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Avoid Time share scam

Time Share Frauds

Should I sell my timeshare in Mexico?

If you own a timeshare in Mexico and someone contacts you by phone or by email offering to buy it, you should be very careful.

They might offer you a very attractive price for it, send you scanned documents to prove their identities and a signed contract. They might share a website and a telephone number where you can verify that they represent a legitimate corporation, or that they are intermediaries of a legitimate buyer.

Many people are obviously interested in selling their timeshares for an excellent price. When the alleged buyers have someone’s interest, they tell the seller he/she must carry out some paperwork in Mexico before receiving payment for the purchase. Sometimes they will even offer to do the paperwork themselves on behalf of the seller.

Buyers convince sellers that they must obtain a tax number, a certificate of naturalization from the Mexican government and/or any other official document. Usually sellers are eager to sell the timeshare and eventually agree to get help from buyers in carrying out the required paperwork on their behalf. This is when the alleged buyers or intermediaries request a money transfer from the sellers to a Mexican bank account in order to pay for the paperwork fees; sometimes they say the payment for the purchase has already been deposited in a bank account in Mexico and it is pending or ready to be transferred to the seller once the paperwork is done.

After sellers transfer the money for the paperwork, they never receive payment for the purchase and later realize they have been victims of fraud. If sellers do not transfer the money, the alleged buyers keep pushing, sometimes even threatening sellers.

We advise the owners of timeshares that if they are interested in selling, do so through a notary public or a real state agency in Mexico. A notary public or a realtor will help the seller pay for the applicable taxes and carry out the necessary paperwork. It is not recommended to transfer money under any circumstance before receiving payment for the sale.

There have been cases in which someone contacts those who have been victims of this kind of fraud by phone or email, offering them the reimbursement of the money they paid and subsequently lost. Sometimes they impersonate government officials or pose as lawyers commissioned by the Mexican government to make reimbursements. The individuals who call the victims usually ask them to transfer some money in advance for different reasons: taxes, bank commissions, etc. Many of the victims transfer even more money and never get anything back.

As a general rule, if a victim of fraud has not filed a criminal complaint, a police investigation cannot be opened and, without an investigation, there is no possibility of recovering the money from these criminals.

If any of the above happens to you, the first thing you should do is contact your club to report what’s happening and file a complaint.

“For more information on whether you should sell your timeshare in Mexico, you can refer to the official statement from the Embassy of Mexico in Canada: Should I Sell My Timeshare in Mexico?.”

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Privacy Policy

I. Responsible for the protection of your personal data.

Promotora Sunset Beach Club S.A. de C.V., hereinafter referred as Promotora Sunset, with address in Boulevard Kukulcán, kilometer 10 Apple 51, Lote 13-B Zona Hotelera, Zip Code 77500, Cancún Quintana Roo México, is responsible for the collection and use of the personal data required from the vacational member club, in terms of the rules established by the Mexican Federal Law for Data Protection of Private Individuals (Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares LFPDPPP) as well in the provisions of the articles 1º, 3º and 5º of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).

II. Data collected and use of the information requested from our customers.

Personal data collected through physical formats in hotels, by telephone, or by electronic means (online) through our websites, will be used to begin, administer and maintain the services offered to our vacational members club.

a) General Data

The general data requested in our forms such as: name, gender, signature, home address, phone number, cell phone number, e-mail, date of birth, job, home city, economic dependents, country, national identity document or passport will be used for the following essential purposes:

  1. Begin providing services that customers contract with the company;
  2. To upload our vacational member club´s information into our systems and database to provide and administer the services contracted;
  3. To create our vacational member clubs´ electronic and paper files;
  4. Carry out the verification of your personal data collected by our Call Center;
  5. To comply with the different laws that regulate our services and activities;
  6. To deal with complaints and inquiries, and to provide our customers with information related to travel reservations or cancellations received by our Call Center;
  7. To confirm, verify, correct and update the personal data;
  8. Carry out the sign of the contract;
  9. To administrate your personal data in the sales room and contracting Area;
  10. To charge for our services and for the collection efforts with respect to receivables that are not paid when due;
  11. To charge for services and programs paid electronically with a credit card;
  12. To charge any additional expenses or fees for extra services contracted, and;
  13. To properly identify our clients as vacational members club or guests.

Additionally, this information can be used for the following non-essential purposes:

  1. a) To send our vacational member club offers, discounts, special fees and other benefits;
  2. b) To improve our holiday offer by sending your information to our business partners;
  3. c) For statistical purposes; and,
  4. d) For promotional and marketing purposes.

b) Financial and Patrimonial Assets Data

The financial and patrimonial data collected such as credit card number, bank account, monthly income and additional incomes, will be used to analyze the financial profile of our vacational members club and customers in order to grant them access to promotions and programs based on their economic characteristics. Furthermore additional information may be required in compliance of Mexican Federal Law to prevent money laundering (Lay Federal para la Prevención e Identificación de Operacions con Recursos de Procedencia lícita LFPIORPI).

According to Mexican Privacy Law, it is required to obtain express consent of guests and customers in order to use and process their financial and patrimonial assets data for the different purposes and uses described above. Therefore in compliance with the law, we will request your express authorization in writing at the moment of the data collection, informing you of the legal consequences of their decision to grant it or not.

III. Data transfer.

The personal data collected by Promotora Sunset can be transferred to companies that help provide some of the goods and services requested by our customers, which is necessary to comply with the provision of services that are contracted, and also can be transferred to companies who elaborate profiles and consumer trends for our vacational members club, therefore it will not be necessary to have the express consent of the owner of the data for this transfer in accordance with Article 37, Section VII of the LFPDPPP, as well as the provision contained in Article 49 of the GDPR.

IV. Use of images.

Promotora Sunset may use, print, reproduce and publish any captured image(s) of partners, vacational members club, guests, beneficiaries, and people referred to in print, electronic media (blogs, private social networks such as Facebook, website), and its broadcasts, in order to document events that are celebrated, such as the delivery of awards and rewards. Be the images captured by Promotora Sunset itself or through external suppliers hired for these activities.

When any image of any guest, partner, family member, client, partner, or referral is going to be used for advertising purposes, their express consent will be required.

V. Restrictions on the use or disclosure of personal data.

Those who wish to limit the use and disclosure of their personal data may sign up for the “do not call list” administered by PROFECO. For more information visit http://rpc.profeco.gob.mx/ or send an email to datospersonales@sunsetworld.net requesting to stop being contacted for these purposes.

VI. Rights of access, rectification, cancellation, and opposition, and withdrawal of consent.

Holders of personal data collected by Promotora Sunset may request access, correction, cancellation, opposition, or withdraw their consent via email to datospersonales@sunsetworld.net.

VII. Online data management.

This section describes the use of your personal data on the following websites:
www.sunsetworldresorts.com

Cookies: A cookie is information that an Internet portal sends to your computer, which is stored on your hard drive. We may use the information stored in the cookie to facilitate the use of our website.

Social Networks: Information posted by users of social media is subject to the terms established by the social media provider.

VIII. Complaints regarding the use of your personal data.

If you believe your data protection rights have been violated, you can submit a complaint to the National Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (INAI). For more information visit www.inai.org.mx.

IX. More Information – Privacy Office.

For questions, contact our Privacy Officer at datospersonales@sunsetworld.net.

X. Updates

This Privacy Notice is effective from January 1st of 2012 and may be modified. Updates will be posted on our websites listed in section VII.

Last Updated: June 1st 2020