A 40-year-old man will be charged in court on 24 September 2018 for his suspected involvement in a series of timeshare recovery scams.
Between 2014 and 2017, the man allegedly cheated more than 20 owners of timeshare memberships of approximately S$600,000, by deceiving them into believing that he or his agents would help them recover monies from the termination of their timeshare memberships. Those timeshare owners paid various fees and charges but did not recover any money from their timeshare investments.
In February and March 2018, the man was charged with 17 counts of various offences, including cheating offences. On 24 September 2018, 126 more charges will be tendered against him. These charges will be for various offences which include cheating, using forged documents, and possessing counterfeit seals and stamps to commit forgery.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to be vigilant when receiving unsolicited calls from companies or persons purporting to help them recover monies from their timeshare memberships. They should also adopt the following precautions:
- Be wary when an unknown person calls you regarding your timeshare membership.
- Refrain from providing any personal information or information on your timeshare membership to the caller.
- Conduct background checks on the company’s track record before engaging its services.
- Check with the timeshare developer if the caller was authorised by the timeshare developer to deal in any way with the timeshare membership.
- Request for a copy of the documentation on their proposals, representations, contracts and agreements. Be wary if the company is reluctant to provide you with such documentation and only provides verbal promises.
- Exercise extra caution especially if you are asked to make upfront payments with the promise of assisting you to recover your monies.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
23 September 2018 @ 10:00 AM