Room for Rent and other rental scams
by Michelle Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:13 am
[email protected] wrote
Hi,

I apologies for not replying you so fast,Just that i got busy with work after sending you the other email,The property is still available for rent,And in there are pictures of how the property looks like,But here are further elucidation about the property,The property is a building with beautiful surroundings,I so much believe it,s a property anybody will love to live in,Because it is kept very clean and well decorated in an attractive modern style,It is a property with a classic spacious living room,With master bedrooms which has an in built bathrooms and toilets,Including it,s standard kitchen, A kitchen every lady will love to make use of,My wife never wanted us to vacate the property due to the settings of the kitchen.It is a kitchen every lady will love to cook in,And the property has every necessary homely facilities you might be in need of,The property comprises of reception hallway, large bright lounge with a dining space,Also with luxury fully integrated kitchen, Seperated bedrooms, Both with fitted wardrobes master with en suite shower room with designer sanitary ware, Separate bathroom with over bath shower and utility cupboard. Gas central heating. Double glazing. Parking space.As well as you won,t have to worry about the location of the property,Because it is located in a preferable area,with very good transport link.

The Rent Bill............480 per month

Deposit .........500

Regards

John


Follow up mail

from John Amstrong < [email protected] >
to Michelle
date 29 March 2010
subject VIEWING....

There will be no problem viewing the property,I am always available any time after 4pm during the week days and any time during the week end,so just fix a precise date and time and let me know,But before then i will have to be sure of you been willing and ready to get the property and perhaps been capable of the rent bill,so i will need a proof before then.

Regards

John


Next mail:-

from John Amstrong < [email protected] >
to Michelle
date 29 March 2010
subject THE PROOF....

The property is available from now,And it is kept very clean,So you can move in straightaway if you want,But regarding the proof,What you have to provide is very simple,i am just in need of a confirmation proof,And these is due to some previous predicament that i have gone through in the past,Trying to rent the property to some student,I have got to realize so many people are not really in need of a property at the moment,All they do is secure a place in advance,My last experience in trying to rent the property to a particular lady,Got me to predicate on these,She made me believe she was willing and ready to get the property,She even went to the extend of showing me her statement of account,Which made me took her for the viewing,But after taking her for the viewing,She saw the property and got to love it and never wanted to loose it,So she kept pleading i retain it for her because she wasn't financially composed at the moment,Which i did because i did pity are situation,But it all ended up disastrously.

So basically for me to be sure of you been willing and ready to get the property i will implore you walk into any Western Union or Money Gram outlet and send the total bill to any of your friend or your partner via Western Union or Money Gram,or your partner should send it to you,All i need is for you to get back to me with a scan copy of the receipt issued to you after making the transaction so i can confirm it,And as soon as i can confirm these i will get back to you immediately and then your partner can go and withdraw the money back for you,then we can have a rendezvous to meet right immediately and view the property,I hope you understand,Well you can call me if you need me to explain better, 07024029908 ,Thanks.

Regards

John


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.
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by devillete Fri May 21, 2010 5:46 am
Hi all,
I was in contact with another scammer doing basically the same thing and now i seem to attract them! Good job i check everything first :laugh-s: I tried googling the name and email address and nothing so i'm guessing its a new one BUT I resorted to copying the entire first message and googled that, surprise surprise i found myself back here again!
They replied to an ad on Gumtree, they have been alerted.
First message:
Here's your message:


Hello,

I am James Butler,Offering a very clean property,Parking,Garden,Internet available.

Regards

James



Replied to the message with the address given and got this:
Hi,

I apologies for not replying you so fast,Just that i got busy with work after sending you the other email,The property is still available for rent,And in there are pictures of how the property looks like,But here are further elucidation about the property,The property is a building with beautiful surroundings,I so much believe it,s a property anybody will love to live in,Because it is kept very clean and well decorated in an attractive modern style,It is a property with a classic spacious living room,With master bedrooms which has an in built bathrooms and toilets,Including it,s standard kitchen, A kitchen every lady will love to make use of,My wife never wanted us to vacate the property due to the settings of the kitchen.It is a kitchen every lady will love to cook in,And the property has every necessary homely facilities you might be in need of,The property comprises of reception hallway, large bright lounge with a dining space,Also with luxury fully integrated kitchen, Separated bedrooms, Both with fitted wardrobes master with en suite shower room with designer sanitary ware, Separate bathroom with over bath shower and utility cupboard. Gas central heating. Double glazing.Private residents parking space.As well as you won,t have to worry about the location of the property,Because it is located in a preferable area,with very good transport link.

The Rent Bill............480 per month

Deposit .........500

Regards

James
(with pictures)


I knew it was dodgy but thought i'd ask where it was and if i could view (thought i'd waste a bit of their time!!)
Reply:
The property is situated in the area you made you post,Though,I don't know if you are changing your mind now regarding your location,But check on your gumtree ad and send me you gumtree reference number.



Email address used and name:
James Butler, [email protected]

Obviously slacking and not keeping track of who they are scamming! Hope this helps someone
Kate :beer:
p.s they have now asked for a money transfer to prove the rent (exactly as above by western union), also the number they are using at the moment is:
07024029908
by Con Warner Fri May 21, 2010 5:10 pm
Thanks again!
They don't keep track as there are loads of people just like yourself who are desperate to find a nice place to call home.

Keep posting the email addresses and the emails and we can help save more people from these scammers. :)

Email: [email protected]

Latest updates regarding Internet Fraud: http://www.antifraudnews.com
by veagle Mon Jun 14, 2010 1:44 pm
I have had the same scam carried out on me. I told him I was not prepared to do all the western union stuff just to view the house and he basically insisted I do it. He kept emailing saying it is really simple and he also asked for my phone number (to explain further) and home address (to find my local western union) -a ll part of it to take the money out of western union I expect. The email he used is: [email protected] and the phone number: 07024029908.
It makes me sick someone feels they can do this!
Vicky
by David Jansen Mon Jun 14, 2010 3:26 pm
Welcome here veagle.

I'm sorry you've been scammed. But as you can see you're not the only one fallen victim to scammers. They are pretty good at it, but we do our best to pester them. Thanks for posting the scammer's email address and phone number, which is a re-direct number.

Being a victim doesn't mean you stand alone. We're here to help you.
by imranhakeem Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:02 am
Thank you Vicky for posting the email address and the mobile number.

I am thankfull to the Western Union outlet staff, who advised me about this scam going on in UK.

After her advise, I wanted to confirm online, so searched with this williams canfield name and found your article.

The email address used by this person is [email protected] and mobile 07024029908.

I was also told the same things which was told to you.

The person is very smart in the last email he mentioned " I understand there are evil people out there taking advantage of tenant, But i will never been involve is such dishonorable act.I am a self sufficent person and a man of integrity."

In response I sent him the message:

Hi Williams,

Please read this article

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7495&p=30522#p30510

After this I did not receive any email from him.

Thank you very much once again for sharing this information.

--
Imran Hakeem
by Ralph Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:22 am
Hi Imran, welcome to Scamwarners.

I am glad you realised it was a scam before losing any money, well done also to the Western Union employee who told you.

Thank you for posting the additional information, it will help others avoid being scammed.

One thing that I must stress for anybody else reading along, it is never a good idea to show scammers any information that is posted on an antiscam site, by showing this scammer that his details are posted, he will change his details and become untracable for the next person who tried to find him.

Once you realise you have been communicating with a scammer or even as soon as you have any suspicions, do not reply, anything you tell a scammer may educate him further and make him a better scammer, ignoring them and making sure you do not reply at all are always going to be the best course of action.
by imranhakeem Sun Jun 20, 2010 1:07 pm
Thank you Ralph for this advise, I did not think of this.

I will never share this site information.

I again received an email from another fraud person Barry Johnson from email id [email protected] and mobile 07024069582

This is my contact number 07024069582 and Viewing my property is not a problem but you have to prove that you can afford the rent before you can view my property.I was discussing with my Solicitor about the idea on how i will be so sure that i will not just waste my time to arrange a viewing for you and He advised that we can work out something via Western Union Money Transfer.He said that Western Union Money Transfer can actually hold the money as an evidence, He gave me an option on what we can do since you have the funds at hand which will be explained below:

PROCEDURE:

1) Transfer the the amount £1,400 ((1 month rent and security deposit) to your friend in United Kingdom.
Your Name (as Sender) to your Friend (as Receiver) in United Kingdom .

2) Scan & Send a copy of the Western Union transaction receipt as a proof of the transaction or mail me the transaction details. (The money is safe as it is only your Friend that can pick the money Up .after My solicitor have confirm that the money is with the western union,I will arrange a Viewing for you

3) Then, we will meet for viewing.

4) If you decide to take the property, we will go to any local Western Union office close to my property and pick up the money and pay me. (You don't need to come with cash to view, after viewing we will go together, your friend will pick the money Up and then you can pay the rent to me.

5) Keys will be handed over to you after signing the contracts.

I am pretty sure that the transaction at Western Union office will require some charges, i will definitely refund the Western Union charges back to you upon viewing .

I only want to be sure that i am not going to waste my time this time around and i think with this condition, both of us can be sure we are not wasting our time.

Let me know if you are okay with this so that we can proceed. Thanks so much while i will be waiting to read from you and i am looking forward to meet you and be great friends eventually.

NB: PLS DO NOT MAKE PAYMENT TO ME OR IN MY NAME, WHAT I NEED IS JUST AN EVIDENCE THAT YOU HAVE THE CASH TO PAY ONCE YOU HAVE VIEWED.

Barry.
by Giggot Sun Jun 20, 2010 5:28 pm
I just got an email from a Barry Johnson after posting a wanted ad for a property to rent.
His email to me was...

I will tell you more about my property if you can get back to me on this email address [email protected] and Please tell me a bit about yourself.


Best regard's
Barry Johnson.

My Search on his name took me to this thread so I've now reported the guy to the website I had my ad on and I've ignored his email... then again, I might just play along for a bit just to waste his time then get his number off him and forward it on to every annoying tele sales company I can think of lol
by Ralph Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:38 pm
What has been done is done Imran, no point in being too concerned, the good news is that your information has helped somebody else already :)


Hi Giggot, welcome to Scamwarners.

I am glad you found Imran's post before losing any money, well done.

While we always like to have more information, it is best if you dont continue to communicate with this scammer, he ewill have some of your real information and may be able to find ways of harming you or your reputation. Remember, these are criminals and many of them are dangerous.

There are people who are trained in writing to scammers safely using completely anonymous information in order to waste their time and gather their information, if that sounds interesting take a look at www.419eater.com
by snoopy25 Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:41 am
I smelt a rat instantly with this person he also sent me the same phone number as if you are going to pay over a Grand for a property that you have only seen the pictures of.
These pictures are copied of a website of some poor person selling there home and he is using their information and pictures whilst commiting fraud!!!!
I thought it was suspicious when I emailed him my number and asked him to call me and he replied no!! not until I know your genuine as if I had to earn a courtesy call regarding a property I'd be renting of him!!!.


I Can sure call you, But i need to know if everything about my property is alright with you, There will be no problem viewing the property,I am always available any time after 4pm during the week days and any time during the week end,so just fix a precise date and time and let me know,But before then i will have to be sure of you been willing and ready to get the property and perhaps been capable of the rent bill,so i will need a proof before then.

INDIA DRIVE, INCHINNAN, RENFREW, PA4 9LE IS THE ADDRESS HE GAVE ME.

I CANT tell you what I did on here but put it this way I scammed the scammer never reply with abuse go quiet then get your own back at a later date.
:=)
by Ralph Fri Jul 16, 2010 12:22 am
Hi Snoopy, welcome to Scamwarners.

Thank you for sharing your story here, it all helps to raise awareness and prevent people from being scammed.

I must point out that we do not advise people to reply to scammers here, if a scammer has any of your real information, it can be dangerous to reply to them, remember, they are criminals and when they begin to make death threats it is not a nice feeling knowing that they could make good with their threats.

I have had my life threatened on several occasions by scammers, it comes with what I do here, I can laugh and wear those threats as a badge of honour knowing that at best the scammer may know which country I'm in.

Another common thing I hear is "Scam the Scammer" Scammers target those who are most vulnerable in mass, they heartlessly tell lies and offer false hope and friendship to those they seek to scam. Without remorse or conscience they have their victims send their only money to chase a dream that doesn't exist, the victims often are left unable to pay bills, owing money and sometime suicidal.

You did not "scam" the scammer, you inconvenienced him :wink:
by Ralph Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:40 am
Hi Snoopy, would you mind posting the email you received, it will be a big help in slowing down this scammer.
by snoopy25 Fri Jul 16, 2010 11:19 am
Ralph it's just the usual one.

1) Transfer the the amount £1,400 ((1 month rent and security deposit) to your friend in United Kingdom.
Your Name (as Sender) to your Friend (as Receiver) in United Kingdom .

2) Scan & Send a copy of the Western Union transaction receipt as a proof of the transaction or mail me the transaction details. (The money is safe as it is only your Friend that can pick the money Up .after My solicitor have confirm that the money is with the western union,I will arrange a Viewing for you

3) Then, we will meet for viewing.

4) If you decide to take the property, we will go to any local Western Union office close to my property and pick up the money and pay me. (You don't need to come with cash to view, after viewing we will go together, your friend will pick the money Up and then you can pay the rent to me.

5) Keys will be handed over to you after signing the contracts.

I am pretty sure that the transaction at Western Union office will require some charges, i will definitely refund the Western Union charges back to you upon viewing .

I only want to be sure that i am not going to waste my time this time around and i think with this condition, both of us can be sure we are not wasting our time.

Let me know if you are okay with this so that we can proceed. Thanks so much while i will be waiting to read from you and i am looking forward to meet you and be great friends eventually.

NB: PLS DO NOT MAKE PAYMENT TO ME OR IN MY NAME, WHAT I NEED IS JUST AN EVIDENCE THAT YOU HAVE THE CASH TO PAY ONCE YOU HAVE VIEWED.

:yikes:

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