Are you on the list?
It may be hard for you to believe, but timeshare refund and recovery scammers generally target people who have already been scammed before. You might ask yourself how this is possible. What happens is that people who have been scammed before end up on a “sucker lists.” The sucker list is a register of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of people who have given money to scammers before, possibly for promotions that are “too good to be true” or competitions. Here is an example: Have you ever given money to be included on a million dollar raffle or to win a brand new car? If you have, then unfortunately you will probably be on the “sucker lists.” These lists are sold every day to crooks and criminals who are wanting to scam you in many different ways such as the timeshare refunds and recovery scams.
Why don’t you notice the scam?
Most probably, the majority of us have been part of a scam and don’t even know it. You may have donated money to a charity that was fake, or entered a contest that is bogus, and invested money into a business deal, and the list continues on. The reason that you may not have noticed the scam is because you may have donated a small amount of money, so when you never hear back about the money that you have donated it doesn’t alarm you.
How is one targeted for timeshare refunds and recovery scams?
Timeshare refunds and recovery scams may target you just by chance, or you may have been searching for a way to cancel or sell your timeshare and your information was shared by the websites you visited. Once scammers have your information, they know that you are ready to be scammed, and these type of scammers will find the right angle to approach you.
Timeshare refunds and recovery scams – advanced fees
When scammers realize that you have already been scammed before, they know that you are more susceptible to their (charms). You might receive a call from a company claiming they will recover the money that was scammed from you by another scam or they may tell you that they can recover any merchandise that you never received. In order to “help you out” of the first scam (which they might or might not have been involved in), you will be charged an upfront fee for the services. In the United States, at least, charging an individual with an upfront fee is against the law for all telemarketers as they are not allowed to ask for any upfront fee or payment for a service or item that you have yet to receive.
How to protect yourself from timeshare refunds and recovery scams
The advice is very simple; when it comes to timeshare refunds and recovery scams, if any company offers you this type of service, then you must remember it is probably a scam, especially if you have purchased a timeshare membership with a reputable timeshare company. If you want to cancel your timeshare contract legally, then you should talk with the timeshare company provider to see if you are still within the rescission period for cancellation. Remember, no timeshare cancellation company or recovery service will get your money back lawfully.
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