'Legitimate' vacation giveaways might be a scam
Summer is just around the corner, and you need to watch out for some vacation deals.
You'll get flyers in the mail, phone calls, and emails all offering you a summer getaway for free.
It sounds great, but there's always a catch.
We've warned you about these vacation club deals before, but new ones are popping up and getting our attention.
Daryl Turner and Robyn Bernstein ran Dreamworks Vacation Club.
"They would offer discounted airlines, free gas vouchers, and when the mail would arrive at the postal customer's house it would have the actual label of one of the major airlines and one of the major gas companies...it would look pretty legitimate," said U.S. Postal Inspector Alexander Sylvester.
The problem? Nothing was legitimate.
"Once the customers would actually attempt to use the discounts they would not be available," Sylvester said.
It started with the husband-wife duo holding seminars inside hotels, coaxing consumers to join the club.
Those gatherings were the beginning of the end of the scam.
"We actually had, you know, several postal inspectors sit through the actual pitch. We actually saw Mr. Turner's pitch from beginning to end, but we actually learned what he was promising and misrepresentations he was actually making," Sylvester said.
More than 300 victims lost $3 million.
Postal inspectors advise taking a night to sleep on a decision if you feel like you're being pressured.
"Don't actually make the purchase right then and there. Think about it. Talk to other people, talk to friends. Then, if it seems like it's legitimate, then make the purchase from them," Sylvester advised.
Daryl Turner pleaded guilty to second degree theft by deception and was sentenced to seven years in state prison.
His wife also pleaded guilty to theft by deception and was sentenced to five years' probation.
Turner was ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution.
