Residents of the state of Wisconsin have been warned by state officials to be on the lookout for a fraudulent timeshare resale scam. The Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection sent out the warning after receiving distressing reports from Wisconsin citizens who had been threatened by the scammers.
According to We Are Green Bay, citizens reported being approached by fraudulent offers claiming to be a timeshare resale company. The fraudulent company offered to sell the citizens’ timeshare properties and then proceeded to ask the victims to send money to unknown entities overseas.
When the victims refused to send money to the overseas entities, they were reportedly threatened by persons posing as law enforcement officials. Victims of the fraudulent timeshare resale scam are urged to cut off ties with the false company and to file a complaint with the DATCP.
“Despite the solicitors’ threats, you will not be at risk of arrest, legal actions or financial penalty for failing to follow through on these offers or send them money or personal information,” reports WisPolitics.com.
The timeshare industry has a notoriously poor reputation worth $70 billion. However, there are some ways in which citizens of Wisconsin are able to identify the fraudulent service from other timeshare companies.
We Are Green Bay says the scamming operation has been thus far identified as an advance-fee fraud either for the sale of the timeshare property or for a victim compensation fund.
Additional fraudulent timeshare resale tricks Wisconsin citizens are to be wary of are as follows:
- Timeshare resale phone calls and emails that are unsolicited
- Emails and phone calls from unsolicited businesses urging payments as soon as possible. This is common criminal activity in an attempt to get the victim not to think rationally.
- Requests or demands for payment to be made as soon as possible by wire transfer. Criminals prefer wire transferred money because it’s extremely difficult to recover the money once it’s been sent.
For more information regarding the fraudulent timeshare reseller and what you can do as a victim of the crime, contact the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-422-7128 or email datcphotline@wisconsin.gov.
