Timeshare resale scams have recently been increasing. Many owners are desperate to sell their timeshares, and scammers take advantage of this vulnerability by offering fraudulent deals with false promises.
To avoid becoming a victim, you must know how timeshare resale scams work and how to report them. This article provides information on timeshare scams and everything you need to know to protect yourself from fraudsters.
How Does the Timeshare Scam Work?
Timeshare scams usually happen in the following steps.
- A timeshare resale company or reseller contacts the share owner claiming they can help find buyers for their timeshare. They may even promise to sell the shares at prices too good to be true.
- The reseller will provide fake information, escrow, docs, and websites to lure the share owner into a trap and gain their trust.
- The timeshare owner then signs a contract with the reseller and pays an upfront fee to have their timeshare listed.
- Once the company/reseller lists the shares, they will charge additional fees for services such as advertising or “special offers” that never actually materialize.
- When the company finds potential buyers, they will often ask for an additional fee and may even offer a guaranteed sale of the timeshare at an inflated price.
- However, the resale companies rarely follow through on their promises, disappointing timeshare owners.
How to Tell if a Call Is Legitimate or a Scam?
Here are certain things that can help you identify if a reseller is legitimate or trying to scam you:
- Asking money upfront: If a reseller asks you for money upfront, it should be a red flag. You shouldn't pay money upfront before doing your due diligence.
- Payment via wire transfer, gift card, or cash: You should not encourage any reseller who asks you to pay via wire transfer, gift card, or cash, as this could most likely be a scam.
- Conduct your due diligence: Some scammers have fancy websites and testimonials of several people appreciating their service. Refrain from being taken in by this information overload, and verify everything about the reseller before you agree to do business with them.****
- Check reseller credentials: Check whether the reseller who reached out to you is licensed. Refrain from doing business with the ones who do not carry a valid license.
How to Report a Phone Scam?
Reporting timeshare resale scams can help protect other timeshare owners from becoming victims of such schemes.
The Federal Trade Commission is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for dealing with timeshare resale fraud. You can contact them and file a complaint via phone at 1-877-FTC-HELP or online through the FTC Complaint Assistant website at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/.
Timeshare owners should also contact their local police department and timeshare resort to report any resale scams they may have encountered.
How to Stop Receiving Timeshare Scam Calls in the Future?
If you want to stop receiving Timeshare scam calls, you can be proactive and get a spam blocker to block calls on your landline. You can download several apps to block spam calls on Android and iPhones. Read on!
The Best Way to Block Spam on Your Landline
Most landline providers do not offer spam-blocking services, leaving you with no option but to block them manually on your phone. Manually blocking spam calls is ineffective because you can block numbers only after receiving the call.
The only effective way to block spam calls is to switch to a provider that blocks them automatically before they reach you.
Community Phone offers landline phone service with built-in spam call blocking that can stop unlawful and unwanted calls from reaching your landline. It allows you to keep your landline phone without tying it to the internet.
Get rid of unwanted calls, and protect yourself, your loved ones, or your business from scams with Community Phone's spam-calling blocking services. Its spam call blocker can automatically detect spam, fraud, or robocalls and stop them before your phone rings.
How does It work?
- When you receive a call to your Community Phone number, your phone won't ring immediately. The caller will hear a recording that asks them to "press 1 to connect."
- Robocalls work by sensing when the recipient picks up the phone and speaks. Once they hear a sound that isn't the sound of the phone ringing, the recording begins.
- Since robocalls don't press buttons, the call will never reach your phone.
- If an "unidentified caller" follows the instructions and your phone rings, you can let the call go to voicemail and respond to the voicemail if it's a legitimate caller.
The Safelist
The Community Phone "Safelist" is a list of numbers you pre-approved to receive calls from. Your phone will ring only to let calls from the pre-approved numbers reach you. It will block all other numbers before your phone rings. You can update this list anytime to add or delete pre-approved numbers.
This feature is handy for seniors who are unsuspecting victims of phone scams. The Community Phone account holder can prevent anyone seniors don't know from reaching them, guaranteeing they'll avoid phone scams.
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The Safelist - 2
This feature lets your phone ring only for numbers pre-approved by you and routes the rest to voicemail. You can access your voicemails and respond to legitimate messages or missed calls. You can update the pre-approved list anytime to add or delete numbers.
The Blocklist
Community Phone guards your landline number against known robocallers, scam calls, and telemarketers by checking each incoming caller's number against a regularly updated database, better known as the blocklist. Their database has over 6 million known spam numbers and is growing daily. You can contribute actively by updating the database with a spam number to protect yourself and other Community Phone members from unwanted calls.
Join Community Phone's waitlist today for first access and receive a free brochure on how this one-of-a-kind spam call-blocking service can help you.
The Best Way to Block Spam on your iPhone
There are 2 ways to block spam calls on your iPhone
1. The Community Phone Spam Call Blocking App
You can find Community Phone's spam blocker in the Apple Store. Download this free app on your iPhone to block spam calls and text messages. You can also add the spam number to the Community Phone blocklist to update their blocklist. This action can help protect you and other Community Phone members from unwanted calls from that number.
2. Manually Block the Spam Number from your iPhone
You can block scam calls manually on your iPhone by following these steps:
- Open the Phone App
- Tap > Recent
- Locate the number you want to block
- Tap the info icon
- Scroll to the bottom
- Tap block this caller
- Tap Confirm
The Best Way to Block Spam on Your Android Phone.
You can block scam calls manually on your Android Phone by following these steps:
- Open the Phone App
- Tap more
- Access Call History
- Tap the number/name you want to block
- Tap Block/Report Spam
Benefits of Choosing the Community Phone Spam Blocker
Here are some benefits of choosing the Community Phone spam-blocker services:
1. Built-in Spam Blocker
Landline service providers cannot house the technology for an in-built spam blocker. If you have a traditional landline, you can manually block spam numbers until you reach a limit. However, you can block the number only after you receive the call, which could be risky in many cases as you may have engaged the scammer.
The Community Phone built-in spam blocker scans, flags, and blocks spam calls before your phone rings, protecting you from scams and fraud.
2. Great Advantage for Seniors
The Safelist can ensure seniors are not troubled by scammers calling from unknown or unidentified numbers. The person who controls the Community Phone user account can pre-approve numbers from which the senior would like to receive calls. The spam blocker service will only allow calls from pre-approved numbers and block all other calls.
3. Take Control of Your Protection
You can update the Safelist or the Allowed list at any time to add or delete numbers. This feature prevents you from engaging scammers and ensures peace and protection against scams and fraud.
4. Effective Where the "Do Not Call" List Fails
The Do Not Call list is not effective against scammers. To prevent scam calls and to protect yourself from fraud, sign up for the Community Phone spam-blocker services for your landline or download their app for iPhone now.
FAQs
What is the best free scam call blocker for the iPhone?
Community Phone’s spam-blocking app on the Apple store is the best free scam call blocker for your iPhone. It blocks unwanted calls before your phone can ring, protecting you from scams and fraud.
How do I know if a timeshare resale company is legit?
Do your due diligence to know if a timeshare resale company is legit. The best way to identify this would be to check if the reseller is licensed.
Conclusion
Timeshare resale scams are on the rise, leaving timeshare owners vulnerable to fraud and schemes that can leave them worse off than before. This Community Phone guide provided information on identifying timeshare scams and reporting them. With this information, shareowners can ensure they do not become victims of scheming resellers.
Get the Community Phone spam-blocking services to protect yourself proactively from scammers posing as resellers. The spam-blocking feature can scan, flag, and block unwanted calls before your phone rings, ensuring peace and protection. Talk to their specialists today to learn more!