It is Royal Resorts policy to alert members of scams attempted by companies or individuals operating online.

The latest reports we have received from members about unsolicited calls or emails from companies making suspicious resale offers for their weeks refer to being contacted by individuals who claim to be stock brokers in New York. They are saying that The Royal Sands is about to go public on the New York Stock Exchange and that they can help the member to reclaim their original shares of stock in the resort before this occurs. We would like to stress to all our members that this is false and an attempt to commit a scam. Please disregard any such calls. Royal Resorts and the resort companies are private companies and cannot trade in the New York Stock Exchange. 

Members have mentioned two companies using this modus operandi to deceive and defraud. The first is Realty Broker International and a representative called Alexandra Brown. A second company is First New York Developers Group LLC, also known as First and Y Developers Group LLC, and an agent called Aaron Lee with the following phone numbers 001 917 3833977 ext 102 and 55 4169 6472 which this individual claims is the number to call to obtain the registered title number, an alpha numeric code needed to call the US again. A person called Alexa López has also been mentioned as one of Aaron Lee’s colleagues, phone number 554-1696472. Members have reported that they were told that by these representatives that a 2.4% commission is charged for the transaction. One member also noted that there were errors on the documents she received from the company, in the name and the area code for Cancun. These confirmed her suspicions that it is a fraud. The recommendation is to disregard any offers that these two firms or their representatives make and to take no action.

Another report that we recently shared with you was brought to our attention by a member at The Royal Haciendas who was contacted by Scott Allen, a representative of a company in New York called Walsh Realty, and by Brian Jennings and Travis A Lang from Crefa Escrows Ltd. His suspicions were aroused by the offer that they made and also by their email addresses which had xxx.net extensions as opposed to .com used by company websites. The documentation the member received from Crefa Escrows mentioned BBVA Bancomer as the bank they deal with.

We have shared reports about Hollywood Management Inc. in the past, but this company has begun to contact members again. We recommend that you take no action if you receive a call from its representatives.

Other Grand Residences owners report that they were contacted by a representative of Cherry Real Estate LLC and received a letter from an agent called Daniel Anderson. The recommendation is to ignore calls from this number: 206-333-8246.

In February we reported a resale scam involving a person called Ramón Aguirre who claims to represent a company called Royal Resorts Vacation Club. This is not Royal Resorts. The Royal Resorts logo, the name Real Arenas de Cancun, S.A. de C.V., a Cancun address mentioning km 4.5 Boulevard Kukulcan and the web domain royalresortssvc.com appear in correspondence he has sent. It is a case of fraudulent use of our logo and identity and our Legal department is investigating. This person and the company Trasmani S.A. de C.V., which appears to be a non-existent company in Guadalajara have no relationship with Royal Resorts whatsoever. We urge you to be very careful and to notify Royal Resorts if you are contacted by this person. Above all, do not send documents or money.

The use of our logo, the words Royal Resorts and even the km 4.5 in the address, which is the location of The Royal Cancun, may be misleading. Please be aware that Royal Resorts does not use “Vacation Club” as part of its name and the emails sent to members come from an official royalresorts.com email address. If you see royalresortsvc.com in an email you receive, it is not from Royal Resorts, and you should disregard any offer that this individual makes.

There have also been reports of suspicious unsolicited phone calls or emails and offers made by representatives of DERTour Travel agency operating out of Mexico City, DGI Title in Atlanta, Hollywood Management Inc. in Los Angeles, Timeshare Broker Services and The Realtors and by agents called Christopher Adams and Jason Luria.

Another member recently contacted us after receiving a call from someone claiming to represent Royal Resorts and offering to buy her units. We would like to make our members aware that this is a scam. Royal Resorts is not offering to buy back units and anyone who may contact you with such a proposal is operating under false pretenses and is not associated with the company in any way.

Other members reported talking to someone claiming to be an agent or attorney representing the Mexican Government Tax Office and wanting to confirm personal information. We urge you to take no action if you receive such calls. The Mexican government does not contact Mexican citizens or foreigners in this manner.

Several months ago, we reported a similar case of phone calls from a woman identifying herself as a federal prosecutor in Mexico City. This person claimed to be investigating a case against Royal Resorts, but her questions were suspicious and indicative of a possible scam. Again, a federal prosecutor would not operate in this way.

Sometimes criminals will falsify documents or scan logos to make the letters and forms they use in their scam attempts look official. Be vigilant if you receive emails purportedly from the Mexican government with such documents. Genuine emails sent by Mexican government offices all have addresses that include .gob.mx, for example: the official email addresses for the Servicio de Administracióm Tributaria (SAT) or Tax Office are: sat.gob.mx or gob.mx/sat

For more information on types of domain names used in Mexico and international terminology and what to look out for when you receive an email from an unfamiliar address, scroll down.

Recent reports of suspicious online activity

Other recent reports of emails and dubious phone calls mention companies called Hollywood Management Inc. Real Estate, Hollywood Investments Company, 118 International Realty, Commodity Consultants International LTD and Blue Marlin Realty or Blue Marlin Realtors operating out of Chicago. The name of the Qingjan Realty Group Pte Ltd and of a broker called Victor Santiago appears in the documents that the member received from the latter company.

In June 2020, several members reported receiving unsolicited calls and emails about title changes from an individual called Marco Deleon operating out of Las Vegas and a company called Administración Hotelera Corporativa Columbus SA de CA. This individual claimed to represent CIT but is not associated with Royal Resorts, CIT or Interval Servicing in any way.

Also in 2020, several members contacted us about calls from a marketing company agent operating out of Cancun who offered them special stay rates at The Royal Sands and The Royal Caribbean. This is not a Royal Resorts promotion and neither the company nor its agent has any business relationship with us. The fact that this individual mentioned The Royal Caribbean, which is closed and currently under renovation, should be a warning sign not to proceed.

In summary, in the last two years, Members have reported suspicious calls and emails from all of these companies:

• Realty Broker International/Alexandra Brown
• First New York Developers Group LLC/Aaron Lee
• Walsh Realty/Scott Allen and Crefa Escrows/Brian Jennings and Travis A. Lang
• Cherry Real Estate LLC
• Trasmani/ Ramón Aguirre using the name Royal Resorts Vacation Club and sending emails from a royalresortsvc.com domain
• DERTour Travel agency
• DGI Title
• Hollywood Management Inc.
• Timeshare Broker Services
• The Realtors
• Lewis & Associates Realty
• 1st Real Estate Professionals
• 091 Title Services Inc.
• Travelers Options Management
• Commodity Consultants International LTD
• 118 International Realty
• Zinn Enterprises
• Blue Marlin Realty or Blue Marlin Realtors
• Administración Hotelera Corporativa Columbus SA de CV
• Network Realty
• Network Real Estate
• Atlantic Realty
• New York Escrow Services
• Black Diamond
• Realty Alliance
• The Brokerage Group
• 123propertyserviceslic
• Realty Consultants
• Safran Group
• Zicasso

Hollywood Management Inc. operates out of California, Zinn Enterprises operates out of Alaska; Atlantic Realty and Realty Alliance operate out of Boston. The Brokerage Group, Network Real Estate, Black Diamond Group and New York Escrow Services have New York addresses. Zicasso is a Mexican firm supposedly with a parent company in Mountain View, California.

Royal Resorts has no business relationship with any of the aforementioned companies or their representatives. The Legal department has contacted them with a cease and desist notice.

We recommend that you do not engage with these companies or their representatives. Do not submit the membership information requested, and above all, never send money if they mention a processing fee.

When such companies contact you via email or phone to offer unsolicited broker, resale, title change, exchange or rental services and ask for cash in advance to cover “administrative fees”, “processing fees,” “commissions”, “guarantees” or “deposits” it is generally a good indication that they may not be genuine and if you pay it is very possible that you will not hear from them again. 

Protecting your personal information

Royal Resorts has a rigorous privacy policy and is in full compliance with privacy laws. Our members’ personal information is confidential and we do everything possible to protect it. We do not sell and have never sold personal information to third parties.

Always follow these steps if you receive a suspicious email or phone call:

Check the source of the email if the company or individual claims to be associated with Royal Resorts. All Royal Resorts communications are sent from an official royalresorts.com email address, if this is not the case, then the email is not from Royal Resorts.

• Disregard the email or phone call if money is requested in advance for resale or other timeshare-related services.
• Do not supply personal data or the contact details of friends if referrals are requested.
• Do an online background check on the company to see if it is legitimate.
• Ask Royal Resorts if you are in any doubt, we are here to help you.
• Above all, do not send any money.
• If you receive an unsolicited call about title changes, contact Royal Resorts or Interval Servicing. Title changes must always be
• handled through Interval Servicing, your membership services company.

Domain terminology

Always check the domain name. Here are some examples of third level domains used in Mexico for you to be aware of:

.com.mx  = Used by commercial entities

.net.mx   = Internet providers

.org.mx   = Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

.edu.mx  = Educational institutions

.gob.mx  = Government ministries, departments and institutions

Internationally, these generic Top-level Domains (gTLD) are the most commonly used and have the following definitions:

.com      = Commercial site

.net        = Internet service company

.org        = Non profit organization

.info       = Information site

.biz         = Business site

Cyber crime is on the rise and hackers and scammers are more active than ever during the global pandemic. Take care when using the Internet. We recommend that you avoid disclosing your personal information on forums, blogs and other open media venues and participation in online referral schemes that ask you to send the names and details of friends. When you provide your contact information to others in order to rent, sell or lend your unit please ensure that it will be protected.