Gumtree "Sarah Smith" scammer

Hi everybody,

so I have the outmostly pleasant opportunity of sharing my experience with getting scammer's attention on Gumtree for the first time. I have received the following reply to my ad (looking for a room in London.. etc.):

"Hello,
i saw your AD on Gumtree that you needed accommodation in London, i have an apartment available which is situated at Bayswater. The apartment is £360/per month including utilities, Please get back to me for more information and picture of the apartment, I will wait to hear from you"

("from sarah smith <[email protected]>, telephone number +447024022139 (Mobile)" which is the 70xxxxxxxx number many ppl has warned everybody about on this forum)

It sounded rather unreal, especially as it was meant to state the price for the whole FLAT, not just a room.. I did reply though and here's the obvious scam I received after a few minutes (with the "out of catalogue" pictures):

"Hello,
 
Thanks so much in your interest in renting my apartment. The apartment is three bedrooms flat and i'm renting out two rooms because im the only staying in the flat presently,the rooms have good size..they also have private bathrooms, a sound system, bedspread, in the sitting room there is a  plasma tv, internet access, Newly refurbished to a high standard a modern kitchen with all new appliances, central heating, tasteful bespoke lighting, washing with dryer machine, microwave oven and a parking space.The bedroom is fully furnished..it also has private bathroom and you will not need to share with anyone,and also as a deck, bedspread and there is also wireless high-speed broadband and there's parking space for cars,as well as the siiting,there is a  plasma TV,
 
The apartments is situated at 27, Redan Place, Bayswater, London W2 4SA  (CENTRAL LONDON), quiet but very safe street in the heart of London. There are tube stations within walking distance from the flat: Bayswater is one of the most attractive and lively areas of West/Central London.Its right on Queensway itself (opposite Whiteleys) and close to all of the numerous restaurants on that street as well as numerous bus stops going in all directions of London, and most of them 24-hours. The transportation links are unbeatable, but most parts of London are also close enough to go by foot in under 20 to 25 mins, and around the corner along Westbourne Grove. The trendy bars of Notting Hill are also within short walking distance. Queensway Tube (Central Line) and Bayswater Tube (Circle and District lines) are both are less than 7 minutes walk away.
 
Located(ideal for an early morning jog), and the shopping area is very short walk away, almost as you turn out of the road.
 
For Shops:There are many grocery stores located within 2 mins walking distance, including a small Costcutter, small and large Sainsbury's,as well as Canary which has multiple restaurants and fresh food stores. Besides that, Euston Station or Tottenham Court Road also offer many other kinds of stores
 
I've attached pictures of the flat and i hope you will like it as much.The rent is very reasonable at only £360 per month Including All taxes, bills, and wireless broadband internet access are included in the rent and £400 refundable security deposit for the apartment.
 
 About me,My name is Sarah Joy Smith,i was born in Washington, USA, I'm single, 29 years of age, i work as a Consultant in the company i work for, I am a friendly, easy going and enjoy good conversation but I also value silence, Like to think all differences that can be resolved in partnership. I love meeting people, having a great sense of humor and I'm always up for some fun. I'm saying that I also like to chill out and enjoy the good things in life. I am looking to live with clean and neat flatmate .
 
Please let me know if you're interested so i can proceed in your rent and see how things goes and you can also add me to [email protected] so that we can get to talk more better and get to know each other as well..
 
Have a great time,
 
Sarah."


..so obviously "S. Smith" (what common names these scammers love! the other was from the well-known C. Davies..) has many e-mail addresses for her illicit purposes ([email protected], [email protected]).

Hi d14b0ll0s, welcome here

Thank you for posting your story and for posting the details of the scammer. Posting them online might save many other searching near-victims, so well done! I'm glad to hear you didn't fall for the scam. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Hi d14b0ll0s, welcome here

Thank you for posting your story and for posting the details of the scammer. Posting them online might save many other searching near-victims, so well done! I'm glad to hear you didn't fall for the scam. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Great, thanks for a warm welcome!

hahahaha, I'm just laughing at the part where they are describing the kitchen and say 'it has its own parking space' or something, the way they have written it (clearly have no grasp of the English Language) makes it seem like there is a parking space in the kitchem! lol. What a numpty! Pleased you, like me, were wise enough to cotton on straight away! I'm really starting to find that if a property seems too good to be true, it more than likely is x

Sad but true, GeordiePrincess.

So far I have a 3:1 ratio of fakes & genuines in the replies to my ad (the genuine one was really nice, but also too far from the city centre), if we count the one I'm just going to describe, which seems to be a more tricky one..

I have posted the same ad on Gumtree and RoomBuddies.com (as well as some others). On the latter there was also a quite fast reply entitled "I am interested" saying:

This is Alison . I'm a professional ,i work at paper chase .

I have en suite double bedroom available for rent in my fully furnished flat .

Ideally Located : 54 Bloomsbury Street LONDON WC1B 3QT,The location is near-perfect - this is a very quiet and safe environment..The closest tube station to Bloomsbury, is the Russell Square Tube Station

Let me know if you are interested

Please contact be by email : [email protected]
Thanks

PS.This bedroom is also available for Long term and not just for Summer

...and with a link to her(?) ad:

http://www.roombuddies.com/adverts/rooms_to_rent/ywrixe

which is 600 pcm Bloomsbury flat (even suspiciously close to UCL):

Hey there, i have a fully furnished double bedroom available in a nice 3-bedroom flat for this summer.

sharing with ME. Looking for a mature, friendly students or working professional.Couples are accepted too,and laid back,friendly , like minded individual who works hard, but can also let their hair down

THE FLAT HAS WASHING MACHINE FREE INTERNET FREE PARKING ALL BILLS INCLUDE .6 MINUTES FROM NEAREST TUBE .....

Located in the most central part of London ....

..which seems rather ok, even millions of dots is common in many ppl's style these days, but the phone no. got me thinking: 07045734287 (so again the redirect-me-to-the-middle-of-nowhere 070..)

However I've sent the following reply:

Hi Alison,

I've sent this message by mistake @ RoomBuddies.com at first, so I'm
resending it now by e-mail:

Thanks for your message. I see you want to rent your room now. I am
coming to London Sep. 13 (for 13 weeks), are you still interested or
is it too late for you?

I have read your ad, but I'm not sure whether it's 550+50 or 550 pcm
incl. bills?

Best wishes
Jakub

Just after two hours there came a reply which looked like a kind of "automated reply", in which "Alison" did not answer my question about moving in two months from now at all:


Hello Jakub

My name is April Alison Lindsay , British citizen

I’m a respectful lady born in the UK . I work in financial services at a respectable company here in town. (I can explain the job in more detail if you want, but trust me, it doesn't get any more exciting.) Anyway, it’s full-time, stable, and I’m happy to show you the last months bill .

 I am neat and clean, but not obsessive about it. I guess I have a
“you use it, you clean it” way of looking at things. I don’t smoke, and I don’t have
a pet but im pet friendly, I’m happy to chip in that i live alone in the flat at the
moment and im looking to rent out the vacant room.

So...there's that .....now about the Flat

WLAN internet facilities, Cable, A/C,Internet 24/7 etc included.
It has central heating
26" Flat Screen TV
Laundry room in building ( washing machine, dryers)
Renovated, Fully fitted kitchen with fridge, washing machine & microwave and dishwasher.


Parking available....that's if you have a car

The monthly rent is £600 (550 + 50 ) Utilities included and Council tax inclusive and a security deposit of £600 for the room.

Ideally Located : 54 Bloomsbury Street LONDON WC1B 3QT,The location is near-perfect - this is a very quiet and safe environment..The closest tube station to Bloomsbury, London is the Russell Square Tube Station

Let me know if you are  interested so we can discuss more  and kindly send me some details about you

Regards

April Lindsay
07024065787

Anyway, the English here is not the bad-weird style used in other scams (just with some gaps, maybe different language "registers" too), the price itself is more realistic, but something beside the phone number smelled wrong here, including her odd statement at the very beginning saying twice she is a British citizen / born in UK and one with a job too etc. etc., "trust me" (why would somebody be even thinking I shouldn't btw), typical gain-their-trust approach.. + all the sociotechnical agenda, not that sophisticated, but quite effective actually. Plus maybe I'm the easier target as I'm from (and in) Poland and only coming to UK for 3 months in mid-Sep. to study, trying to get it all working rather early and while I'm still staying at my place here..

I have also done some googling for her e-mail address ([email protected]) which turned some interesting results including some other rental ads, but also some dating scam for.. [[fanfare!]] "Military army singles" in US (and some others), and with her picture (which actually could mean nothing, but seems to me as a many-branches scammer).

So, in my opinion this one has all the traits of a scam, but also seems to be a more interesting one as it doesn't have the same kind of "Nigerian" accent as many others.

Should I report it to RoomBuddies support? What do you think?

Jakub

I was obviously mistaken. It's not 3:1, it's 4:0. Mrs Vitalia Lesko ([email protected]) turned out to be as much a scammer as all the others.

1)

Hi there Jakub, you have received a reply to your Gumtree posting "Looking for a room(share) in Central London for 13 weeks starting mid-September (up to 500£ pcm)" (ad# 84238493) from <[email protected]>:

Hi,

I have a 3 bedroom house and looking to rent 2 of the double rooms out.

I can send you the pictures of the room, if you are still interested.

The rent cost £500 per month including all bills.

Thanks

Vitalia

2) Hi Vitalia,

Thank you for your e-mail, I am interested, so please send me some details.

Best Regards
Jakub

3)
Hi,


It is located in 76, Mildmay Grove South, Islington, London, Greater London, N1 4PJ, there is a High speed wireless internet connection, TV, Sky, Heater, En-suite bath, Central Heating System, Washing/Dryer machine, Car parking space and Garden.


I have attached photos of the flat so you can have an idea of what you would be renting.

So do let me know if you are ready to rent the place and also get back to me with details about yourself.


Thanks


Vitalia

4) Dear Vitalia,

Thank you for the pictures and details. The apartment looks very nice,
but is it a little too far from UCL for me. I really need something no
further than Angel in that direction for these 3 months, as I will
also need to be near Edgware Rd quite often (despite UCL campus
itself) and I would not want to waste too much time every day. Thank
you for contacting me though, I am sure you will find somebody for
your nice apartment quite soon.

Best wishes,
Jakub

5) Hi ,


Good to read from you again.


A lil about me : Am a 25years old fashion designer, very friendly and adventurous, I only Drink occasionally but don't smoke, I am quiet, easy going, fun to be with and open minded.I like to keep the flat clean and tidy and would require the same too from any tenant.I am a christian by religion,my hobbies are Hiking, singing, watching soccer and going to the cinema's.


About the flat : The flat was once a family flat till my old parents acquired a new property in Spain and moved, so i have been left in charge of this flat. It is a 3 bedroom flat like i already told you, and nobody occupies the flat at the moment.


I live in Birmingham and only come around once in a while so as to keep the flat and surroundings clean. Reasons why we want to rent this place out is so that there will be a permanent occupant that will take care of the flat furnitures and keep the surroundings clean in my absence. We just need life in the flat.


At the moment we are looking to rent out just 2 of the rooms while the 3rd will be locked permanently, for my use whenever i come around.


Concerning viewing: I can only travel from Birmingham to attend to serious tenants that are ready to move in and can prove that they can pay for the first months rent and one months deposit, i don't do general viewing. I need to know that you are serious and have the money to pay before i can come down to London.


I have a tight working schedule caused by my upcoming fashion show week, which preparations are on for at the moment with my co-ordinators from New York. You can search the map for that area and what you see in the pictures are what the interior of the flat looks like.


If you feel comfortable with that let me know, if not don't bother to reply so that we won't waste each others time.


Thanks and warm regards,


Vitalia

-> 6) I guess I'll give up on posting ads and will try to browse the existing ones myself..

Please read my post "Gumtree 'Diane Watson' scammer Soho Flat" - pretty sure it's the same person- stay away!!!

Woaw.
Jakub, my boyfriend and I had been involved in scam with that "Alison" a few month ago...We are French and were looking for a room near the UCL for the summer, and she answered to our ad on roombuddies.com. The content of the email was exactly what you posted. We have been crooked of £1800 because we trusted her when we wrote her emails and everything. We have to admit that "she" is pretty gifted to seem "normal"...
When we knew that it was actually a scam we told roombuddies and they (normally) banned her...
We were in France at that time and we couldn't do anything but wait to be here in London to report it to the police and that's what we did when we arrived. This "Alison" gave us her bank accounts details so we told it to the police and now, they are investigating.. We do not think we could get our money back unfortunately, but I am here to tell you our sad adventure.

Welcome Lison!
I'm so sorry you and your friend lost so much money. But you did well reporting the bank account. The police and the bank might be able to watch it for suspicious activities.
Do you have any email addresses which haven't been published yet? They might help future victims who do a Google search.
I hope you will find a nice place to stay eventually.

The email adress with which 'she' wrote us was [email protected] and [email protected]..
That person is really really vicious since she even made a contract for the rent, and told us about her lawyer, she scanned us her passport and everything, that's why we trusted her. And even after we send her all that money, she continued to send us emails saying that she was gone to hospital that's why she wasn't able to answer us quicky..And when we had suspicions, we told her and she answered !
That person is very very "clever" (not in the sense we can first imagine, unfortunately)...
Oh and there's also a phone number, in case... 07024065787 I think it is the same reported in the previous messages from Jakub.

And there is something I don't understand, how can she be still active on website whereas we reported everything to the police? It means she is still somewhere, stealing money from people

It's possible that the police didn't attempt to have the advert removed, and it would have done little good anyway. Free adverts on websites can be replaced faster than they can be closed down.

Hey there guys.
Thanks for sharing your stories.
I believe I'm dealing with the same person here:

Hi,
It is located in 76, Mildmay Grove South, Islington, London, Greater London, N1 4PJ, there is a High speed wireless internet connection, TV, Sky, Heater, En-suite bath, Central Heating System, Washing/Dryer machine, Car parking space and Garden.
I have attached photos of the flat so you can have an idea of what you would be renting.
So do let me know if you are ready to rent the place and also get back to me with details about yourself.
Thanks
Malvina

The name and e-mail address she's using is "Malvina Ferrandini" <[email protected]>

It did seem to me the flat was too good to be true for such price, thank god I googled it before it got any serious.

Best regards guys.

Welcome to Scamwarners. It could be the same one, but scammers do use and share scripts. Either way, it's a scam.

Hi Everyone,

Yes Sarah Smith is a real scam. This was the reply I got, exactly the same which some you got from Sarah Smith.

Thanks so much in your interest in renting my apartment. The apartment is three bedrooms flat and i'm renting out two rooms because im the only staying in the flat presently,the rooms have good size..they also have private bathrooms, a sound system, bedspread, in the sitting room there is a plasma tv, internet access, Newly refurbished to a high standard a modern kitchen with all new appliances, central heating, tasteful bespoke lighting, washing with dryer machine, microwave oven and a parking space.The bedroom is fully furnished..it also has private bathroom and you will not need to share with anyone,and also as a deck, bedspread and there is also wireless high-speed broadband and there's parking space for cars,as well as the siiting,there is a plasma TV,

The apartments is situated at 27, Redan Place, Bayswater, London W2 4SA (CENTRAL LONDON), quiet but very safe street in the heart of London. There are tube stations within walking distance from the flat: Bayswater is one of the most attractive and lively areas of West/Central London.Its right on Queensway itself (opposite Whiteleys) and close to all of the numerous restaurants on that street as well as numerous bus stops going in all directions of London, and most of them 24-hours. The transportation links are unbeatable, but most parts of London are also close enough to go by foot in under 20 to 25 mins, and around the corner along Westbourne Grove. The trendy bars of Notting Hill are also within short walking distance. Queensway Tube (Central Line) and Bayswater Tube (Circle and District lines) are both are less than 7 minutes walk away.

Located(ideal for an early morning jog), and the shopping area is very short walk away, almost as you turn out of the road.

For Shops:There are many grocery stores located within 2 mins walking distance, including a small Costcutter, small and large Sainsbury's,as well as Canary which has multiple restaurants and fresh food stores. Besides that, Euston Station or Tottenham Court Road also offer many other kinds of stores

I've attached pictures of the flat and i hope you will like it as much.The rent is very reasonable at only £360 per month Including All taxes, bills, and wireless broadband internet access are included in the rent and £400 refundable security deposit for the apartment.

About me,My name is Sarah Joy Smith,i was born in Washington, USA, I'm single, 29 years of age, i work as a Consultant in the company i work for, I am a friendly, easy going and enjoy good conversation but I also value silence, Like to think all differences that can be resolved in partnership. I love meeting people, having a great sense of humor and I'm always up for some fun. I'm saying that I also like to chill out and enjoy the good things in life. I am looking to live with clean and neat flatmate .

Please let me know if you're interested so i can proceed in your rent and see how things goes and you can also add me to [email protected] so that we can get to talk more better and get to know each other as well..

Have a great time,

Sarah.

ALSO I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE. THERE IS THIS WEBSITE CALLED http://www.starflats.co.uk/ which shows some Studio apartment that you can rent in Central London ( Canary Wharf) for just £280 or £360 per month. ABSOLUTELY BULL SHIT ALL SCAM SO PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN LOOKING FOR A ROOM TO RENT.

@Lison: Sorry to hear you were cheated, and for so much money. I would've almost believed her too if not for some previous (recent) scam experience and just being suspicious after, so don't feel guilty about falling for it or anything. Wish you best luck with your search in future.

@rohanarora01: Thank you so much fore reporting starflats, I had it bookmarked!!

I've just received another scam reply after I contacted a person on Gumtree (it seems the ad itself has been already reported & removed - "Excellent Location Stunning bedroom Flat" Gumtree ad# 86093072):

From: John Walker <[email protected]> 17 August 2011 20:20

Thanks for your email  knowing you are intrested in the flat. My name is John Wright, i am the owner of the Flat you are making inquiry of. Actually I resided in the Flat with my family, presently we moved away due to my transfer from my working place, my Flat is Located at 24, Rosary Gardens, South Kensington London, SW7 4NT and presently my Flat is still available for rent for 400GBP per month including the utilities like hydro,washer,gas,internet, council tax and one secured parking Space,it is fully furnished but we can get it unfurnished for you if you prefer that and the amount includes all the bills.. Now, I went for a Crusade in the West Africa and i will like you to get in touch with my wife in the United states for more details & pictures of our flat as She is with the keys and the documents to the Flat. Please, i want you to note that i am a kind and honest person, also i spent a lot of money on my property that i want to give you for  rent, so i will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this Flat and want you to treat it as your own,I hope you understand that.I want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad to see it neat when i eventually come to London to see how clean it is and will try to do that some day... Where are you located? let us know how soon you are willing to move in as we are deciding very soon on who to take our flat.Email my wife Linda , on   [email protected]  She will attend to you better.
Thanks for your interest.
Best Regards,
John
NB Viewing wont be possible now but everything can be done accordingly if you are ready for this to be done and we are not just after the rent but someone who will take good care of our flat.Its still available and you will enjoy it .

Thank you all for reporting other scams, best wishes
Jakub