A known Mexican timeshare re-sale scam continues to circle through Oak Bay, after a local resident reported to Oak Bay Police that they were defrauded of their money.
The report, which was filed on August 4 last week, said the complainant was contacted by a company purporting that they had a potential buyer for their timeshare. Police said the resident was convinced this was a legitimate buyer and was requested to pay some fees for the overall transaction.
Following that, the resident was later informed that the timeshare sale did not go ahead as planned and had to pay extra fees in attempt to get their money back from the Bank of Mexico.
As this is not the first time such a scam drew victims from the Oak Bay community and Greater Victoria Area, police encourage everyone to be very cautious and skeptical of such offers from unknown individuals.
“Unscrupulous companies will typically contact you by phone, mail or the Internet asking you to call a phone number about your timeshare,” said Oak Bay Police Chief Constable Andy Brinton, adding the salesperson may claim that the market is “hot” for resales, when in fact the market varies considerably depending on location and prime season for that particular unit.
In addition to that, these fraudulent companies charge advanced fees associated to the scam, and Brinton noted a search of the internet showed that this company has been involved in fraudulent activity.
Unfortunately, he added, it is difficult to investigate these types of incidents due to their international nature.
If you have been scammed by such individuals, or have information on this scam, please contact the RCMP Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.