Timeshares are a legitimate vacation option for many people, but resales have sometimes been difficult for timeshare owners and scammers have been  preying upon timeshare owners trying to sell their interests with promises of buyers that never materialize after charging the timeshare owners upfront fees of sometimes thousands of dollars.
The FTC took action recently against one of these timeshare resale scammers, Information Management Forum, Inc which did business as Vacation Property Marketing as well as its owner Edward Lee Windsor.  In this scam, victims were lured by telemarketing calls into paying registration fees for a service that the scammers promised would provide renters or buyers for the victims’ timeshare units.  Unfortunately, it was all a scam.  Fortunately, the FTC was able to recover funds that are now being returned to the victims of this particular timeshare scam.
TIP
If you were a victim of this particular scam, go to the top of the page and click on “FTC Scam Refunds” for more specific information about the refund program.
As for anyone who is considering selling their timeshare unit, always check out the legitimacy of anyone proposing to help you sell your timeshare.  You can check with your state’s attorney general at and your local consumer protection agencies.  Make sure you have a lawyer review any contract before you sign it and it is a good idea not to pay in advance for the services of someone purporting to assist you in reselling your timeshare unit.