FTC Heads To Court Over Travel Scam Targeting Hispanics

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The Federal Trade Commission, along with the Florida Attorney General's Office, has filed court actions against two companies over charges they tricked Spanish audiences into giving away credit card information in exchange for vacations that could never be claimed.

The scam in the first case, against VGC Corporation of America, used Spanish-language radio and TV ads nationwide to offer a vacation who could answer a simple trivia question. Callers were told they won and had to pay a fee of up to $400 to receive the vacation package.

But, the FTC said when someone tried to book a vacation they were denied because of undisclosed conditions, limitation, and restrictions.

The second case, also targeted at Hispanic audiences, worked in a similar fashion and involved the Holiday Vacations Marketing Corporation. A similar fee was required and then for the consumers who did make it to a vacation, they had to sit in timeshare presentations or were denied free hotel stays over other conditions.

Holiday Vacations would also allegedly charge customers a second $400 fee without a customer's authorization.

The FTC has links to understand Telemarketing Travel Fraud or for an online scam involving a game called "Gear Up For A Great Trip."