@legislator.com email scam warning: mytimeshareclaim@legislator.com scam email explained

Scam firms are emailing ECC clients from suspicious domains. Timeshare Advice Centre (TAC) guidance on avoiding email fraud and cyber criminals

Unexpected email? Treat it as a warning sign

This week, a Timeshare Advice Centre (TAC) client—whose case was completed several months ago—forwarded an unexpected email asking them to arrange a phone call. The message claimed to be from one of our marketing brands, MyTimeshareClaim. Fortunately, the client called us directly to check, and avoided the trap.

The sender identified himself as “Raymond Lowen” and used the address mytimeshareclaim@legislator.com. This is not an email address used by MyTimeshareClaim or any other TAC brand.

The MyTimeshareClaim brand uses the domain: @mytimeshareclaim.co.uk.

No-one called Raymond Lowen works at MyTimeshareClaim.

How these email scams work

“For anyone not familiar with this type of internet scam, it’s important to be wary of emails you weren’t expecting,” warns Suzanne Stojanovic, spokesperson for TAC. “Not just from people claiming to contact you from one of our brands, but also more broadly: from your bank, or any other large organisation.”

“The usual pattern is they’ll try to get you on the phone, and then ask you for money for an invented reason—perhaps an ‘unpaid fee’ or ‘tax that needs to be paid’.”

“Sometimes they’re more subtle. They might ask for personal details and then use them to hack you or apply for credit in your name.”

“The golden rule is: if they email you and ask for money, or they want to call and speak to you, say you’d rather call them back. Then check the official website and ring the main published number (whether the person claims to be us, your bank, or anyone else) and ask for that person by name.

“That way, if they’re not who they claim to be—or they’re impersonating someone at the company—you’ll find out by contacting the genuine workplace.”

Why emails from legislator.com are a red flag

In this case, the email to an ECC client came from a fake but official-looking address: mytimeshareclaim@legislator.com. The domain name sounds like it could be linked to law or even government, but in reality it is a free-to-use public email domain (similar to Gmail or Hotmail).

Anyone can set up a @legislator.com email address for free, without identity checks. The domain is widely used by scammers.

If you receive an email from this domain claiming to be from an organisation that matters to you (for example, Barclays@legislator.com, HMRC@legislator.com or TimeshareAdviceCentre@legislator.com), never engage with it or agree to speak. Do not share personal details, and certainly do not send money.

The internet is awash with reports of scammers using this domain name. Treat emails from legislator.com addresses as high risk.

Scammers and the timeshare sector

Sadly, the timeshare industry has traditionally attracted those who operate on the edge of the law, as well as people who have zero moral reservations about outright lies, theft and fraud.

Since timeshare has been all but consigned to the scrapheap in Europe, with most major resorts no longer engaging in new member sales, many former villains have gravitated towards related scams.

Timeshare resales and fake claims firms are natural environments for fraudsters looking for new ways to profit from their existing knowledge and experience. Some even target their own former victims from their timeshare past.

Fortunately, help is at hand. Honest firms can often be separated from scammers by following straightforward checks, such as:

• Checking online reviews. Don’t just look at the number of 4- and 5-star ratings—read the poor reviews too. Every company makes mistakes; the question is what they did to put things right.
• Seeing whether they publish audited video reviews from genuine customers
• Reviewing what the media has to say about them
• Checking Companies House to see how long they’ve been trading. Fraudulent companies often change names and addresses after a few weeks
• Confirming they have a professional physical office address(es) you can visit in person or via video call

For more guidance on researching genuine claims firms, visit the Timeshare Trust website.

Contact us whenever you need to

At TAC we always welcome you getting in touch. You can email us, call us, video call us or open a chat window. All our main contact details are listed on this page.

You can also visit us in person at our offices if you’re nearby—or meet by Zoom if you’re not.