Cartels Targeting Americans Now FBI Warns

Photo by Jorge Aguilar on Unsplash

(PartiallyPolitics.com) – The FBI has warned that there has been an increase in scams that are targeting Americans in timeshare fraud schemes, many of which are being run by Mexican drug cartels. 

The schemes include having criminals target part-time property owners, especially those who are older, and then convincing them to give them cash under a false scheme relating to their timeshare properties. Normally the scammers will do extensive research before deciding who the possible victims could be and they will impersonate individuals from institutions deemed trustworthy before reaching out to their possible victims. 

As part of the scheme, scammers employ high-pressure sales tactics and cyber fraud strategies to scare victims into believing that it is real. 

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Paul Roberts has stated that these schemes have negative financial effects on the futures of the victims and their emotional and physical health. The proceeds from these endeavors are then used to further fund the Mexican cartel’s violent activities. These sorts of activities are attractive to the cartels because they are not logistically or laborious especially when compared to weapons or drug trafficking. 

It is also usual for scammers to get involved in these cartel activities out of fear that if they don’t they could end up being the next victims. 

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the bureau have been partnering in their investigation of this case. 

The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) stated that this recent activity is only one of the types of fraudulent activities that third-party timeshare exit companies engage in.

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