Timeshare Scams

A timeshare scam is a fraud that targets timeshare owners, usually by demanding a large upfront fee to cancel, sell, or rent your timeshare and then delivering nothing. The most common types are exit scams, resale fraud, and overseas call-center fraud. The clearest warning sign is any upfront fee.

How do timeshare scams work?

Most timeshare scams share one structure. The scammer reaches an owner who wants out, promises a guaranteed result, collects a large fee before doing anything, and then disappears or stalls until the owner gives up. Owners are easy to find, because resort directories and public deed records list them by name, and many are eager to escape a contract whose fees keep rising.

The single rule that defeats most of these schemes comes from the Federal Trade Commission: legitimate help to sell or cancel a timeshare does not require a large payment before any work is done. A company that asks for money up front, and especially one that guarantees a result, is showing you the most reliable warning sign there is.

Exit-company scams and the upfront-fee trap

The most common timeshare scam is the fake exit service. It promises to cancel your contract for a flat fee, takes thousands of dollars up front, and either does nothing or files paperwork that was never going to work. Regulators pursue these operators. Enforcement actions have returned money to defrauded owners and permanently barred upfront-fee scam operators from the business. There are real, low-cost ways out of a timeshare, and our guide to getting out of a timeshare covers each one. Not every exit company is a scam, and our guide to timeshare exit companies explains how to tell a legitimate one from a fraud.

Resale fraud: the we-have-a-buyer scam

A resale scam usually opens with an unexpected call claiming a buyer or renter is already lined up for your timeshare. To close the deal, you are asked to pay upfront closing costs, taxes, or transfer fees. Once you pay, the buyer never appears. Real resale brokers are paid out of the sale, not before it, and a buyer who needs you to pay them is not a buyer. Resale prices are low to begin with, which is exactly why a promise of a quick, high-priced sale should make you more cautious, not less.

Mexican call-center fraud and cartel involvement

A large share of timeshare fraud against owners of resorts in Mexico is run from organized call centers there. Criminal groups buy owner lists, pose as brokers, lawyers, or even government officials, and collect repeated payments for fake sales, refunds, or taxes. United States authorities have tied this activity to organized crime. The Treasury Department has sanctioned individuals and shell companies connected to Mexico-based timeshare fraud, and federal prosecutors have charged operators of these call-center networks. Treasury and the FBI have linked these networks to hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, often from older owners. Our dedicated guide to the timeshare scam in Mexico explains how these cold-call, recovery, and fake-refund schemes work and how to protect yourself.

How do you spot a timeshare scam?

Most timeshare scams show one or more of the same signs. Treat any of these as a reason to stop and verify:

• A fee demanded up front, before any work is done
• A guaranteed exit, sale, or refund, or a promised timeline
• An unsolicited call claiming a buyer or renter is already waiting
• A request to pay by wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency
• Advice to stop paying your maintenance fees or to stop talking to the developer
• Pressure to decide right now, or a company that will not put its promises in writing

How do you verify a company is legitimate?

Before you pay anyone, you can check a company yourself, for free:

• Search the company name plus the words complaint, lawsuit, and attorney general, and check the FTC and your state attorney general for actions against it. Our guide on how to check timeshare company complaints shows how to read those public records for any company.
• If the company claims to provide legal help, confirm it is a real law firm with a licensed attorney you can verify, as explained in our timeshare lawyer guide.
• Get the full scope of work and the fee in a written, signed contract before you agree.
• Refuse any deal that requires payment by wire, gift card, or cryptocurrency, the methods scammers prefer because they are hard to reverse.

What to do if you have been scammed

Act quickly, because some payments can still be stopped. Contact your bank or card issuer right away to ask about a chargeback or a wire recall. Then report the fraud to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, to your state attorney general, and, for online or cross-border fraud, to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Reporting will not always recover your money, but it builds the cases that regulators use to shut these operations down. Our guide on how to report a timeshare scam walks through each step.

Sources

Reviewed by Reid Calloway. U.S. Federal Trade Commission, consumer guidance on timeshares and related scams (consumer.ftc.gov), reviewed June 2026. Minnesota Attorney General, settlement with timeshare exit companies, January 2025. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, sanctions on timeshare fraud networks, 2026. U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, public guidance and enforcement on timeshare fraud, 2025 to 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.