Potential DVC Renters - CONFIRMED SCAMMER ALERT - UPDATE - 09/26/19

[RobDoc]

While it has been quite awhile since we have had any report of a DVC rental scam here on the DIS, there have been two recent reports of some irregularities regarding rental contact by a DIS poster. In both cases, the posters have not lost any money since they wisely chose NOT to go through with the attractive reservation offers.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN CONTACTED VIA 'CONVERSATION' (PM) in the past few days by someone without an active rental thread on the DVC Rent/Transfer Board, please use the 'Report' function available on the PM. (It will be a link at the lower left corner of the message - just click on it with a brief message if you did not initiate contact with this poster.) This will allow us to review the message as we have no other way to see private Conversations.

If you have been contacted about a DVC rental by anyone whom you did not initiate contact (either via PM after reading their rental thread or by posting in their rental thread), please 'Report' the message and/or contact CarolMN, Chuck S or me regarding the situation. PLEASE DO NOT POST USERNAMES IN THIS THREAD.

In order to have a rental thread approved for use on the DVC Rent/Transfer Board, DVC Members must be registered for at least 6 months and have at least 50 posts with a minimum of 8 posts in four of the past six months to qualify. Those not registered for 6 months or meeting the posting requirements are allowed to purchase a rental plan. These posters are NOT vetted by the DIS in any way and no research is routinely done regarding their DVC ownership. This is true both for those with a rental plan and for those meeting the posting requirements. Due diligence needs to be performed by those wanting to rent a reservation made by a DVC Member. The DIS is not involved in rental transactions as they are all personal transactions between the parties involved.

If you are unfamiliar with how our Rent/Transfer Board works, there are a couple of threads with information for both potential renters and DVC Members. Potential renters should ask for and review references from the Member, ask for and get home address and phone number, look up DVC ownership using various comptroller office public records, review past posts to get an idea of the personality you might be working with. If ANYTHING seems too good to be true, seems at all suspicious or irregular regarding a rental offer ask for more information before sending any $$$ to a complete stranger you know only thru brief contact on the internet.

REQUIRED READING BEFORE POSTING - DVC Rent/Transfer policies - CLARIFIED - 07/13/2019

SUMMARY of Rent/Transfer Board Posting Rules

Stay Safe!!

 

[RobDoc]

UPDATE - Many thanks to those who used 'Report' to let us review the PM(s) they received offering unsolicited DVC rentals.

We have been able to identify that the original reason for this thread was indeed an attempt to separate potential renters from their money by contacting multiple posters via PM offering their requested dates and Resorts gleaned from approved rental threads.

To our knowledge, no DIS poster sent any money to this poster.

On another note, while that username no longer has access to the DIS, he/she had created at least one alias for the same purpose using the same pattern of behavior. The additional username has also lost access, but there is no real barrier to creating additional aliases and everyone should use care when working with internet strangers.

PLEASE, if you are contacted via PM by anyone offering a DVC reservation where you have not initiated the contact, let us know by using the 'Report' function available on each PM at the lower left.

 

[RobDoc]

We have had no additional reports since Monday.

If you have been contacted about a DVC rental by anyone whom you did not initiate contact (either via PM after reading their rental thread or by posting in their rental thread), please 'Report' the message and/or contact CarolMN, Chuck S or me regarding the situation.

PLEASE DO NOT POST USERNAMES IN THIS THREAD.

 

[RobDoc]

We have now had another report of PM contact from a 'new' poster.

Please continue to be vigilant and only work with a DVC Member who has an active rental thread on the DVC Rent/Trade board where you initiated contact by posting in their rental thread or started a 'Conversation' (PM) with them.

If they have initiated contact with you, please 'Report' the message so it may be reviewed.

Thanks again for your continued help in the prevention of rental scams on the DISboards.

 

[RobDoc]

We are currently monitoring the activities of a couple of recent registrations with similar tendencies to the situations above.

If you receive a 'Conversation' (PM) message offering a DVC rental where you did NOT initiate contact (either by posting in their rental thread or by sending them a PM), PLEASE let CarolMN, Chuck S, or me know.

Thanks in advance for your continued vigilance.

 

[anonymousegirl]

We are currently monitoring the activities of a couple of recent registrations with similar tendencies to he situations above.

If you receive a 'Conversation' (PM) message offering a DVC rental where you did NOT initiate contact (either by posting in their rental thread or by sending them a PM), PLEASE let CarolMN, Chuck S, or me know.

Thanks in advance for your continued vigilance.

Thanks for your vigilance and thanks to the owners that followed the guidelines and reported the private messages.. When these attempts get shut down enough times, the scammers will move to easier targets.

 

[RobDoc]

Thanks again to posters being on the alert for scammers as we have been able to dispatch another one this afternoon.

This scammer was 'associated' with the one who was the initial reason for this thread and used the same technique - stalking posters on the DVC Rent/Trade board who requested a reservation in a thread active on the board. They then sent a 'Conversation' (PM) to the poster referencing the requested dates and resort asking if they were still interested.

PLEASE, if you are contacted by anyone who does not have an active rental thread on the DVC Rent/Trade Board, please 'Report' the contact (there is a 'Report' link on each PM at the lower left - just click on that and add a brief message). Feel free to contact me or Rent/Trade Moderators CarolMN and Chuck S if you receive any suspicious contact from another poster regarding a DVC rental - but Reporting a PM is easy to do and we will be able to see the report without additional contact necessary.

Thank you to everyone for your continued vigilance.