Apartment scam/ roomscam/ rental scam/ London UK Craigslist

Has anyone found any news regarding www.eurooms.net? Are they scammers or not? I'm desperately looking for a room as time is running out and I'm a very cautious person when it comes to these types of online things.

Help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance
-Schaapje

Welcome to ScamWarners Schaapje, one issue to be ware of is if the landlord asks you to pay by Western Union or some other money transfer service. Also if the landlord says they will send you the keys to hurry things along. Those are both ploys used by scammers.

I used the site's search feature (upper left hand corner of any page) and found that in August there was this exchange: viewtopic.php?p=63541#p63541 Certainly you are wise to be cautious as indicated by Katherine's post.

We don't recommend any sites, we do encourage caution and skepticism with many sites. I agree with Katherine, the site looks amateurish.

The rent shall always be paid for at least 2 week(s) in advance. On arrival each client pays a refundable deposit equal to a 2-week rent which is used as a deposit to cover any damage occurred on the property. The deposit is fully refundable (less £20 check out fee) after the stay if the Accommodation Contract terms were not violated.

You will need to pay upon arrival the following charges:

Rent for 2 week(s)
Refundable deposit that equals the rent for 2 week(s)
£70 administration fee

I have never heard of a "check out fee", nor have I heard of an "administrative fee" for a rental. The fees are usually included in the room rental.

I have very nearly been scammed also but decided to check the zip code and this site came up for me with the exact same emails I have received. Im so annoyed that I nearly fell for the lies. Unbelievable this idiot even sent photos of himself and his wife friends. Heres the email guys be warned...

Hello,
It's my great pleasure that you are interested in our lovely home for rent. I am the owner of the House, Actually we resided in this home before and presently we have packed out due to my transfer as a matter of my profession,where I work as a volunteer with Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability (ECFA)here is the site for more detail about why I am here in West Africa,Nigeria. (www.wycliffe.org) And my wife who is a missionary's dealing with Bible Translation and literacy worldwide.

As soon as we settle down here I had thought of selling the house so I had to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my wife advised against that. I reasoned with her and accepted her advise. So I contacted the agent back and requested for my keys and documents. Later we decided to have the house rent out, we would have given the same agent this job also but the truth is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with him later and we want the tenant to take absolute care for the property.my house is furnished and also can be rented Unfurnished but it has a big storage to put things away okay?and its available to move in and i also accept dss,so fill out my form below and we can go from there, since i am not residing there for now,The house is fully Furnished and has a big storage.The kitchen is fully equipped with all necessary cooking utensils,refrigerator-freezer,four-hob and oven, microwave,dishwasher and washing machine, my computer connected with Internet access.I have the keys and document with me here in West Africa Nigeria to be precise and the house is ready for you to move in if you are really interested in my house.I am here on a missionary work with my family and will be here for 3yrs but on Due cases i will be visiting to check on you and my house cause absolute maintenance of my house is what i am after cause its newly renovated,Very spacious and Clean,So after Normal process is taking i shall be sending you the keys and document for you to move in, Also i will like you to know that the rent charges is not really the issue, hope you are okay with the price of (250Pounds) for deposit which is what i require before you move in and at the end of your first month in the house then you can make your first month rent payment (400Pounds) Per Month including all bills like heat laundry facilities and Council Tax as i take care of the bills myself,but your absolute maintenance of my house is most important to me, if you are really interested renting this house fill the application below and get back to me with the answers,Now that we on Retreat program over here please I want you to note that all we will want is a very honest and neat person,so i will solicit for your absolute understanding and maintenance of this home and want you to treat it as your own,i am with the keys and documents here with me which will be sent to any responsible and interested tenant through FedEx further more you have to undergo some processes before i could be willing and convince to let my home to any tenant,The money is not the main problem but i want you to keep it tidy always. I also want you to let me have trust in you as i have always stand on my word.Moreover as a man of God i intend to do my things with soft kindred heart.


Location..........Vartry Road, Stamford Hill, London N15 6Qd,United Kingdom

********RENT APPLICATION FORM*******
********PRIVATE & \CONFIDENTIAL*********
Please answer these questions below:

Full Name..............................
Age........................................
Current Address................
Landline(Phone)...............
Mobile(Phone)
Reasons for Leaving..........
Are you married................
How many people will be living in the house..............
Do you have a pet............................................................
Do you have a car...........................................................
Occupation....................................................................
How soon Do you want to Move In...........................
How Long Do you want To stay.................................
Deposit Amount......................................................
Pictures Of Occupants.................................................

I personally will come visiting you sometime during the year as our new tenant,Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file as my new tenant and we can go on with the process.Awaiting your reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the keys to you and you can ring me on the numbers Below

Thanks And God Bless.

George Bryan
+447045712681
+2347055339056

ALso:

Hello,

Below are my details for you to make the transfer through western union money transfer or Money Gram money transfer,if you don't know where to find western union then you can find Money gram money transfer in the post office,what time will you make the transfer like i said so i know when to have the package ready for shipment,the full address of the house will be included in the contract form that you will recieve okay??

Receiver's Name......George Bryan
Address............12 Western Avenue
State..............Lagos
Zip code.......234010
Country.........Nigeria
Text Question......I Love
Text Answer.......God

NB.....PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE THE TEXT QUESTION AND ANSWER FOR SECURITY REASONS AND PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH THE FULL SENDING DETAILS

Please as soon as payment is made you will email me the full sending details including 8 digit numbers from Money Gram called Reference number so we can confirm it,after the payment is confirmed i will ship the keys and document to you via Dhl courier next-day delivery so you can receive it immediately and move in when you wish???I am waiting to hear from you,take care and remain blessed.

George

Just hope he doesnt use the info we gave him for anything else

He sent us pictures of the house and himself but im not sure how to post them here anyone can help me then il post them up.. thanks

You can post the pictures on http://scamwarners.com/. Be sure to mark them "fake", "used by scammer", or the like.

The phone number beginning 44704 is a phony number; scammers use these numbers to appear to be in England when they aren't. And of course when he asked for money by Western Union or MoneyGram, he proved he is a scammer.

I saw an advert on Craigslist for a studio flat at a reasonable price.
I emailed for more details and I received the following:

[email protected]

Hello,

I am not planning to move back in the flat for the next 7-8 years therefore we can make a contract for any period you would like, but for 1 month at least. I am the owner of the flat and the property is not a flatshare. The rent is 400 pounds/month for the whole flat (the bills and taxes are included: electricity, gas, water, tv, internet, council tax) and after you will sign the contract you will pay for the first month of rent in advance, plus the refundable deposit of 600 pounds. The property is very clean and I want to leave it to a person who is a clean and a responsible tenant. As you can see in the photos everything is new. I am working in France (Lyon) and I am here with my family. For me it is a bit hard to travel to London because of the location of my working place and I want to be sure that you are really interested in my offer. Regarding the meeting, I think we could plan an encounter when I can come to UK for the viewing. The property is fully furnished with all home utilities like: electric shower, vacuum cleaner, toaster, oven and microwave, dryer, iron, washing machine , refrigerator , dishwasher, heater, cable ready tv set and dvd player, internet connection, equipped kitchen.
I am waiting for your mail to know if you are satisfied with the details which I gave you, as well to make the necessary arrangements for the viewing. I will send you another mail with more photos, a map of the location and the contract after I will receive your reply. I am waiting for your response.

Joseph Chevalier
7 Avenue de la Doyenne
Lyon
France

I decided to do some research and after looking on google images, i found the apartment images on there.
The same flat was listed on Zoopla but for £890 by an estate agent about a month ago.

I tried to look at the ip addresses, it kept showing california but I then found another ip address coming from Germany.

This was the first time using Craigslist and im unsure of using it again.

I have just received this further email.
Previous email I just asked for location to the train station.

Hello,

I have attached a copy of the contract. This is not the final version because after the viewing we will discuss about possible corrections of the tenancy agreement. I have also attached some pictures of the flat, a map of the location, the floorplan and a copy of my passport. I work for BNP Paribas France and because of my special situation (being abroad) I need to be sure that you are a genuine interested tenant. I am willing to have you in my flat as long as you pay your rent but it is unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to view my property without any form of confirmation of their financial ability has brought great loss to me. Some potential tenants do not have the money to pay their rent and yet they disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing. Also some people do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in their place of work by their employers and I cannot afford to find myself in a similar position. Therefore my lawyer and I have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability before coming for the viewing. I am not asking you to send your bank statement and I definitely do not want to collect any money from you before the viewing.
This is what we can do:
You will make a money transfer to someone you know (it can be a family member) with name and address in UK using Western Union for 1 month rent and the deposit (that means 1000 pounds) and send me the scanned receipt (I will pay you back the transfer fees, do not worry). As soon as I receive the scanned receipt I will forward it to my lawyer to verify if it is truly genuine (note that my lawyer must confirm the transfer valid before the receiver picks up the money). After my lawyer verifies the authenticity of the transfer, I will book a flight for UK and I will meet with you. When we will meet I will bring all the documents and legal papers certifying my ownership of the flat and also the tenancy agreement which we will both sign after you will see the flat. You will pay me only after you will see the flat and after you will read and sign the contract.
So all you have to do is to find a Western Union office and wire 1000 pounds to a friend of yours and send me the scanned receipt. I am asking you this to be sure that I do not come in UK for nothing. I hope you can understand my situation.
Please understand that this money transfer by Western Union is not a payment for the flat, it will only prove to me that you are a serious and reliable person. I can come to London in 3-4 days after you make the transfer. I am waiting for your mail.


They have sent all the same photos again,floor plan, a copy of a passport,and a contract.
From the same email address.

I had used Eurooms service, it was hell!!!!
The contract wasn't a formal one and i couldn't find their company registration no.
I think they are illegal and not supposed to do such business.
Their office is a very small old store which you wouldn't imagine an agency can be poor like that.

Their rooms are hell!!!!!
They rent out public housing where the conditions are really bad.
I moved out through another agency, which was much better. It was a formal agency with a decent office in the city centre. They had formal contracts with registration no. shown.
The new room was exactly the same price as the old shitty room from Eurooms.

So, please do not trust Eurooms. You will regret.

Thanks for the help. Mariam Vincent is back again....and please see the additional emails. What is it this person is seeking?

Sender's Name: Mariam Vincent
Sender's E-Mail: [email protected]

Message: Hello,
How are you doing?Hope God is taking care of you and your family? I am Mariam by name from Manchester(UK) and i am coming for a Research in Virginia Commonwealth University By August so i need a place to stay. A little about me. I am 28 years old,i gentle, neat,respectful,i mind my own business, no smoking,no overnight guest,no party,i promise to keep the place neat as you ever wanted,my favorite colours are blue and white. I will love to rent from you and i will love to rent for one year but i may extend the rent later so tell me more about the place and i will also appreciate some pictures to the place.If there is any application that i will need to fill plz have it sent to me via email so i could print and bring it over with me when coming over cos i do not have access to fax machine.I will be happy to rent from you so get back to me as soon as possible.Do tell me the asking price per month and how do i secure it before coming over? Happy new day to you and your family.
Mariam

Next email


VINCENT MARIAM
Jul 30 (1 day ago)

to me
Hello,
Thanks very much for the mail, I will like to get the place secured before i come over and will be coming over by August 10th so let me know the term of lease. Hope to read from you soon.
cheers

Third email July 31 2013

VINCENT MARIAM
10:43 PM (23 hours ago)

to me
Hello,
Thanks for the mail, Let me have your name and postal address so that i will inform my dad to send the payment to you as soon as possible. Hope to read from you soon.
cheers

What's the scam. Free use of a room?

Quotations added (BW)

Welcome to Scamwarners markp63698,

This is an overpayment scam.

The scammer does not want to rent from you nor wants a free room. The scammer wants to steal your money. The scammer will send you a fake payment either by check, money order or Paypal. Then the scammer will direct you to pay a third party some of the money. He will come up with some reason why you must do this and he can't.