll do a free inspection and deal directly with your insurance company.
• Your grandchild was arrested in Mexico, and asked you to send money to bail them out.
• Congratulations! You've won a free cruise to the Bahamas!
• I'm calling for the Police Officer Association/Firefighters Association and wanted a donation.
• This is the police. We have a warrant out for your arrest for failure to appear for jury duty.

and so on. If I'm bored, I'll talk to them and answer every one of their questions with questions of my own. Who are you? What company do you work for? What's it's web site? How did you get my phone number? Why did you think I owned a timeshare? ...

 

[The Colorado Kid]

A nearly foolproof way to avoid all scams is to not answer your phone from a number you don't recognize.

 

[Rolltydr]

I agree with most of what the OP said. However, there is a simple solution to the problem. Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If it is someone who actually needs to speak with you, they will leave a message. If they don’t leave a message, they’re spamming. On iPhones, and I’m sure androids also, you can silence unknown callers which sends them directly to your voicemail. No annoying phone call or unpleasant conversations.

Remember, it’s your phone. You have total control over whom you choose to talk to. Use it.

 

[theo]

The best solution, which @LannyPC outlined, was for people to simply stop falling for the scams.

Absolutely. When it comes to these scamming parasites, I am reminded of the words of Dr. Phil McGraw, who has astutely observed that “There are no victims — only volunteers”.

 

[ScoopKona]

Here's the unpopular answer: the people who own these scam companies are wealthy. And therefore they have influence above and beyond the people they scam.

It's the same thing with counterfeit food. You would think the USDA would charge in and make an example of all the food fraudsters. It's taking money directly away from American farmers.

But no. Nothing. The big grocery stores and wholesalers make too much money from the sale of bogus EVOO. Therefore, nothing gets done. This has been in the news for years. And nothing gets done.

In the case of "Extra virgin" "olive" oil (I have to put air-quotes on both because both are often scams), it's so bad that the average consumer wouldn't even like the real thing if they tasted it.

"Ewww! What's this peppery medicinal-tasting stuff? Give me REAL EVOO. You know, the kind which has no flavor whatsoever."

And here's a way to prove just how all-encompassing the EVOO scam is. Go to your local supermarket. Buy a bottle/tin/jar of EVOO. Use some. Enjoy! Salud! And then the next day -- whether or not you suspect it is fake -- take it back and say, "This is fake. I want a refund."

Your refund will be quickly and quietly dispatched. Why? They all know most of the oil on their shelves isn't even olive, let alone extra-virgin. The only way to be sure is to buy oil from a domestic olive farm. There are loads and loads of them in Georgia, Texas and California. It's going to cost significantly more than buying oil that was bottled by the mafia and terrorists. Domestic olive growers have no motivation to bait-and-switch their customers.

And it's the same thing with telephone scammers, new-age "medicine" scammers, people who sell worthless investments and similar -- they're part of the establishment club. And they get special treatment until such time that they become so much of a liability that it's better to kick them out of the club.

 

[echino]

These scammers are no different than timeshare developers like Marriott etc. Both lie verbally when making a sale, but a written contract is for something else, and you have no recourse because you voluntarily signed the contract. Legally they are in the clear - it's not a crime to lie. Or Marriott would be shut down as well.

 

[LannyPC]

• Congratulations! You've won a free cruise to the Bahamas!

My response? How much is this "free" cruise going to cost me?

 

[ScoopKona]

Let's get to another scam which has no business being allowed to continue.

The Kobe-beef/wagyu-beef scam.

1 - "Wagyu" means "our cow" in Japanese. "American Wagyu" makes as much sense as "Turkish Bourbon Whiskey" or "Icelandic Champagne."

2- Real, not-a-scam Kobe beef -- the kind which comes from a cow from Kobe prefecture and drinks beer and is given daily massages -- is available at a few dozen US restaurants and specialty butchers. Five of whom are in Las Vegas. You'll know it's the real deal because the people who sell it will enthusiastically show you the snout print from the animal. That's right, each cow slaughtered and sold as Kobe beef is snout-printed on a death certificate saying where and when it was killed. No snout print? It's not really Kobe.

3 - So, all these Kobe hot dogs and Kobe hamburgers and Kobe pastrami being sold by unscrupulous companies? All total bull[manure].

The number of Kobe "corn dogs" has decreased significantly. But I'm seeing even more "American Wagyu" being advertised. Arby's for one. Sure, Arby's. Sure.