A man who had a lucky escape from a timeshare con has warned others not to fall for the same trick.

The man, from Cowcliffe in the UK, who did not want to be named, was contacted by a Spain-based company that claimed someone wanted to buy his timeshare in Malta. He said: “They asked me if I was interested in selling and said they had a customer willing to pay a very good price for it. Then they said they needed a bond from me, and asked for my credit card details. That’s when I thought there was something wrong.”

The man contacted the consumer advice organisation Timeshare Consumers Association, which told him it was a fraud.

He said: “Somebody is going to fall for this at some point. People should be made aware of what’s happening.”

A spokesman for the Timeshare Consumers Association said: “This is a complete fraud. There are a lot of people who have a timeshare who want to get out but don’t realise it will be worth a fraction of what they paid for it.

“These companies, almost always from Spain, ring them up, having got their names and numbers from a stolen list, and claim they have someone wanting to buy. They then ask for credit card details for so-called security reasons.

“You should never send any money to any company on the promise of selling your timeshare – whatever reason they might give you.”