Fraudsters use crisis in targeting timeshare owners. What you can do if contacted.

Further to recent general warnings and advice from KwikChex about increased activities by scammers, we are now receiving specific reports of attempts at defrauding timeshare owners.

The latest attempts at scamming timeshare owners involve phone callers falsely telling Hilton Grand Vacations owners in the UK that the business is going into liquidation and offering services to assist the owners. The use of this type of totally false information is not new – but the fraudsters are using the coronavirus crisis to try and convince people that there is substance to it – there is not.

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Update 04/04/2020: Hilton Grand Vacations has issued a fraud alert (below) via email to it’s members and placed a notice on it’s websites (this includes resorts managed by Hilton Grand Vacations).

FRAUD ALERT
We’ve been informed that a third-party company is contacting Owners telling them that Hilton Grand Vacations is in liquidation. This information is untrue. We caution you against engaging with this company. If you’ve been a victim of this scam, please report it to KwikChex, either online through this form or by contacting them at any of the phone numbers listed on their website.

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KwikChex is increasing efforts to assist consumers and tackle scammers during this crisis. The KwikChex team will continue to provide free assistance to consumers and we will do our utmost to answer any enquiries. In addition, we will do all possible to identify the fraudsters and see that enforcement takes place.

If you receive unsolicited calls, texts or emails, the first thing is to know that in almost all cases, those responsible are breaching data laws and have illegally obtained data. KwikChex has a live initiative taking place on this and you can report it to us.

You do not have to engage with such appallingly dishonest people, but if you wish to contribute to the fight against them, you can ask them the following.

• What is the name of their company?
• Is the company registered? If so, ask them to provide the company location and registration number.
• Ask for the name of the actual caller and a phone number they can be contacted on.
• Ask them where they obtained your details.

Most will end the call. Some will try and bluff, but we advise that you stick to just the above in your responses and if they do provide information, please report it to KwikChex so we can act on it.

Ideally, please use our website resources to make reports as this is the most efficient way for us to collect information Our free scam assistance form can be found here: https://kwikchex.com/coronavirus-scams-and-dangers/

There are also telephone numbers (please see website footer) that can be used. It will not always be possible to talk directly with our team, but an answerphone will also enable you to leave your details for follow up by our team.

Please also see below links for further information –

Our general warnings and advice on scams during the crisis

Advice to timeshare owners during the crisis