Timeshare Resale Scams via Western Union
How timeshare resale fraudsters collect advance fees via Western Union from owners desperate to exit their contracts.
Part of: Timeshare Resale Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Timeshare resale scams target owners who are trying to exit costly annual maintenance contracts by promising to find buyers quickly. The fraudster, posing as a real-estate broker or resale specialist, charges upfront fees — for listings, marketing, legal preparation, or closing costs — via Western Union before any sale occurs. The fees escalate with invented complications until the victim stops paying or realises the sale was never happening.
Western Union is the preferred collection method because it allows cross-border cash pickup, leaving the operator outside the reach of domestic consumer-protection bodies.
How this scam works on Western Union
Operators reach timeshare owners through targeted mailers, cold calls, and online advertising. They know what individual owners paid because timeshare purchase records are public in many jurisdictions. The pitch is tailored: they claim to have a buyer ready, or a buyer waiting pending completion of paperwork.
Before the sale can close, the owner must pay a Western Union fee for legal processing, transfer tax clearance, or escrow setup. Each fee is followed by a new complication requiring an additional fee. Some operators string owners along for months, collecting multiple Western Union wires before becoming unreachable.
The total fees collected often far exceed the original sale amount quoted, meaning the owner would have been better off abandoning the timeshare outright.
Common red flags
- A resale company requesting Western Union payment for any upfront fee before a sale completes
- Claims of a ready buyer that require immediate fee payment before the opportunity closes
- Fee names that sound official: 'transfer tax', 'government escrow', 'notarial bond'
- The company is not registered with your state's real-estate commission or equivalent body
- Contact was unsolicited and the company knew details about your timeshare
- Each fee payment generates a new required payment rather than moving toward completion
How to protect yourself
- Understand that no legitimate timeshare resale service requires Western Union fee payment before a sale
- Verify any resale company's licence with the relevant state real-estate commission
- Contact your timeshare developer directly — many have exit programmes that are more reliable than third-party resellers
- Report the company to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov
- Call Western Union fraud if a payment has been initiated
How to report it
- Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov
- Report to your state real-estate commission or Attorney General
- Call Western Union fraud at 1-800-448-1492 if a transfer is pending
Frequently asked questions
Are there any legitimate upfront costs in a timeshare resale?
Legitimate licensed real-estate brokers may charge a listing fee in some jurisdictions, but this is disclosed in writing and collected through verifiable banking channels — not Western Union. Fees described as 'government taxes', 'escrow bonds', or 'transfer clearances' that must be paid via wire or Western Union before any sale completes are universally fraud.