General Discussion

Yet another scam alert

Sep 19, 2009

What's important here is to notice the email address at the bottom of this email so that you will be familiar with it if you should get an email from this person who wants to buy your Timeshare. I have copied the response where Mr. Anderson agrees to buy my Timeshare without any negotiation efforts and offering a bonus price:

Thanks for your response,the price is okay by me, am buying the time share for my wife and my little kids that will be coming to stay in States ok and I will like you to understand that the payment is from my associate in United States who buy our products and he ready to pay me back the outstanding money which he owe to our company, I will be given you a commission of 2% for the payment made through you to me and he also explained further that he paying the sum of $30,000.00 cashier's check written on a USA bank for me,provided you have an escrow account to make it easier .Which I will like you to get the cost of your time share $4,800 00, out of it and including the closing cost as well.After these has been done,directives would be give to you on how you will be handling the remaining balance of the funds. After these I will contact my lawyer to come over to United States for the signing of the documents on my my behalf. If that is okay by you I will like you to get back to me.As soon as I receives your response to this mail,I will contact my associate to make the payment to you.So do get back to me with the name and the address you want the check to be mail to and as well your contact phone number. You can aswel provide your bank details if you would prefer wire transfer or cashiers check directly to you, if the escrow is not available. I will highly appreciate your urgent response. Very respectfully Roy

--- On Thu, 9/17/09, Brenda Johnson <vtbran@comcast.net> wrote:

From: Brenda Johnson <vtbran@comcast.net> Subject: Response to your inquiry To: anderson.roy62@yahoo.com Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009, 8:59 AM


Brenda J.
Sep 20, 2009

This particular "Roy Anderson" scam contact has recently been reported on numerous other timeshare sites as well. Frankly, it's exactly like so many, many others, ultimately providing a bogus check in excess of the amount required and then requesting a refund of the "overpayment". Those who fall for this scam unwisely provide the "overpayment" difference in valid funds back to the sender, only to later discover that the check which was provided to them in the first place is an entirely bogus counterfeit, so they are "out" the overpayment, which promptly disappears forever. Alternatively, the scammer just uses the collected personal information in a "phishing" scheme, in order to later attempt an identity theft action and / or try to directly gain access to the "target's" bank account(s).

One dead giveaway to these so-called "Nigerian 419" scams is their consistently poor command and use of English grammar. Oddly enough, the scammer claiming to be from the UK is another common feature. Since English is, in fact, the language of the UK, someone so obviously failing to adequately or properly use the native language and grammar of their (alleged) native country is a big hint that something is really and truly VERY wrong here...


KC

Last edited by ken1193 on Sep 20, 2009 05:19 AM

Sep 20, 2009

It's amazing how many people fall for various scams. All because they want to make a quick buck.

We had a guy here in RI, who would go around saying that he had a bunch of lobsters to deliver and his truck broke down. He would ask people for money to fix his truck so he could deliver his lobsters before they went bad. Then he woudl tell them to meet him at a designated place and he would pay them back and throw in a couple lobsters as well. Needless to say, people never got there $$ or their lobsters. Another guy was "selling" Dallas Cowboy season tickets. Too bad he wasn't for real because the price was great. Fortunately these petty scam artists usually get caught.

Follow the old adage "If it's too good to be true, then it probably isn't"


Mike N.

Last edited by mike1536 on Sep 21, 2009 06:50 AM

Sep 20, 2009

I heard a new scam other day! A family up in the Grass Valley CA area couldn't get out from under a timeshare that they own so they paid a person in the area $700.00 to take it off their hands and paid all the transfer fee's to get it in his name.

This person just lost his job and was about to lose his house too! Already getting ready to file bankruptcy so he picked up a timeshare and couldn't care less about the resort then going after him for not paying maintenance fee's next year. Hope I hear how this one comes out.

If this works wonder how many would run down to Tent City in Sacramento where all the homeless live now and try this because if its just a cash sale to the owner not sure what else would be needed except a mailing address and I would think getting a mail box at any US mail store or post office not that hard to do!

PHILL12


Phil L.

Last edited by phill12 on Oct 28, 2009 09:22 PM

Sep 21, 2009

phill12 wrote:
A family up in the Grass Valley area N.Ca couldn't get out from under a timeshare that they own so they paid a person in the area $700.00 to take it off their hands and paid all the transfer fee's to get it in his name.

This person just lost his job and was about to lose his house too! Already getting ready to file bankruptcy so he picked up a timeshare and couldn't care less about the resort then going after him for not paying maintenance fee's next year.

This sort of reminds me of "Warren(insert applicable suffix)" who was roaming around here on on TUG. He would take a TS off someone's hands for a few hundred bucks then dump it in a trust, knowing that the trust had no funds to pay the MFs.

phill12 wrote:
If this works wonder how many would run down to Tent City in Sacramento where all the homeless live now... PHILL12
We have two tent cities here in RI. One is aptly called "Camp Run-a-muck".


Mike N.

Last edited by mike1536 on Sep 21, 2009 06:58 AM

Oct 28, 2009

Thanks for sharing that information. That will surely help. That’s true that there’s a lot of scam here in the internet. I have experienced with the home job telling me to deposit first before I work for them. Internet Hosting


Lawliet L.

Last edited by lawlietl on Oct 28, 2009 04:59 PM

Oct 28, 2009

I had h similar experience recently in response to an ad I posted on craigslist. The responder said he was too busy to come and look at the fridge I had advertised, but would send a money order in payment and send his "associate" to pick it up. His English wasn't that bad, so at first I thought it was legit, but then he followed up with an e-mail that a "terrible mistake" had been made and his associate had sent me the wrong money order, and would I please take out the money for the fridge, hold it for the associate to pick up, and wire him the difference . I e-mailed him back , told him I would send the money order back uncashed, and suggested that if he still wanted the fridge, he should send his "associate" with cash when he came to pick it up. Haven't heard from him since! Variations on this theme have been out there for some time now, but I guess there must be some people falling for it or they wouldn't still be doing it.


Mary Anne K.
Nov 02, 2009

I would like to bring attention to a questionable practice that was perpetrated on me. I was solicited to attend a sales presentation by BLUEGREEN RESORTS being offered in my home town of Grand Rapids, Michigan. I accepted and was asked for a refundable deposit (via credit card) to "ensure my attendance". I think the amount was about $70 and I agreed. I subsequently attended the seminar when the date arrived and during the presentation was swayed to "upgrade" the owner package I purchased several years before. However, after having a chance to read over my contract and some of the material I left with that evening I chose to rescind my decision within the legal 3 day grace period. They did cancel my contract but later sent me a letter saying that they were keeping my deposit to cover the cost of the canvass tote and printed materials given me and would not be refunding my credit card deposit which, I repeat, was ONLY to "ensure my attendance". I think this is a very shady and deceptive practice and CHEAP in my estimation and would caution anyone doing business with the BLUEGREEN organization. Their only Michigan office is a 3 hour drive away (6 hours round trip) making it difficult (and non-cost effective) to deal with them directly. The issue remains unresolved and I told them I would alert as many people as possible how cheap they are and about their underhanded, fraudulent practices. I wonder if they would have turned me away from their sales presentation that evening had I refused the UP FRONT deposit?


Dennis N.
Nov 02, 2009

Just be glad that you were out only $70 and that you didn't sign a contract, pay big money and be saddled with a lifetime of maintenance fees and possible special assessments .... you're lucky, although you brought the luck on yourself by completely reading the contract .... consider the $70 loss a lesson learned, many people have lost thousands.


R P.
Nov 02, 2009

Yes, indeed! I have read some of these horror stories and I do consider this an inexpensive lesson. It is important to read contracts even though it is laborsome and the wording incomprehensible but it can save one a lot of grief..... and money. My guess is that BLUEGREEN didn't like it when I cancelled and thought some sort of punishment was in order. What I read didn't jive with what I was told so I thought it best to cancel rather than try to get clarification while my recission period passed. An inexpensive lesson for me but, hopefully, in the end, a very expensive lesson about retaining loyal, happy customers to them. I am no longer either to them because of that meager $70.


Dennis N.
Oct 06, 2011

Bluegreen! They misrepresent the amenities including that they were pet-friendly. They are at two resorts somewhere in New England. They tried that "upgrade" biz on me. I had a Marriott timeshare. Had a wonderful experience and when I became disabled, it quickly sold. For the last year, I have been harrassed by BG's collection group (who the owner is on the board of Interval International!) and they called even though I told them I had a 104 fever. They called me a liar. They asked for debit card numbers. They called two and three times a day. I have complained to the NC and the SC AG's and they refused to do anything about BG! Don't waste your time with they rental and sales company, Pinnacle, I was listed with them two years and they did not call me with one offer while selling the same points at the Carolina BG resort also in Myrtle Beach. I have asked them to take the timeshare back and they have the nerve to tell me it is not worth anything. I have owned condos equivalent to the size and amenities and I never paid more than $100 a month in maintenance fees. How can something that is not "real property" require $900 a year and $139 for RCI's membership they never told me I would have to pay. They can have their "Brooklyn Bridge back! Anyone interest in this bridge? This is not actually an attempt to sell this timeshare but is "tongue in cheek" sarcasm!


Sherry S.

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