The FBI has issued a warning about a rise in scams targeting timeshare owners.

These scams are being traced back to Mexican drug cartels.

To pull off this scam, the FBI said the bad guys are doing extensive research on their potential victims.

The scam tends to target older, wealthy Americans looking to recoup their investment into their timeshare.

The scam has three parts:

1. It begins with the scammer contacting a potential victim and pretending to be a broker or a salesperson. The victim is presented with the option of exiting the timeshare, but they have to pay taxes and fees up front.
2. The second step involves the scammers posing as someone from a law firm who wants to help the victim recover some of the money lost in the first phase. At this point, they are asked to pay legal fees.
3. In the third and final phase, the con artists pose as a member of a government agency like the Mexican government's Financial Intelligence Unit or Interpol.

According to the FBI, the Mexican cartels are drawn to these timeshare scams because of the low overhead involved in setting up the operation and the lack of attention it receives compared to drugs or weapons schemes.

The FBI advises that if someone contacts you about a timeshare and demands payment upfront, you should end communication with them and never pay them the money.