By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The desire to be clear of an unused investment cost one local family more than $10,000 earlier this year through a common and widespread scam.
“Timeshare scams have been around for a long time,” said Lisa Schiller, Director of Investigations and Media Relations for the Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin. “We still hear from scammers.”
Schiller said it seems that every day scammers come up with new ways to separate people from their hard-earned cash. Such occurrences are not instances of fools and their money inevitably being parted.
It is upsetting that there are so many investment scammers out there that people are unaware of, that is why it is incredibly important for people to thoroughly vet investment companies no matter what they are pitching to potential customers/investors, so they can see if they are legitimate. For example, if someone wants to invest in gold then they will want to check out resources like a GoldCo Review or a review from another company they have come across, to get an expert opinion and cautiously see what they are about. Scammers can strike at any time, that is why people must be on their guard and aware of what is out there.
“Scammers are always staying ahead,” Schiller said. “All they care about is fast money. They play on people’s emotions and vulnerability. They play on fear and lack of knowledge.”
All Business Consultants Services LLC is based in Dalton Gardens, Idaho, and maintains a web site at www.allbusinesscs.com. ABC contacted Whitewater’s Richard Gunter earlier this year. Gunter and his family are now out more than $10,000.
“It was probably a mistake to get it in the first place.” Gunter said of his family’s timeshare. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.
“We’ve never used it. Life changed, and that kind of travel was not available.”
It is necessary to take into consideration certain factors when buying a timeshare. In this example, if the Gunters were offered a low up-front escrow payment, they would have been well on their way. There are timeshare exit companies out there, which provide services to help you get out. Nonetheless, most of them are scams that simply offer false promises to those in dire need. In order to be certain about the quality of such services, do some research before accepting them.
The Gunters bought into a timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico about 10 years ago. ABC contacted the Gunters earlier this year in reference to the timeshare.
According to Gunter, representatives from ABC said if the family paid taxes and fees up front ABC would sell the Gunters’ timeshare. ABC told Gunter taxes and fees needed to be paid up front, in accordance with Mexican law.
“It seemed pretty reasonable that (ABC) wanted to buy these Mexican time shares,” Gunter said. “We said ‘Send us the info.’ The info seemed pretty straight-forward.”
Gunter said he asked his attorney to review the documents. His attorney said it seemed pretty standard, aside from one, small clause that read: “open ended.”
Gunter and his family sent more than $10,000 through wire transfer to cover taxes and fees. Gunter would be reimbursed upon sale of the timeshare. The Gunters received official looking documents from ABC, and assumed the process to be moving forward.
That’s when what ABC termed “glitches” popped-up. ABC demanded more money from the Gunters and is sending statements and contacting the family even now, going so far as to threaten legal action unless the company gets more money.
The irony is Gunter would now love to get anyone from ABC in court.
Gunter said he finally called representatives of the timeshare and was informed he was likely victim to fraud.
“After awhile, you still want it to be true,” Gunter said of being able to sell the timeshare.
On March 11, Gunter shared his story with the BBB and allowed the BBB to contact members of the media in an effort to spread word and help others avoid similar troubles.
“The problem is you’re wiring this money off and you have no access to the money,” Gunter said. “Chalk it up to a series of bad decisions on our part, but if it can help anyone else not fall for it, so be it.”
Be critical of any offer that sounds too good to be true. Gunter said he’s never heard of a sale where the taxes and fees must be fronted by the seller.
Schiller said the wire transfer portion of the transaction is a feature common to scams. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation advises using wire transfers only when moving money to a known party.
Use any available resources to check all companies. Calls to ABC’s home office in Idaho route through an endless voice mail system, and no one answers the phone.
Use the BBB. Consumer protection and shining a light in the dark nooks and crannies of the world of commerce is their expertise. The Spokane, Wash. office of the BBB received its first complaint about ABC in August of last year.
The BBB’s Scam Tracker is an excellent online resource to see if scams or one type of scam are prevalent in a particular area. The site is available at www.bbb.org/scamtracker.
Three scams are listed for Whitewater. The first is from August of 2015. The caller wants fee money up front before sending winnings from the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes.
Another, from September of last year, is the Windows technical support scam. The caller claims to be from Microsoft and has news that your computer is infected with a virus.
The caller requests money and access to your computer to remove the virus, and then raids your personal info and leaves behind spyware and viruses.
The third scam listed from the Whitewater area is the one in which the Gunters are ensnared.
