Timeshare owners have become the target of a new scam that has come to light – this time scammers are trying to get personal information from vacation club members and timeshare owners under the guise of a timeshare attorney firm offering advice and class action suits.
The Villagroup timeshare (Villa del Palmar Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Loreto, Nuevo Vallarta) seem to be the main target of the scam so far, with the company reporting that a number of its members have been contacted by a firm of timeshare attorneys who are promoting services such as cancellation, resale, class action suits. This is particularly de-motivating news for the genuine timeshare industry, including The Villagroup timeshare, that has worked so hard over the last 10 years to try and clean up the reputation that fraudulent timeshare companies have created.
The warning comes just at the beginning of the winter season when many people are at home out of the cold and available to take unsolicited phone calls. Villa del Palmar owners / Villa Preferred Access members are urged to beware of these phone calls and to take care not to give out any personal information to anyone who calls claiming they are a timeshare lawyer or representing a timeshare advocacy firm. The correlation between the scam and some timeshare forums has not yet been investigated but could have some relevance.
The key advice is not to give out any personal information unless you have specifically sought guidance from the timeshare advocacy firm or attorney that is contacting you, in which case you would most commonly provide any such information in person rather than over the phone.