How to Avoid Vacation Ownership Resale Scams

Now that you are a vacation club member, the great news is that you can select which resorts you want to stay at and TAFER’s inventory is increasing all the time, with the addition of Garza Blanca Cancun fully opening in October 2021 and Hotel Mousai’s new South Tower opening on October 28th, 2021. The benefits are numerous, however, there are unscrupulous scammers that are coming up with new scams and tactics all the time to try and cheat members out of what is rightfully theirs. To help you bolster your defenses against tricksters, below are some valuable tips.

Tips on how to avoid vacation ownership resale scams:

It has come to our attention that individuals and entities with no affiliation to TAFER Hotels & Resorts, Garza Blanca Resorts, or The Villa Group have been contacting members claiming to be affiliated. Rest assured that TAFER RESORTS MANAGEMENT S.A. DE C.V. is fully committed to providing protection of our clients’ personal information and we will never sell or give out information about our members.

Some of the scams include: 

You will receive an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to work on behalf of one of our resorts. They will tell you that the market is hot and that they can easily sell your unit. They may even tell you that they have an interested buyer who will pay you a great deal of money for your vacation ownership. Sounds good, right? Chances are that the person on the other end of the phone is trying to scam you. The red flag to watch for here is if they tell you that you have to pay an upfront finder´s fee. Be warned, don’t do that because if you do your money will disappear along with the interested buyer. If you decide to sell your vacation ownership, go through a reputable agent who takes a commission, and don’t pay any upfront fees.

You may see ads on social media from agents claiming to be experts at selling vacation ownership. The ad might say, ´We have lots of buyers ready to purchase your vacation ownership´. While it may sound good, this is a flat-out lie. What they are really trying to do is take your money but won’t do anything whatsoever to actually help you sell your vacation ownership. If you see an ad like that, do your homework about the agent and don’t be fooled by an impressive looking website. Contact a government agency in your local area to find out if the reseller or agent is licensed, if they are not licensed, they are likely a scammer impersonating an agent.

If you feel you have been the target of a potential vacation ownership resales scam, first, you should report it to the member services area at 1 877 722 4592 (Toll Free USA/Can) or 1 844 488 1723 (Toll Free Mexico) or email memberservices@resortcom.com. And then make subsequent complaints to the Federal Trade Commission’s business fraud division by calling 1-877-382-4357 or emailing www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov as well as report it to your local State Attorney General’s office. Finally, report it to ARDA at the following link: http://www.arda.org/advisories.

Make sure you keep a record of any communication you receive from the suspected fraudster, as it may be required for the investigation.

We hope these tips will help you stay protected from scam-artists trying to target vacation club owners. Knowing about them is the first step to not being duped by them. We want you to get the most out of your membership and to continue to enjoy all that our resorts have to offer.