Aimfair Member's Advice - Follow These Steps to Avoid Being Scammed
September 10, 2021
One of Aimfair's original members wrote us in response to the many scam calls he and the rest of us are getting and provided his recommendations for conducting your due diligence on callers you don't know. Very good comments. Follow these steps and you will quickly be able to vet a cold caller:
Timeshare brokers are becoming more sophisticated in their approach and methods. However, with a little work on your end at no cost – YOU CAN CATCH THEM RED HANDED IN THEIR FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY.
- Step One – VERIFICATION OF THE BUSINESS - Check to see if the timeshare broker, as well as the broker’s title company, are licensed in their respective state, and if their business license is still active. For example, New York State’s license registry website can be found at https://myportal.dfs.ny.gov/nylinxext/elsearch.alis
- You will most likely find that their business licenses have expired.
- If the business licenses have not expired, phone or email the individuals who are listed as contact representatives of the companies. You will most likely find that they will inform you that their company is out of business, or that they have changed the legal name of the company.
- Check for reviews of the broker and title company on Google of Better Business Bureau. However, they are finding ways to have positive reviews of themselves on the internet.
- Check the status of the caller's email domain. Tap the following link: https://whois.domaintools.com. Enter the name of the caller's email domain (example: aimfair.com) and review the contents of the registration file. Chances are the domain is due to expire in less than a year. Red Flag!
Also, use Spokeo.com to check the owner of a telephone number as well as the location. Generally speaking, the scammer will be calling from a number that is not close to the address provided in the scammer's website.
Finally, if you are up to it, find the building management company and ask to speak to the manager. Explain you are concerned that a caller may be a scammer, and you are just doing your due dligence and want to know if the management company is receiving rent payments from the caller's company. If not - Red Flag!
- Step Two – VERIFICATION OF THE BUYER AND REPRESENTATIVE – If the broker sends you a draft contract, it will most likely have the name of the Buyer. The Buyer will typically be someone who is easily found on the internet as a very rich person. I have seen casino moguls, large ship builders, developers and billionaires. However, the Buyer’s representative, whose name also appears on the draft contract, is nowhere to be found on the internet. Request the broker to have him send you a letter or email from the Buyer’s representative confirming that the representative is acting for the Buyer. The broker will vigorously resist stating such is confidential. Your reply is that you have no intention of contacting the Buyer’s representative; however, if the representative is a bona fide lawyer, accountant, etc – then he or she should be willing to confirm representation on their letterhead. See attached phony representation letter that was received.
- Step Three – REVIEW OF DRAFT CONTRACT – If you are still interested in reviewing the contract at this point and still want to have some fun – and if the broker hasn’t rejected you yet since he/she knows that you are too smart - the following are major items in the contract to look for and reject:
- Do not agree to pay any money upfront under any circumstances. Tell the broker that any fees, costs, taxes, etc should come from the proceeds of the sale that the title company can disburse.
- Do not agree to pay the broker’s commissions if the deal falls through due to the fault of the Seller (that is you). This is exactly what the scammers are trying to do – the phony deal will not happen, and the broker will blame you stating that you did not pay taxes, maintenance or legal fees, etc.- resulting in the deal falling through due to your fault. Tell the broker that he/she will get paid when the deal closes – if the deal does not close, then there is no commission for anyone.
- Do not agree to have the title company hire a Mexican lawyer on your behalf. Tell them that you will hire your own lawyer.
- Step Four – CONFIRMATION OF TRUST ACCOUNT – The title company will send you a fraudulent trust account statement from a recognized bank – such as BBVA or Citibank Mexico (attached). The phone number on the bank statement with the title “Cross Border Division” is not that of the bank – rather it is a phony agent of the broker or title company who have no knowledge of the bank. They are simply reading from a prepared script. If you call the actual bank at the address shown on the statement, they will tell you that this account does not exist.
- Step Five – TIME TO SAY ADIOS – By now, you have totally discredited the broker and/or the title company. They will most likely tell you that you are being unreasonable and that they no longer want to deal with you. You of course can cut off discussions at any time. But it is fun to catch these scammers, and expose their methods, so hopefully they are deterred from attempting to cheat honest and good people such as all of the Aimfair members.
The author received a handwritted statement that was supposed to lend credibility to the caller's intentions. Here is what he wrote:
The Caller assured the Aimfair Member he was legitimate through a handwritten note to the Aimfair member.
Also, the caller provided an image showing money waiting for the Aimfair member to draw out once the Aimfair member made his payment:
Don't be fooled. This money will never see the light of day in anyone's account but the scammer's.