tags: Scams
Ameri-scam.
May 23rd, 2005, by Rich.
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Two months ago I wrote a short article about a telemarketing call that I received from AmeriVacation. It has very quickly become one of the most viewed pages on this site, and also the most commented upon, by many people who are worried that they have been conned.
With just a little digging I’ve started to unearth some more information on AmeriVacation, and some “companies” that appear to be related.
It appears that AmeriVacation is only the latest front. They set up a website, to appear legitimate and then cold call people, anyone whose number they can get using an automated calling mechanism (which is very simple to do with a computer). They then sell a package that is not what it appears to be and then make it very difficult to obtain a refund.
Sadly the people that get scammed are often the most vulnerable people who can least afford to lose such a large amount of money.
Through my digging I discovered a little about the history of the scams, and a little about how they’re all related. What follows is a brief review of the links so that others may pick up the trail more easily.
The currently active websites (which can be linked through identical wording, identical phone numbers, IP addresses that resolve to the same physical machines, etc) are:
- www.amerivacation.com
- www.expertholidays.com
- www.yourvipholiday.com (bad press) (more)
- www.flbahamastravelhome.com
- www.mydiscountholiday.com (bad press)
- www.doublevacations.com
- www.affiliatedtravelnetwork.com
- www.brilliantholiday.com (bad popup press)
- www.destinationcenter.net
- www.myffc.com (bad press)
- www.mydiscountholiday.com
- www.floridaholidayusa.com - discovered July 2005
- www.holidayfloridausa.com - discovered July 2005
- www.sunrisetravels.us - discovered August 2005
- www.imperialvacation.com - discovered August 2005
- www.5starholidays.net - discovered August 2005
- www.floridatouristbureau.com - discovered August 2005
Now, anybody that sells a holiday from Florida, or sells a holiday to Florida must be registered. The last entry in the above list , “mydiscountholiday.com” claims a Florida Seller Of Travel License Number of ST35170. In fact, this next list of sites all claim to have that same license number.
- www.mydiscountholiday.com (bad press)
- www.usafamilygetaway.com (bad press)
- www.sandyvacationsllc.com (bad press)
- www.floridabureauoftourism.com
- http://www.destinationsforyou.com
- http://www.celebrationpromotions.com
Another useful thing for linking companies is the address, several of these companies have used “600 North Highway 1792, Suite 120, Longwood Fl 32750″ including:
- www.yourvipholiday.com
- www.usafamilygetaway.com addres link also mentioned here
That link is important because without it these appear to be two separate groups of companies, when in fact, it’s one big cloud.
The next link in the chain is the phone number, all the sites below are connected because they use the same UK freephone number 0800-917-7462. What’s especially nice is that three of them have also decided to share testimonials too!
- www.windsorvacations.com
- www.myvacationschoice.com
- www.vacations-paradise.com (bad press)
- www.sohovacations.com -bullshit testimonial (bad press)
- www.centuryvacations.com - bullshit testimonial
- www.firstclicktravel.net - bullshit testimonial
- www.usafamilygetaway.com
The other address in use is “7632 Southland Blvd, Orlando, FL 32809″ and this is used by:
- www.myffc.com
- www.mydiscountholiday.com
- www.brilliantholiday.com (bad press)
- www.destinationcenter.com
Currently www.destinationcenter.com looks like a bit of a sales force advertisement. However, by looking at the caches on google and web.archive.org, it’s apparent that it was also used as travel sales site (hence I got the address match above), selling these same packages - i.e. not just a coincidence, this was the same outfit.
So, who’s behind it? Well, according to this story, it all comes back to to a Altef Hemani (aka Alex Hemani), who has a history of such scams.
His name is as good as mud on the internet, so he’s tried to combat this by buying a few websites and and writing eulogies about himself.
Each of those sites, incidentally, is owned by the same company: Travel Express Investments 385 Center Point Cir, Altamont Springs, FL 32701.
What’s especially interesting is that the administrative contact for the domains is Arif Rajan who may be the same business man whos only newsworthy moment until now was that in 2002 he was was questioned and released without charge regarding money laundering for terrorist organisations.
Sources
Naturally the information I’ve been able to gather and present here is all freely available to the public. Please feel free to check, corroborate, dispute, disprove or otherwise extended it through your own investigation.
I have found the following resources most useful:
- http://whois.net/ which provides information about the owners of domain names.
- http://sunbiz.org/ which provides information from the Florida Department of State regarding companies, and the persons legally responsible for those companies.
- http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/ the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates travel in Florida.
December 31st, 2006 at 1:17 am
I (living in the Netherlands)was called by a very friendly, enthousiastic sounding man last night. He told me he was from Disney resources and I won a holliday to them and also, very lucky me, to the Bahama’s. He made it all sound very nice. But then, before I should get overexited, he had to ask some questions. Was I married? Yes, well, that was great. Then we came to the question about my creditcard.
My answer that I don’t have a creditcard was (I suppose) not ‘great’ because the man hang up. Great!
January 9th, 2007 at 4:11 am
I purchased a holiday from Calypso Cay on 2 January 2007. I bought in haste and then regretted it as I have been sick for a number of years. Although the holiday was to be used within 12 months, with hindsight realised that although I was hoping to work this year, I had too many debts to clear.
Later that evening I contacted Calypso Cay, and was very worried particularly after finding this site. My credit card debts are already very high as I am only on an Australian Disability pension. (I had very much wanted to take my two sons 25 and 24 on holiday as I guess I was competing with their father - my ex - who had won airline tickets to Japan and hence I made an emotional purchase!
After contacting Calypso Cay and speaking with their customer service officer, Carol, I was told that I would receive a void on my credit card. At this stage it was around 1.30am here in Newcastle NSW Australia. As you can imagine I was beside myself because of my level of debt. Carol rang me back within half an hour and was concerned that I was contacted by her company before I went to bed. I was greatly relieved by her call.
I did contact the company again a day or so later because the void had not appeared on my credit card. I didn’t realised that the paper work would take a couple of days to go through or that my credit card company would also take a couple of days to process.
I am writing to let everyone on this site know that I received a full refund when I checked by credit card balance on line today! I am extremely happy and wish to thank Calypso Cay for their honesty! I didn’t realise that they were people being scammed by other companies!
January 15th, 2007 at 6:18 am
I got cheated on Jan 12, 2007 by “Fantasy Tour and Travel” and the email that came to me was from “customercare@discountmyvacation.com”
I have the same story as every one there. They charged my two visa card each with 598US$. Please be aware with these websites. I am a student of university and the money they drew from my visa account will cost me a lot of trouble and financial problem.
January 16th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Following my message in Jan. 15, I am going to post little bit progress of what happened after that.
A soft speaking lady contacted me on Monday morning (Jan 15, at 7AM PST) and told me that she is going to send the vacation package and want to confirm my postal address. I told her to cancel my package. She asked me the reason of it. I told honestly her that there are two reasons to cancel:
So, she said that she is going to cancel and I will be able to get money back within 7 to 10 business day.
Next, I contacted the 1-800 number to the customer service, and told him to verify my status. He told me to wait for some time, and said that it has been already canceled, and told that I should wait until my next statement to view these effects revealed in my account.
I contacted my visa card company and they say that I should wait at least for another week. If it’s genuine, there would have never problem with cancellation, changes, payments, refunds. But the question is how genuine these people or web pages are? That’s always making us doubt on their promise.
For the time being, I will wait and see. I shall keep on posting here when I receive the fund. Otherwise, I will dispute with my visa card, and they have to refund this money to me back, if it is found that these companies cheat me. I am still hoping that my money will be back to my account. Being a graduate student and a father of three kids, I can no longer afford the extra burden and hope that something will come out. I shall update my message here. Thank you for reading it.
January 18th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Hi there,
I had promised to update my information. Today, I confirmed that they have reimbursed my money in one of my two visa cards. So my CAD$717.34 has been sent back to my account. But another VISA card is still awaiting dis-approval from them. I am glad that I got my 50% money back today (I mean full refund of one of my visa cards). But it was not that easy. I can not still believe that I got that money back. After confirming with VISA Card Company, I am now 100% sure that it’s true.
In the mean time, I did full attempt to contact, local police, Florida police, and Visa Company. I think it was made possible only because I did not sign any document and cancelled before they sent me the package. I kept on calling them, and also kept on sending emails to them. I suggest you guys to immediately dispute with your credit card, and cancel visa card, and at the same time pursue all the options as outlined above, if you feel that you are cheated or fooled by these highly professional telemarketers. I shall update my information once I learn about my status of CAD717.34 amount in another Visa card.
January 18th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Just wanted to add my experience about the Calypso Cay vacation package. My husband and I purchased the package last Nov, 2006, and we paid around $400; I can’t remember the exact amount.
Today, as I was reserving our dates and locations, I discovered a huge omission that the sales rep committed. We were informed during the sales speech that we would be responsible for the port fees for the Bahama 2 night 3 day cruise. I looked online, and according to Bluewater Network, “Cruise Ship Industry Facts,” port fees per passenger are about $5/pp.
Today, I was informed by the sales rep, Carol Adames, that the port fee was $200/pp. $400 for my husband and I to do the cruise. I looked online and found out that on vacationstogo.com, there are 3 night, four day cruises to the Bahamas, going out of the same port, Ft. Lauderdale for $240/pp, which includes port fees. Also, Carol informed us that we would be responsible for transportation from the hotel in Miami to the cruise terminal in Ft. Lauderdale. That’s about another $60-$70.
I guess it’s true, “the devil is in the details.” We’re still doing the Calypso Cay and Daytona package. But, we’ve decided not to do the cruise. The sad thing is that we own 2 timeshares, and we could have paid an exchange of $99 for 7 nights at Calypso. But, considering tome of the reviews I’ve read, maybe less time there would be better.
January 19th, 2007 at 1:21 am
Hi All,
I have a very good news after a week-long confusion. I got full refund of my two visa cards each CAD$717.34, which I confirmed today with my visa card companies.
I am relived of all these problems now. My CAD $717.34 with CIBC VISA was cleared yesterday and my CAD $717.34 in RBC Visa was cleared/voided today. I have learnt a big lesson this time. Never give my visa card to unknown person and free-vacation deals or Disney land vacation except genuine organizations. I do not know what helped to get my money so fast and easily. But one this is true that this webpage helped me a lot to share my pain with others and to help file complain. It also helped me to learn that I should not give up until the end.
I wanted people not suffer like me, so I did the following during the week-long period:
1. Passed the story to local news broadcasting (CBC news, Canada)
2. Contacted local police here at Vancouver,
3. Contacted visa companies immediately and cancelled my both Visa cards,
4. Sent complain to Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, using their webpage. I tried to do all the avenues because I also wanted to help people know what’s going on with this FREE? vacation packages.
5. I sent about three emails including a letter using the format given above mentioning that I will file complain if the money is not-reimbursed within 30 days.
6. Kept calling them, and made sure that every thing is in order.
7. While my money has been cleared, just now while I am typing this comment, I got a phone call from my wife that a package has arrived from USA using DHL, by TG Travels.
I am wondering what the package might include? I got worried again. But then, I re-confirmed with my Visa card whether the money has really been reimbursed.
Its terrible experience, but finally, I am OK. I wish that all of you guys to get the money that you deserve for. My chapter has been closed now within a week time. Thanks god. Thanks every one. Thanks this web-page creator. Good bye
January 20th, 2007 at 1:20 am
Hi,
Last week I received a phone call telling me I won a free vacation. The polite woman on the phone told me that she needed to confirm my credit card number. In a huge lapse of judgement I gave them my credit card number.
The same day I started to get worried about this “free vacation”. I called to cancel my CiBC Visa card, but it was already too late, they managed to charge my card CDN $717 dollars. Right away I send a letter to Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and reported the charge to my bank’s fraud department.
In a panic I called the number that I was given by the woman, 1-407-879-4379. The man on the phone told me that his company, BESTUSAVACATIONS accidentally charged me and that I will receive a full refund in a few days. A few days went by, but I did not receive a refund. I called the same number again, but an automated message informed me that this cellular number has been disconected.
At this point I am extremely confused. The people that called me stated that they were from BESTUSAVACATIONS. When I called BESTUSAVACATIONS they claimed that they do not have my name in their computer at all.
The company that charged my Visa card is listed as Fun Time Getaway InC. BESTUSAVACATIONS said that they are in direct cometition with Fun time Getaway Inc, but the FUN Time Getaway Inc website, http://www.a1travelreservations.com/, links international travellers to BESTUSAVACATIONS. Why would a company refer customers to their ‘direct compeditor’?
I was just wondering if anyone has encountered any one of these companies before, or if they have any advice that would help me figure out how to get my money back and from whom.
Here is some extra info:
Fun Time Getaway Inc:
phone: 604-321-206-3366 and 1-800-475-4366
web: http://www.a1travelreservations.com
BESTUSAVACATIONS:
phone:407-8430336
Web: http://www.bestusavacations.com
Any reply would be greatly appreciated,
Thank you
January 21st, 2007 at 12:36 am
Hi Kat,
You seem to have similar experience as mine. In my case, I told them to cancel the package and they did so. Once they cancelled the package, then only they can reimburse to Visa card. In my case, they canceled it in their computer. When I contacted the next day, I spoke with another guy. I asked him to see my status.
He said that it has been already cancelled. I requested to him saying that I would highly appreciate if my money is reimbursed. He said wait until another statement arrives, but I had no patience to wait so long. I therefore, kept on calling to Visa Company.
Once it is cancelled, it might take 3-5 days to reveal your amount reimbursed in to your Visa card. You have to keep on calling Visa card to make sure whether the money is pending or has been reimbursed. I got a call from CIBC once the money was reimbursed.
If you want to contact, I can also be reached at for personal discussion but you can post your comment or progress in the web-page comment section.
January 21st, 2007 at 8:02 am
Hi Riz,
Our experience does sound the same, especially because I am also in Vancouver, and I also got charged on my CIBC Visa. I am glad that you shared your experience on this site, it makes me feel better knowing that someone else went through a very similar experience and was successful in receiving a refund.
Thank you for your advice, knowing that you got a refund because you kept calling them made me realize that I should continue on calling them as well.
I tried calling Fun TIme Getaway Inc, but their phone constantly goes to different answering machines, so I was never able to get through. Nonetheless, I will continue to call them until I reach someone there.
Thanks again,
Kat