FBI warns of Mexican cartels targeting Americans in timeshare fraud schemes

The FBI is warning of a spike in scams targeting timeshare owners and that a large portion of these schemes are being perpetrated by Mexican drug cartels.

The schemes entail criminals targeting part-time property owners, often older Americans, and convincing them to hand over large sums of cash under false pretenses related to their timeshare properties. 

Scammers will usually conduct extensive research on potential victims, creating fake documents and impersonating individuals from "trustworthy institutions" to sell their storylines and scare victims into compliance, the bureau said.