Room for Rent Scammer - [email protected]

>>> Michelle Brehn < [email protected] > 3/2/2010 >>>


Thanks for the reply and the sincere interest you have in my flat. I spoke with my lawyer on phone just now concerning your stay in my flat and we both agreed to have you in my flat as long as you'll take good care of my flat as how it is. However, it is unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view or reserve my flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled, has brought about great loss to me. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work with M. Gould (Scunthorpe) Ltd.

Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Sheffield, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by their employers.

Henceforth, my lawyer and i have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least 1 month rent and security deposit which is £ 400 which is refundable after your 1 month stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through Western union money transfer agent. You can make the transfer with your name as a sender name and your partner or friend in UK premises as a receiver.

Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your friend's custody, after verification, then we can proceed for the viewing and you can as well tell your friend or partner to pick up the money and also, i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet.

I look forward to reading from you soon.+447024066593

Regards
Mr/Mrs Brehn

The thief will tell you that you can rent his accommodation only if you can prove that you have genuine interest. He will ask you send money by wire transfer (normally Western Union) to yourself or a member of the family to show that you have sufficient finances and that you are not a "time waster".

Another variation of this scam is that you need to send (by Western Union) money in order that the keys and other documents can be couriered to you

He will ask you to send him the transfer details.

Make no mistake ! Western Union Transfers can be picked up virtually anywhere in the world and with the minimum of identification. They are almost impossible to trace once the money has been collected. You will never get to see the accommodation or your money again.

If you are reading this because you are looking for property to rent, and you are in contact with this thief you are probably searching Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment by Western Union before viewing, then it will also be a scam. Please forward the mail to me at the address in my signature line and I will investigate and list them if necessary.

Thanks for that. I have just received that very email word for word (accept for the place name obviously) I had my suspicions when they were asking for my details but what also concerned me is at 10:30pm they say that they have contacted their lawyer. And also I asked questions which were never answered. So glad that I read this first!

Also glad i read the above comments.As someone who has never tried to be 'scammed' before i was surprised how quickly I knew this woman was a fraud. Anyway when I questioned her methods of trying to arrange a viewing she replied:

"Thanks for getting back to me. I wouldn't want you to get me wrong, the idea of making a confirmation of your financial ability is not only my idea, my lawyer and i decided to use that process and i can't violate my lawyer procedure. I am a God fearing woman and i am not after your money. I have my own work and i earn enough money for my family and also to help the less privileged.

However, i didn't want to collect any money from you as long as you have not sign a contract neither have i taken you round my flat. All what i request of you is to transfer the deposit to someone close to you through Western union money transfer agent, once you've done that, you get back to me with a scan copy of the transfer receipt so that i can forward it to my lawyer to confirm if the transfer is valid.

After the confirmation might have been made by my lawyer, i will ask you to tell you friend to pick up the money and schedule a convenient day for the viewing. If eventually you don't want to proceed with the rent, i promise to return the cost of the transfer without any deduction.


I look forward to reading from you soon.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Brehn

I won't repeat the email she recieved back from me.

All what i request of you is to transfer the deposit to someone close to you through Western union money transfer agent, once you've done that, you get back to me with a scan copy of the transfer receipt so that i can forward it to my lawyer to confirm if the transfer is valid.

After they see the receipt they can pick up the money. Clever lad. Luckily, not clever enough.

Updated to reflect a new telephone number

From: Michelle Brehn [mailto: [email protected] ]
Sent: 19 April 2010 17:35
To: Michelle
Subject: RE: Reply to your ad: An absolutely stunning One Double Bedroom Flat for Rent In Bournemouth City Centre - Bills Inclusive



Thanks for the reply and the sincere interest you have in my flat. I spoke with my lawyer on phone just now concerning your stay in my flat and we both agreed to have you in my flat as long as you'll take good care of my flat as how it is. However, it is unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view or reserve my flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled, has brought about great loss to me. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work with M. Gould (Scunthorpe) Ltd.

Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Bournemouth, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by their employers.

Henceforth, my lawyer and i have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least 1 month rent and security deposit which is £ 400 which is refundable after your 1 month stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through Western union money transfer agent. You can make the transfer with your name as a sender name and your partner or friend in UK premises as a receiver.

Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your friend's custody, after verification, then we can proceed for the viewing and you can as well tell your friend or partner to pick up the money and also, i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet.

I look forward to reading from you soon.+447024018949

Regards
Mr/Mrs Brehn

Hi,

I just received an email from this person after replying to an add on gumtree. It did not ask me for money, but I'm guessing that would come in a later email. What made me react was the fact that the flat seemed too good to be true, so I googled her email address and was immediately directed here.

Below is a copy of the email. There were pictures also, but not uploading them now;


Thanks for the interest you have in my flat. My flat is still available for rent and i can make a reservation for the said period. Here are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit.

Rent : £ 85.00 pw
Security Deposit: £ 400.00 (Returnable at the end of a month stay in my flat)
Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm

However, my flat is fully furnished in and out with all necessary house use. At this stage that you want to rent my flat, i need to know some few question about you. Can you take care of my flat as it is? How many months do you intend to rent and pay for? Do you have references in Bournemouth?

Kindly reply for further information and i would like to know where you are coming from to stay in my flat.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Brehn

Hi Kim, welcome to Scamwarners

I am glad you realised it's a scam before losing any money, well done

Thank you for posting the extra details, it will help others who are targeted by this scam, if you have any questions please ask

Thanks Ralph,

I've also posted about two other replies I got today. Seems everything on gumtree is fake.

One was from

[email protected] ,

this was a person/email address already registered here. The other one was from an email I hadn't seen before;

[email protected]

I posted the information on both on the belonging threads.

Really hope this site will help prevent people from being scammed!

Thanks for a great site,

Kim

Thanks Kim, Not everything on Gumtree is fake however lots are, not taking sides but other auction sites have their share of problems as well

Thank you for posting about your experience, it will certainly help others to avoid being scammed

Hi All,

Thanks for taking time to create this post.
I found this scammer's ad on gumtree and started mailing with her(?) but it looked too good so I googled her name and found this site.

Here is her most recent post on gumtree:

Stunning and Fully Furnished One Double Bedroom Flat For Rent In Hammersmith Road, West Kensington

An opportunity to rent this well presented newly furnished one bedroom apartment located on the ground floor of this modern gated development. The apartment comprises a spacious reception room, kitchen, bedroom with fitted wardrobes and bathroom. The apartment also benefits from porterage and 24 hours security. Available immediately with underground carpark.



# Excellent condition

# Close to tube

# Allocated Parking

# Single garage

# Off street parking

And an e-mail she sent me when I requested more info:

Thanks for the interest you have in my flat. My flat is still available for rent and you can rent my flat as long as you pay your rent at when due. Here are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit.

Rent : £ 180.00 pw
Security Deposit: £ 400.00 (Returnable at the end of a month stay in my flat)
Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm

However, my flat is fully furnished in and out with all necessary house use. At this stage that you want to rent my flat, i need to know some few question about you. Can you take care of my flat as it is? How many months do you intend to rent and pay for? Do you have references in London?

Kindly reply for further information and i would like to know where you are coming from to stay in my flat.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Brehn

Cheers,
toon

Hi Toon, welcome to Scamwarners

I am glad to hear you managed to avoid being scammed, well done

Thank you also for adding this additional information that will help others avoid being scammed as well.

Please be careful, there are many more escammers out there and they are not all as easy to catch out, if you ever have the slightest doubt do some searching or come back and ask

Here is her response to my queries.

Thanks for the reply and the sincere interest you have in my flat. I spoke with my lawyer on phone concerning your stay in my flat and we both agreed to have you in my flat as long as you'll take good care of my flat as how it is. However, it is unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view or reserve my flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled, has brought about great loss to me. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work with M. Gould (Scunthorpe) Ltd.

Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Nottingham, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by their employers.

Henceforth, my lawyer and i have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least 1 month rent and security deposit which is £ 400 which is refundable after your 1 month stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through Western union money transfer agent. You can make the transfer with your name as a sender name and your partner or friend in UK premises as a receiver.

Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your friend's custody, after verification, then we can proceed for the viewing and you can as well tell your friend or partner to pick up the money and also, i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet.

I look forward to reading from you soon.+447024033861

Regards
Mr/Mrs Brehn

Hi Ted, welcome to Scamwarners.

Thanks for posting this email, the more information we have the better.

As you are probably aware, The scammer wants you to send money to a friend and for you to give him the details. What most people are not aware of is that Western Union payments can be picked up by anybody from anywhere in the world so long as they have the appropriate details, those details required happen to be the same details they will ask for to prove that the money was sent.

As soon as anybody mentions Western Union you should always view the transaction with suspicion

[email protected]

She is now masquerading as a Mrs. Grant. I saw this on a different accommodation search site. Sounded familiar so sent her/him a message. This was the response.

These are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit.

Rent : £ 80.00 per week
Security Deposit: £ 400.00(Returnable after 2 weeks stay in my flat) Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm

However, my flat is fully furnished in and out with all necessary house use with secure parking place. At this stage that you want to rent my flat, i need to know some few question about you. Can you take care of my flat as it is? How many months do you intend to rent and pay for? Do you have references in Nottingham?

Kindly reply for further information and i would like to know where you are coming from to stay in my flat.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Grant

e-mail address now added to avoid confusion - (it's on the next page) - Michelle

Hello ted

Please can you post the e-mail address associated the mail from Mr/Mrs Grant.

There are many scammers that use this particular form of words and making as many details as possible available to the internet search engines will help other people find your post here.