Avoiding Tourist Fraud in Mexico

Anytime you’re traveling, you need to take certain steps to protect yourself, such as avoiding areas with a high crime rate and being careful with your passport and ATM cards. You have to watch for pickpockets in crowded areas and learn how to avoid carjacking on the road. You also need to know how to use a pay phone to avoid being charged exorbitant fees, and you need to learn that an unlicensed taxi will take you for a ride in more ways than one.

But one thing you need to be especially cautious about when traveling Mexico is falling victim to a particular fraud perpetrated on tourists – timeshare fraud, where you’re pressured into signing a timeshare contract in exchange for a “free” prize or giveaway. Worse still, you don’t even have to be in Mexico to fall victim to this particular scheme. There are plenty of websites that can separate you from your money long before you reach your vacation destination.

Here’s how the Mexican timeshare fraud works. In exchange for sitting through a “brief” sales presentation or session, you’ll be offered something in return. This could be anything from a free outing to several hundred dollars to an upgrade at your current hotel. You may be told there will be a free meal or refreshments served at the presentation.

The person who represents the timeshare could be your tour guide, someone who meets you at the airport or your hotel, or someone who approaches you while you’re out and about. Be especially wary when you have just arrived – your resistance and awareness may be lowered if you’re tired.

Once approached, you’ll be asked certain questions. Is this your first time in Mexico? First time tourists are easier targets. Are you married? Are you traveling with your spouse? If you’re married, your spouse will have to sign the paperwork as well. Do you have a valid credit card? This means they can get a financial commitment from you right away. Is your income a minimum amount, sometimes as little as $25,000 a year?

To persuade you that attending the presentation is a good idea, you’ll probably be told that owning a timeshare is a good financial investment (it isn’t), that you can earn a lot of money by renting your time share (you can’t), that all you have to do is stop making payments to cancel your contract (you can’t end a contract that way), and that this is a one-time special price offer that won’t be available tomorrow (it will be).

Whatever incentive you’re offered to attend one of these presentations or sessions, don’t fall for it. These aren’t lectures at a nice US hotel where you can just get up and walk out if you’re not interested. These are long sessions, lasting as long as five hours where you’ll be pressured, intimidated and maybe even humiliated. You’ll be manipulated, coerced, and perhaps even subtly threatened.

If you continue to say no, you may find yourself being physically escorted from the building, with the burden of finding your own transportation to get back to your hotel. People who don’t sign often leave these sessions visibly upset, frightened and even shaking. But don’t think you can just say yes now and get out of the contract later – this kind of problem has been anticipated, and you’ll find that most of these contracts are extremely hard to get out of once signed.

No matter how savvy a tourist you are, it’s easier than you think to fall victim to this kind of fraud. In fact, over half of first time tourists to Mexico do. Your best bet – if you want a timeshare in Mexico, initiate the process yourself.