second room rent scam in utrecht

Hello all

my self and my girlfriend found another scammer on a website called http://www.maarktplaats.nl
this is our second time meeting a scammer.....Yay.......

So i hope once again we can help poeple to avoid scammers. t's a sad life with all the deseption and people who sleep at night knowing they took your money, i'm quite astounded on how much effort they go too while scamming

I follow a simple rule in mylife "If it's to good to be true, it probably is"

anyway bewary everyone and look for the warning signs and if your unsure Google It

well to the scam, below is emails back and forth without personal info but myself or my girlfriend

Hello,
****
My boyfriend and I are desperately seeking a room in Utrecht. Could you please send some more information and possibly photos. Or could we organise to come see it? My mobile number is **** or my boyfriend ****'s number is ****.

Thank you,
****

Hello ****,

I am extremely sorry for my late response to your mail. I have been very busy and never had time to check my mails until now. Thanks for your prompt response regarding my posted ad, let me take a little time to tell you something about myself, the room & its amenities, price and conditions to rent.

About myself
I am a professional (male) in my late 30's currently study and working, after work and this makes me return home late but can't stop having fun when its necessary. I am an accountant and thus work for a brooking firm and also as a consultant, so this makes me travel often which is the mere reason why i need to search good people as flatmates so i will be rest assured that my flat is in safe hands in my absence.

I got my first degree in London School of Economics, i worked in Paris as a senior accountant in a broking firm before i went to the Barcelona to take a 3 months course in public marketing and to learn the spanish cultures and languages. Did my internship with JP Morgan in New York in 2007 which gave me an opportunity to visit the united states for the first time before returning back to Utrecht to start my masters and work aswell then i have been here ever since...what a traveller i am....lol

Flat Amenities:
A small fridge in each room
A big freezer in the kitchen
Each room has a big wardrobe
TV connected to a cable
A surround sound system
Private toilet and bathroom for each room
Washer/dryer for laundry needs
Air-condition and fire place to keep the room warm
Gas cooker and micro wave oven available in the kitchen

Price:
I have two rooms for rent. Each room is for 350e, monthly utilities charges of 50e and a security deposit of 600e
Therefore:
Rent per month......... 400e
per week..................... 120e
Security deposit........ 600e

NB: The security deposit is refundable upon verification of the room which you rented to be in good order. Both payment is to be made once to my family lawyer or mother.

There is contract available for weekly, month to month and long term basis but if you want a long term rent, i will prefer an initial 1-3 months rent which is renewable 2weeks prior to the rent expiration.

Utilities included in the rent:
Water
Gas
Electricity bill
Laundry
Parking space
Internet via wireless lan
Trash pick up

Why i am renting:
I live in a 3 bedroom flat like i told you but the 2 rooms vacant which i am offering for rent is because my previous flatmates are through with there activities and work here and has gone back to there respective states.So, i need people who are fun to be with, people whom we could share times and moments together,not just minding your business or going into your room after the day....but you can always have your private time and affair if you so wish and desire.

Immediately i confirm your interest and knowing some things about you,I shall send to you the current pictures of your room and my flat in general with the kitchen and other pictures aswell before we proceed with the necessary details to prepare the tenement contract necessary for your move in.

Regards
Pask

Hello Dan,

It all sounds wonderful! please do forward more information and photos. Also I'd like to suggest we could meet up? perhaps see the house in person and meet you, that way we will know if we get along

I like that the contract is variable. We too are keen travellers, in the past six months we have stayed in London, Wales (rhyl) and a long stint in Edinburgh Scotland. So we dont want to lock into a year long contract or anything incase we again move in a few months time.

We are both social and like to sit with perhaps a glass of wine and enjoy conversation and company of others. At the moment we both work at Albert Heijn while looking into better jobs. I am a qualified dance teacher and my boyfriend a chef (very good when you want a nice meal).

Also I'd like to set your mind at ease that we don't bicker like many couples no matter their age. We have the maturity to talk over any disagreements so you'll never hear us yelling at each other or anything of the sort.

Anyway, don't want to ramble. Will look forward to hearing from you with more information and perhaps a time and day that would suit you to meet (work permitting for all parties involved).

Thanks,
**** and ****

Hi ****,
I am so glad reading back from you knowing we shall soon finish the renting protocols with me affirm you as my flatmate.

Rent amount
However the rent again per month is 350 euro + utilities of 50 euro = 400 euro is to be paid just once at the beginning of every month so you do not have to pay any more fee and a security deposit 600 euro which is refundable at the end of your stay in the room. Total amount to pay = 1000 euro

Address
My house is located at Ina Boudier Bakkerlaan, 16 Utrecht 3582VA .

Location
My house is located in the city centre, close to the University, sex museum, rail and bus stations. Like you know its located in the part of the city that linked to many parts and close to the restaurants, supermarkets.
You can search my house using google maps at http://maps.google.com/ and put in my address to get the exact location.

To prepare the contract, please get back to me with the requested details below:

Terms
1. You need to read and understand the tenement agreement form that will guarantee you that the room has been reserve for you.

2. The first month rent + security deposit has to be paid into the account of our family lawyer by direct account transfer or to my mother via moneygram upon confirmation of agreement.

Contract Preparation
For the contract to be prepared, I will like you to send me the following details:

- Your full name
- Your move in & move out dates
- Current address where you shall recieve your original copies of the documents and receipt.
- A scanned copy of your identity for verification of identity as i will send you mine aswell together with the contract documents to your email
- How much deposit can you afford to make

You can stop searching for flatmate as i think we shall make perfect flatmate. As i told you the flat was inherited from my dad, he bought it and renovated it to his taste, so its a family flat and we need someone who is ready to maintain the beauty. It takes approximately 48hrs for the original copies be delivered to your home address together with the receipt of confirmation using either tnt, dhl or fedex which you shall bring along with you when coming.

Thanks for your soonest response as i wait to read back from you with the above requested details for the contract preparation.

You can add my yahoo messenger to your hotmail or yahoo messenger so we can chat and conclude on whatever we decide.

Pask


Hey Dan,

I must admit my unease about paying bond and rent when I've not so much as seen the house nor met you. I'd rather hand over the money personally and also pick up documents while meeting you, this would make me more comfortable and also speed up the process by taking out the delivery service. I propose we meet for a coffee or something of the sort so that we can view the house, meet you and we can tell you more about ourselves and vice versa face to face. The internet is just so impersonal.

Thanks,
****



My being in the UK made me offered to send you a copy of my ID to know i am for real.
---------------------------------------------
this last email really gave it away, all the emails were perfect, lots and lots of info, punctual, neat they also weren’t personal to me besides the name at the beginning. But this last email was short and no name, It’s just a quick email back once we raised concern of whether it was legitimate

You are absolutely correct in thinking this was another scam.

thus work for a brooking firm and also as a consultant

One can reasonably expect an accountant to know the correct term for the place he works. I don't know about UK English, but in the US (where he was supposedly an intern) it is called a brokerage firm. There are several other mistakes that a US and UK educated man would not be making.

Did he actually give you a bank account number for a transfer? That bank account number could be reported so that it can be monitored or closed (though often scammers start with multiple payment options, and then at the last minute there's only one option--either moneygram or WU.)

Although I am sure it is frustrating that your search has been marred by these scammers, at least you are beginning to recognize the signs and are learning to protect your personal information and avoid being scammed.

The Brokerage misspelling was the first sign to me. I too thought "surely a man of such education would know how to spell?" What we posted is all the interaction between us. We didn't go so far as to get bank details, being fed up with scammers I/we won't waste time on them once we pick up on them.

To clear any confusion both of us in the couple use this account haha so dont be confused by the change it writing style, spelling and stance (e.g my boyfriend or my girlfriend).

I think the most frustrating thing about the scammers to me is that it finally seems we have found a place (we have been looking for a very long time to no avail) and then two or three emails later it is obvious that we havn't. Any suggestions on how to find non-scam infected websites for finding houses/rooms to rent?

Siren