This common phone scam is very much like the free cruise phone scam and other free vacation phone scams. The one difference between those scams and this scam, is that there will actually be a free vacation involved. The catch is that you'll be pressured into purchasing a timeshare before you go on it.
We'll go over how this scam works and how you can avoid being suckered into it.
How the Timeshare Proposal Phone Scam Works
You might receive a letter or a phone call stating that you've been awarded a free cruise or Disney vacation. Everything will be included, airfare, accommodations, and excursions. You'll be provided a number to call and a person will go over all of the details with you and set the date of trip for you.
There will be certain things which you must comply with though that the "travel agent" will go over with you. For instance, you'll still have to pay for a companion to take the vacation with you. It's still a great deal though, a vacation for two for the price of one. In some cases it might not be a free vacation, but a heavily discounted one like a five-day cruise for two for only $299.
Once you pay for your companion's travel costs and set a date you'll be sent all of the confirmation for your trip. You'll soon be on your way to your dream vacation.
Once you get to Florida, or whatever destination you've chosen, you'll be picked up at the airport and whisked away to your hotel. Everything seems very professional and legitimate and you can't believe the deal you've scored.
Later on in the afternoon you're advised that you must attend a short vacation packages meeting. This meeting will be mandatory to receive your cruise or park tickets, and sometimes even your ticket home.
Without any choice you attend the meeting and find that you've been invited to a high-pressure timeshare sales presentation. These presentations can often go on for hours.
How to Avoid This Scam
The best way to avoid this scam is to read the fine print whenever you get offered something for free. Chances are that any free vacation comes with a big "but", such as it's free, but you have to spend a day being brainwashed into this timeshare program.
There are some people that don't mind sitting through these presentation as a trade-off for the cheap vacation. It's all a matter of tastes, no matter what be sure to read all the information about the vacation before booking it so that you know what you're getting yourself into.
How to Report This Scam
You can report the numbers behind these timeshare proposals masked as free vacations in our online reverse lookup phone book and free phone tracer app for iPhone. By leaving your feedback on the numbers being used in these ploys you'll help others identify and avoid them.