According to a recent news release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mexican drug cartels are focusing on affluent, elderly Americans who own timeshares.
The FBI has observed an increase in timeshare scams targeting part-time owners, which it describes as multi-phase and intricate.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Paul Roberts stated, “Timeshare fraudsters aim to suck their victims dry, with devastating consequences to victims’ financial futures, relationships, and physical and emotional health.”
“As the cartels further cement their control of this space, it’s especially critical that the FBI take the lead in addressing this threat to American seniors,” Roberts added.
He noted that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, and the Sinaloa Cartel have operated these fraud schemes for over a decade.
“Timeshare fraud has low overhead costs and minimal reinvestment, needing only a rental of small space, telecom setup, and English-speaking employees with access to resort databases,” Roberts explained. “There is lower perceived risk of prosecution and extradition for timeshare fraud but easy cash flow that goes directly into the Mexican banking system and obfuscates funds to facilitate money laundering activities.”
The FBI reported that the scammers involved in the fraud scheme “do extensive research on their potential victims,” creating fraudulent documents and impersonating a number of individuals. The fraudsters deploy “high-pressure sales tactics and cyber-enabled fraud strategies” to trick their victims into believing they are from a trustworthy institution. One such tactic includes “mimicking legitimate entities’ email addresses and forging official documents,” Roberts noted.
Roberts detailed the cartel’s three-step process.
“In these initial communications with victims, the scammers often pretend to be U.S.- or Mexican-based third-party timeshare brokers or sales representatives in the timeshare, real estate, travel, or financial services industry,” he said.
The scammers use coercion to make victims either leave their timeshare, lease it out, or purchase share certificates. They urge owners to pay upfront fees and taxes.
“The scammers also leverage a robust network of fake company websites, business names and addresses, and registrations with government officials and trade groups to bolster their credibility,” Roberts remarked.
The first step of the scheme is complete when the victim exhausts their funds or realizes they have been deceived.
Subsequently, the scammers will reach out to the victims once more, assuming the guise of a law firm employee offering assistance in recovering their losses.
“The scammers often claim the initial scammers have been either charged with fraud or held civilly liable in a U.S.- or Mexico-based lawsuit, and that the victims are owed restitution in the settlement,” Roberts continued. “However, in order to access that restitution money, the victims are told they must pay legal or court fees to the law firms. The scammers then defraud the victims of a series of advance fees related to the settlement, again using fake documents to bolster their credibility.”
In the last stage of their scheme, con artists will pose as government officials, such as representatives from the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit, or Interpol, according to the FBI.
Later on, the fraudsters will reach out to the victims once more, this time masquerading as a law firm employee offering assistance in recovering their losses.
“Government impersonators claim that they’re contacting victims because they have access to criminal settlements and want to help them recoup their lost money,” the FBI wrote. “Or, impersonators try to scare victims into giving up even more cash. They do this by telling victims that their initial payments to timeshare fraudsters were deemed suspicious.”
“The scammers then tell victims that the authorities determined their payments to timeshare fraudsters were ‘linked to money laundering or terrorist operations.’ They then threaten to either subpoena victims or send them to prison if they don’t pay additional money to ensure their payments are released and their names are cleared,” the agency explained.
1 Comment
The FBI getting involved to try and stop the cartels? Ha ha ha ha. Surely you jest. They are more interested in spying on Catholics and concerned citizen parents speaking their minds at school board meetings.