Rent scam Amsterdam craigslist

Hi chefG, thanks for posting. This is yet another website of a rental scammer gang I'm following up on, I think this will be the 70th site of them in less than a year. I will make sure it gets closed down soon. It will be gone in a few days . Thanks alot for reporting!

Hi all. Just wondering what you all think about this rental, I am looking for something for a month. It seems like a good deal, rent from the owner (I guess), and they don't want any payment until arrival, which is ideal. The only things I am wondering about are that a) it seems too good to be true, and b) they seem to have a lot of availability for it to be such a good deal. There aren't the normal warning signs of having to prepay, or the generic websites like you mention on here, but I imagine there are other things that can go wrong. I'd like to believe there are decent people willing to rent short-term at affordable prices. Thanks for your perspective.

Craigslist ad - http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/2202071793.html

The owner sent me this page after I emailed him. - http://apartmentinamsterdam.weebly.com/

Welcome to ScamWarners mtampa. You seem to have good instincts.

This does sound too good to be true. The page he sent you has this note at the bottom:

Create a free website with Weebly

It also has a contact email address as: [email protected] Is the email address the response came from?

Have you tried to check the headers to see where the email was sent from?

It seems odd to me that the address is not given and the pictures from Craig's List are exactly what is on the website, minus the scenic city pictures and the picture of the frog in the chair.

I did some checking and the rent is ridiculously low from normal rent especially for a furnished apartment. One legitimate site indicates a range of € 140 to € 280 per night for a furnished apartment in that area.

The more I have looked, the more I believe this is a scam. I am confident that this person will come up with some reason you need to pay they by Western Union or by wire transfer.

Don't wast your time and energy, I encourage you to use a reputable rental agency to find what you are looking for.

Thank you for your response. Yes, the email address is the same one I received the response from. As far as the website, and email for that matter, if a place were being rented directly by the owner it seems reasonable to me they might just use a basic webpage service, though I agree there isn't much specific info. If an advance deposit were ever asked for, I would end the discussion right there, but the person that emailed me assured me there would be no payments until arrival. If I had the specific address, is there some place I could look into that?

Lastly, I definitely appreciate the help, but whenever I read message boards on this subject, someone always suggests to just use a reputable agency, but I think that misses the point completely. Not saying you are not right, but I am trying to find something for a month that is more affordable than hotels. Even at the low end of the range you give, EUR 140, I could find a decent hotel at that rate. If I am looking at places for around EUR1000, give or take, does it make sense that I could afford the EUR 3000 - 4000 prices, or more, that reputable services often ask for? I don't need anything fancy, with weekly cleaning service, and luxury furnishings, just something reasonably comfortable with a kitchen(ette). So, I don't want to seem like I am arguing with you, experts elsewhere say the same, it just seems like an easy suggestion that doesn't take into account the situation of the person asking. It isn't really a waste of my time and energy, as finding something in my price range is the only way I can go.

And before anyone says it, I've been to Amsterdam before, and know that I can afford living in the city for that period of time, as long as I can find accomodations that work. Maybe it's just a dream, but I still want to think there are people with an open apartment that are just looking to offset their costs, rather than turn a profit. Not saying that this is necessarily that place, but that's why I ask. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your response mtampa. I was only responding to to your question

Just wondering what you all think about this rental

.

I wish you luck in your quest to be a resident of Amsterdam for a month. It sounds like you have your plans well in hand. I hope it works out well for you.

Sure, here's my original reply and their latest response...
----


from Fei-Fei
to info <[email protected]>
date Sat, Oct 9, 2010 at 9:58 AM
subject Re: 19 oct Fei-Fei (affittuario n° 5378795)
mailed-by
hide details 9:58 AM (6 hours ago)

Hello Lu,

The first link you showed me might be suitable. Can you tell me if there is a refridgerator, shower and heating in the unit?
What is required to proceed if I do decide to book this unit?

Many thanks!

Fei-Fei



from info <[email protected]>
to Fei-Fei
cc [email protected]
date Sat, Oct 9, 2010 at 10:51 AM
subject RE: 19 oct Fei-Fei (affittuario n° 5378795)
mailed-by yourhostingaccount.com
hide details 10:51 AM (5 hours ago)

Hi,

all the apartments are complete and therefore the question to your 3 answer is yes to all of them.

We require the 10% advance payment if you like to book it and the rest will be paid cash at the arrival. There are no extra cost.

Please let us know if you like to reserve and in order to avoid confusion, please confirm that the apartment at the link below is the one you like to reserve.
http://tucadam.com/case/dbcase.php?casa ... amb&lan=en

We will them provide all the information to complete the booking.

Regards
Lu

Just an update! All is good. My friend found another place in the end, but I did meet with the guy renting this place so it turned out to be ok. The apartment in Leliegracth on the first floor was available at that time (at the moment is rented to someone else, and we do not propose it anymore) and the one on the second floor was indeed going to be sold in January (and it is no longer on the site).

in case anyone was wondering...

Def have a chat and get to know the person if possible!

Hello everyone,
I am new to this site but have read all of the warnings about rental scams. Has anyone heard of this site before? http://www.holidayworldapartment.com/ The website seemed decent, but the price is nearly too good to be true. Any feedback would be appreciated!

Welcome here Traveller53.

That website is 100% scam! The site is registerred last week, and there is a +4470 redirect number on the website for contact. These redirect numbers can connect your call to the scammer's phone wherever in the world he is. They are very popular with scammers.
Thanks for posting this website.

Hi Traveller53,

As David said, this one is definately fake. I've reported over 50 of their websites in the past. This one will not be different. It should be offline soon. Stay away from them!

offline now ; -)

nice work.

Sure, here's my original reply and their latest response...
...
Lu

Just an update! All is good. My friend found another place in the end, but I did meet with the guy renting this place so it turned out to be ok. The apartment in Leliegracth on the first floor was available at that time (at the moment is rented to someone else, and we do not propose it anymore) and the one on the second floor was indeed going to be sold in January (and it is no longer on the site).

in case anyone was wondering...

Def have a chat and get to know the person if possible!

I've found an ad on holidaylettings.co.uk, when contacting owner I received an answer from this tucadam.com website, refering to the ads on tucadam.com. Prices are low (from €35/person and night), however it's a large flat to share.

Would you trust it ?

E-mail headers:

Received: from authsmtp01.yourhostingaccount.com ([10.1.18.1])
by impout03.yourhostingaccount.com with NO UCE
id oFS31g00401P85W0000000; Thu, 26 May 2011 11:26:03 -0400
X-EN-OrigOutIP: 10.1.18.1
X-EN-IMPSID: oFS31g00401P85W0000000
Received: from [77.209.210.224] (helo=lucio)
by authsmtp01.yourhostingaccount.com with esmtpa (Exim)
id 1QPcRh-0000UL-Ns; Thu, 26 May 2011 11:26:02 -0400
From: info <[email protected]>
To: XXX@XXX
Cc: [email protected]
References: <[email protected]>
In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook 12.0
Thread-Index: Acwbt+OyBjwIx7ZcTHyY6PHpLozkKAAAPhWQ
Content-Language: en-gb
X-EN-UserInfo: 9b283fcd933aed5df96b13e83137b6ed:cb7d059b67f15087fae0b1bb3160425c
X-EN-AuthUser: [email protected]
Sender: info <[email protected]>
X-EN-OrigIP: 77.209.210.224
X-EN-OrigHost: unknown

and whois tucadam.com

Domain Name: TUCADAM.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS INC.
Whois Server: whois.tucows.com
Referral URL: http://domainhelp.opensrs.net
Name Server: NS1.FATCOW.COM
Name Server: NS2.FATCOW.COM
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 29-apr-2011
Creation Date: 14-may-2009
Expiration Date: 14-may-2012
Registrant:
Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0120675904
96 Mowat Ave
Toronto, ON M6K 3M1
CA

Domain name: TUCADAM.COM


Administrative Contact:
Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0120675904, [email protected]
96 Mowat Ave
Toronto, ON M6K 3M1
CA
+1.4165385457
Technical Contact:
Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0120675904, [email protected]
96 Mowat Ave
Toronto, ON M6K 3M1
CA
+1.4165385457


Registration Service Provider:
FatCow, [email protected]
888-278-9780



Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
Record last updated on 29-Apr-2011.
Record expires on 14-May-2012.
Record created on 14-May-2009.

Registrar Domain Name Help Center:
http://tucowsdomains.com

Domain servers in listed order:
NS2.FATCOW.COM
NS1.FATCOW.COM


Domain status: clientTransferProhibited
clientUpdateProhibited

Don't quite know how to read the whois, is Toronto their supposed location?


I changed the coding so this is more friendly. ~Bubbles

Welcome to ScamWarners joce . The IP for the email address resolves to Spain.

It is interesting that you were referred to another site. Have you checked the prices of other units in the area this unit is in? On the site, they say they want 10% deposit payable by credit card of check. The site has been up for two years.

You don't say where the apartment is located you are trying to rent. It is good to compare prices with other sites. If it looks too good to be true, it is most likely a scam.

I would be cautious with giving more than my name and an email address

Hi everyone,

Thank God I found this thread before renting out in Amsterdam!

However, now I'm worried about finding a short stay apartment over there. Would you guys have any good sites? Or know someone or place that I can rent for a month?

I've tried Craiglist but obviously all of then asked me half through Western Union so obviously it's a big no!

Thanks in advance!

Mauranne

[AlanJones]

We cannot give advice on good sites to use, we just highlight the scams.

You should also be wary of anyone contacting you off the back of your post telling you that they can assist you.

Hi Alan,

Thanks for your quick reply. Sorry I didn't know you could not give advice! Well I found a reddit thread talking about the same topic, I'll have look to the websites advised there and if I see anything weary I'll make sure to post them here!

Thanks,
Maurannne