• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Just joined the "I BEEN SCAMMED-CLUB"

thebondguy

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
16
Reaction score
11
Points
63
Location
Montgomery, TX USA
Resorts Owned
Royal Haciendas and Royal Islander
Very, very, shrewd group BPS Marketing LLC (bpsmarketingllc.com), DBA VacaTheAffordableWay, and MAXimum Research LLC. I checked every source known to man to see if there were any complaints, including most of the federal agencies, and could not find a thing. They covered all of their basis. BEWARE
 

presley

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Messages
6,313
Reaction score
1,121
Points
448
How were you scammed?
 

theo

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
9,032
Reaction score
2,268
Points
648
Location
New England Coast
How were you scammed?

...and with all the names you've listed being heretofore completely unknown to inhabitants of Planet Timeshare, what exactly did they say or do that somehow convinced you to overlook the fact that they are all completely unknown names / entities? :shrug:

I respectfully submit that relevant details would be much more informative and helpful to others than just drive-by name dropping.
 
Last edited:

Passepartout

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
28,461
Reaction score
17,213
Points
1,299
Location
Twin Falls, Eye-Duh-Hoe
How about sharing some details here, OP? A baseless indictment of entities unknown isn't going to help anyone avoid a similar fate, if that's your motive.
 

thebondguy

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
16
Reaction score
11
Points
63
Location
Montgomery, TX USA
Resorts Owned
Royal Haciendas and Royal Islander
...and with all the names you've listed being heretofore completely unknown to inhabitants of Planet Timeshare, what exactly did they say or do that somehow convinced you to overlook the fact that they are all completely unknown names / entities? :shrug:

I respectfully submit that relevant details would be much more informative and helpful to others than just drive-by name dropping.


I am meeting with the local District Attorney's office this week, and they suggested that I only post the information that I have, until after our meeting. I will share the whole story at that time. They only suggested that I give the names of the entities involved right now (which I wish others had) until they had an opportunity to look into my claims.
 

tschwa2

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
16,002
Reaction score
4,676
Points
748
Location
Maryland
Resorts Owned
A few in S and VA, a single resort in NC, MD, PA, and UT, plus Jamaica and the Bahamas
Well you own Mexican timeshares. My guess is they told you they had a buyer for maybe $20,000-40,000. Then at some point they told you had to pay some kind of tax or fee that would be reimbursed on closing to the tune of maybe $1500-$3000. You paid and then they came up with another fee that had to be paid and when you said you weren't going to pay anything else they disappeared.

Problem is the company may or may not be in the US. They pop up take as much money as they can get from as many people as possible and then disappear and pop up with a new name. The names you were given were probably aliases. You likely won't see your money every again. Good luck, though.
 

thebondguy

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
16
Reaction score
11
Points
63
Location
Montgomery, TX USA
Resorts Owned
Royal Haciendas and Royal Islander
Already accepted the fact the money has left the building. Already paid a fraud specialist to confirm what you just mentioned. Their website will not exist after 9/17/2017. I may have secured enough information on some of the individuals to keep them from reappearing, and that is my primary purpose. I hate not to trust people, but that is changing fast.
 

taffy19

newbie
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
5,723
Reaction score
593
Points
398
I really feel for you because you do not expect to be scammed when you have ethics yourself.

The District Attorney will investigate these scam artists when they receive many complaints. They will close them down but they turn around and start up a new website under a different name and continue just like before unless they put them in jail. I hope the AG can do something for you but it may be too late for you but for the next victim hopefully.
 

RX8

TUG Member
Joined
May 5, 2011
Messages
4,106
Reaction score
4,452
Points
449
Resorts Owned
HGVC and DVC
The website looks more like an upfront advertising/listing company. The sale prices are ridiculously high ($39K for Jockey Club in Vegas as an "amazing deal" for example).

They have a Facebook page. There are 9 reviews and most of them look fake. Four of the nine were posted the same day on April 6th.

You are likely one of many people scammed. Hoping you can get help from the DA.
 

Panina

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
6,781
Reaction score
9,968
Points
499
Location
Florida
Resorts Owned
Hgvc Anderson, Blue Ride Village Resort
Already accepted the fact the money has left the building. Already paid a fraud specialist to confirm what you just mentioned. Their website will not exist after 9/17/2017. I may have secured enough information on some of the individuals to keep them from reappearing, and that is my primary purpose. I hate not to trust people, but that is changing fast.
Thank you for posting and letting us know. It just might save someone else from getting scammed.
 

LannyPC

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
4,777
Reaction score
2,406
Points
448
Location
British Columbia
I am meeting with the local District Attorney's office this week, and they suggested that I only post the information that I have, until after our meeting. I will share the whole story at that time. They only suggested that I give the names of the entities involved right now (which I wish others had) until they had an opportunity to look into my claims.

Seeing that you own in Mexico, it's likely the scammer is located in Mexico. If that is the case, your local DA will have no power to stop or prosecute the scammer.

While some of the Attorneys-General in the USA are getting some of the scammers in The States, it appears that no such effort is being put forth in Mexico to stop the scammers there. TBS, even if the company gets shut down the scammer principal behind the operations will just resurface under a new name.

If your efforts lead to this particular scammer getting arrested and prosecuted, then I applaud your efforts. But I am not holding my breath for it.
 

theo

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
9,032
Reaction score
2,268
Points
648
Location
New England Coast
Seeing that you own in Mexico, it's likely the scammer is located in Mexico. If that is the case, your local DA will have no power to stop or prosecute the scammer.

While some of the Attorneys-General in the USA are getting some of the scammers in The States, it appears that no such effort is being put forth in Mexico to stop the scammers there. TBS, even if the company gets shut down the scammer principal behind the operations will just resurface under a new name.

If your efforts lead to this particular scammer getting arrested and prosecuted, then I applaud your efforts. But I am not holding my breath for it.

You are correct regarding jurisdiction, but despite the the fact that the OP's timeshares may be in Mexico, it seems (to me, anyhow) just as likely that the scam itself is actually run in the U.S. I guess we'll see --- if / when the OP returns to share further specifics regarding the "bait" and the payment m.o. :shrug:
 
Last edited:

TUGBrian

Administrator
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
22,091
Reaction score
7,673
Points
1,099
Location
Florida
the bigger problem you run into is while you may certainly get that website shut down...they will have a new one up shortly under a different name and just keep on with the scam.

we cant say it enough, paying large upfront fees is the biggest mistake an owner can make in this day and age.
 

davidvel

TUG Member
Joined
May 9, 2008
Messages
7,432
Reaction score
4,477
Points
648
Location
No. Cty. San Diego
Resorts Owned
Marriott Shadow Ridge (Villages)
Carlsbad Inn
There is no way to shut these scams down, anymore than you can shut down email spammers. Unfortunately, there are trusting people, many elderly, that will always fall for these scams. And there will be plenty of scammers collecting the loot.

The only way to minimize this is through education. But in my experience this only makes a small dent. This applies to all areas in life, including Nigerian and Western Union scams, and starting with the timeshare freebie.
 

thebondguy

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
16
Reaction score
11
Points
63
Location
Montgomery, TX USA
Resorts Owned
Royal Haciendas and Royal Islander
I wish people who have been scammed, would not be to embarrassed, and ashamed, about being so foolish, and reported it like I did. We could reduce the number of idiots like myself from getting taken. I searched every site I knew before I sent them the money, and found nothing. Oh well!
 

TUGBrian

Administrator
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
22,091
Reaction score
7,673
Points
1,099
Location
Florida
a very valid point for sure!

so many feel foolish and embarrassed to even talk about it, much less report it to an agency that might actually seek to punish the crime.

on top of that, every media story you see about timeshare scams and the like is full of negative comments about how "stupid" folks were for getting involved with timeshares in the first place further reinforcing the embarrassment and shaming of the victim.
 

theo

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
9,032
Reaction score
2,268
Points
648
Location
New England Coast
I wish people who have been scammed, would not be to embarrassed, and ashamed, about being so foolish, and reported it like I did. We could reduce the number of idiots like myself from getting taken. I searched every site I knew before I sent them the money, and found nothing. Oh well!

You are not an idiot. You are a good and decent person who put some (unfortunately misplaced) faith in others to be reciprocally trustworthy.
I for one greatly respect and admire your willingness and effort to report your unfortunate experience.

That being said, since scammers regularly change their names, in order to better help others to avoid similarly unfortunate decisions and fates in the future, I respectfully suggest that it would be helpful to at least know a little bit about the m.o. of the scammers to whom you fell prey. Scammers routinely change their operating names --- but a "successful" scammer m.o. will essentially remain the same. After all, nothing succeeds like success...

So....., it would certainly be helpful to others to know more about whatever the scammers may have claimed, or done --- or provided for documentation (even if phony documentation) that somehow convinced you to "suspend disbelief" and somehow persuaded you to overcome reservations you may have initially had. Was it a (mythical) required escrow fee / tax / transfer fee that suddenly had to be pre-paid? A contrived "residency tax"? Some other angle entirely?
It would certainly be useful and more helpful to learn a few actual m.o. details. :shrug:
 
Last edited:

jojo777

TUG Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Messages
275
Reaction score
41
Points
389
Location
MA
i'm sorry. My dad was scammed this week, not by timeshare thing, but I feel your pain, trying to report it, undo it etc. They told him that her won a car, pretended to have the IRS call him, even gave him a ride to the post office to mail the money orders. A lady IN HER 60's picked him up at my house once he had the money orders in hand. She told him she was a grandmother of one of his granddaughters friends. She conveniently pulled in the driveway as he was looking to ask a neighbor for a ride. The post office is investigating, but I'm sure they will never find them. The good news is that my daughter got home and he was not there. I checked his bank account and got to the Post Office before the money orders were mailed and they gave me the money back a few days later. I could never imagine doing such a thing to another human being.
 

tschwa2

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
16,002
Reaction score
4,676
Points
748
Location
Maryland
Resorts Owned
A few in S and VA, a single resort in NC, MD, PA, and UT, plus Jamaica and the Bahamas
I wish people who have been scammed, would not be to embarrassed, and ashamed, about being so foolish, and reported it like I did. We could reduce the number of idiots like myself from getting taken. I searched every site I knew before I sent them the money, and found nothing. Oh well!
If you search by name it really doesn't help and even reporting the name of your scammer doesn't really help because the names change so frequently.
If you had searched something like "Renting Getaways or extra vacations" you would have gotten more hits, not just on TUGbbs but on Redweek boards and even on the interval boards and I am sure on various timeshare specific facebook pages. You don't need to know the name of the company. I didn't even need to hear you discuss anything beyond I've been scammed and see that you owned a Mexican timeshare to know it was either a rental or selling scam. On a monthly basis there are posts "Has anyone ever heard of X or Y company" The answer is always no but if they are promising to rent or sell your timeshare than it is a scam because any company that calls out of the blue and promises something too good to be true isn't true.
 

thebondguy

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
16
Reaction score
11
Points
63
Location
Montgomery, TX USA
Resorts Owned
Royal Haciendas and Royal Islander
I wish people who have been scammed, would not be to embarrassed, and ashamed, about being so foolish, and reported it like I did. We could reduce the number of idiots like myself from getting taken. I searched every site I knew before I sent them the money, and found nothing. Oh well!


Being proactive, and not burying my head in the sand, embarrassed to let people know that I fell for scam, did pay off. By filing a complaint with : the FBI, FTC, Consumer Protection Agency, Real Estate and Finance Agency of each state, State, and local, District Attorney's Office, and last, but not least, my local police department, I rec'd a full refund from BPS Marketing LLC. It smells like I just was dealing with a rogue agent. trying to make some additional $'s against the policies of BPS, but whatever, I got a refund. I will let everyone know if I can determine the facts. Lessoned learned: DON'T BE ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED IF YOU FALL VICTUM TO SOME VERY SHREWED SCAMMERS. TAKE ACTION!
 

jules54

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
2,644
Reaction score
713
Points
498
Location
Lincoln, Nebraska
Scammers in Mexico can still be prosecuted. With more and more complaints to the FBI on Americans beginning scammed in Mexico issues are starting to be investigated.
I know this is a fact as there are ongoing cases being investigated that I have been contacted about. Nothing my ever come of it, but I felt it was my responsibility to file a claim with every agency I could think of even after I had my monies returned by my credit card. I also opened a complaint with the squeaky wheel to alert others that might be looking for help.

As far as it being a rogue agent, I highly doubt that. So easy to believe since OP received a refund. Of course the company isn't going to say"yeah that's our standard business practice sorry we got caught"

BTW the OP owes forest resorts. One of the only ethical companies in Mexico and some of the only timeshares that are worth something on resale. Realistically the greed factor has a part to play in this also. Nobody is going to pay the kind of money these companies gauantee you can get.
 

TUGBrian

Administrator
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
22,091
Reaction score
7,673
Points
1,099
Location
Florida
Being proactive, and not burying my head in the sand, embarrassed to let people know that I fell for scam, did pay off. By filing a complaint with : the FBI, FTC, Consumer Protection Agency, Real Estate and Finance Agency of each state, State, and local, District Attorney's Office, and last, but not least, my local police department, I rec'd a full refund from BPS Marketing LLC. It smells like I just was dealing with a rogue agent. trying to make some additional $'s against the policies of BPS, but whatever, I got a refund. I will let everyone know if I can determine the facts. Lessoned learned: DON'T BE ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED IF YOU FALL VICTUM TO SOME VERY SHREWED SCAMMERS. TAKE ACTION!

fantastic news, we always urge folks to report to as many law enforcement or social media outlets as they can...it certainly doesnt cost anything and even if the chances of a settlement are low...they are always greater than zero if you just swallow what happened and let it go!
 

icydog

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
4,867
Reaction score
334
Points
468
Location
Central NJ
i'm sorry. My dad was scammed this week, not by timeshare thing, but I feel your pain, trying to report it, undo it etc. They told him that her won a car, pretended to have the IRS call him, even gave him a ride to the post office to mail the money orders. A lady IN HER 60's picked him up at my house once he had the money orders in hand. She told him she was a grandmother of one of his granddaughters friends. She conveniently pulled in the driveway as he was looking to ask a neighbor for a ride. The post office is investigating, but I'm sure they will never find them. The good news is that my daughter got home and he was not there. I checked his bank account and got to the Post Office before the money orders were mailed and they gave me the money back a few days later. I could never imagine doing such a thing to another human being.

I hate to hear stuff like this. I’m so sorry, but luckily your presence of mind got your father’s money back so kudos to you. But it could have been much much worse.

I live in a 55+ community. I recently posted about my elderly neighbors who were sold a bill of goods by a solar panel company. It broke my heart to see how willing my neighbors, all in their 80s, were to trust a “grandson” kind of salesman, who lied and tried to cheat them of their pension money. I feel sick when I hear things like your story.
 

icydog

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
4,867
Reaction score
334
Points
468
Location
Central NJ
Being proactive, and not burying my head in the sand, embarrassed to let people know that I fell for scam, did pay off. By filing a complaint with : the FBI, FTC, Consumer Protection Agency, Real Estate and Finance Agency of each state, State, and local, District Attorney's Office, and last, but not least, my local police department, I rec'd a full refund from BPS Marketing LLC. It smells like I just was dealing with a rogue agent. trying to make some additional $'s against the policies of BPS, but whatever, I got a refund. I will let everyone know if I can determine the facts. Lessoned learned: DON'T BE ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED IF YOU FALL VICTUM TO SOME VERY SHREWED SCAMMERS. TAKE ACTION!


I’m very happy for you. You did everything right but one thing. You believed them again. It wasn’t a rogue agent. It’s how they do business, and will continue to do business, until they close up shop and start a new business. I was scammed by a timeshare reseller during the time my husband was dying and after he died. I posted about it on TUG. I kept on posting about it. I got my money back but only after months of chasing these guys down. And with the help of Tug Brian too.. but it was excruciating and embarrassing. But guess what, they claimed it was a rogue salesman when they gave my money back. I never believed them. I knew it was pervasive through their company. The angst they caused me at the saddest, most horrible, time of my life will never be forgotten but will always serve me to remind me there are crooks everywhere trying to separate me from my money.
So thank you for posting this. You probably saved someone else some money and heartbreak!!
 
Top