New Spin On Old Scam

From TimeSharing Today, October 2011. by Charlie Brown

I was recently exposed to what I believe to be a scam that operates different from any I have previously seen or heard about. If it is really new, then your readers should be aware of it.

I received a call from a fellow saying he is with Gold Crown Resorts with whom I had advertised a timeshare for sale some years ago. He said they have a buyer for our unit at $17,000 (our asking price was $18,000) and would we accept $17,000. I told him we accept. He said the "finance company" handling the sale will contact us. A few days later a lady called identifying herself as being with the finance company who will handle the sale. She gave me the names of the couple in Malibu, CA who she said have made a $3,400 deposit on the sale. She sent me a "Closing Statement" by FAX. She said don't sign the FAX copy; wait till you get the original by courier.

The Closing Statement was signed by the names I had been given earlier. The Closing Statement said that the seller must submit a $2,000 cashier's check to the Finance Company as a "legal retainer" in the event that the seller does not go through with the contract. They said this is a "buyer requirement" since the buyer has given a $3,400 earnest money check. I was told that the sequence is: Courier brings the original contract for our signature. We sign the contract and give the courier a $2,000 cashier's check. The courier gives us a $17,000 cashier's check and the papers for us to sign transferring title to the new owners. However, we are not to sign the transfer papers until the check clears our bank. We have ten days from the time the check clears until we must sign the papers and call the finance company to send the courier to pick them up.

It sounded like a good deal except that we have no way to recover the $2,000 if the deal is a scam. So, I did some checking on the finance company and the alleged buyers. The BBB has no information on them which only means no one has filed a complaint. The company has no phone listed in the yellow or white pages in the city (Alexandria, VA) where they are located. Looking at Google Earth and the Geographical Information System (GIS) for the city I found the company location to be in the back of a large strip mall.

I did a reverse phone search and found the phone number on the contract to be a cell phone listed in the first name of a lady. Calling that number gets you to an answering machine. I tried to see if the company has a business license but gave up after fifteen minutes waiting for a person to answer.

Just for fun I did a people search on the buyers in Malibu. I found them along with address and phone numbers. I checked the address on Google and GIS and did not find the listed address in Malibu. The Google Earth view shows what appears to be some small businesses in the area but the GIS doesn't have the address at all.

There are other details, but this covers the major parts of the deal. I called and left a message on their answering machine saying we are not interested since we would be totally at risk for $2,000. I have not mentioned the name of the finance company since it looks like a scam but I have no proof. I don't wish to risk $2,000 to find out if my suspicions are correct.