NEW Appartment SCAM NAME from Geneva!!!

hi i also got in contact with Christina Maria Pichler for a flat in munich.
This time its located in: Heßstraße 57 80798 München Maxvorstadt.

like others i got this:

Hi,thanks for your response..So the apartment is a fully furnished and
well equipped one.It has the the following:TV with 30 channels
Freeview, DVD player, radio, video recorder. In addition to the costs
are included electricity, cooking gas and hot water washing and
heating. DSL Internet and telephone.All the bills are included in the
rent

The apartment is located in Heßstraße 57 80798 München Maxvorstadt
nearby there are great shopping facilities ranging from small
shop to the shopping center.Its close to the University too.The apartment has
a bedroom attached bath and toilet. And its free at the moment as
there is no one there and the keys are with me,so i can send the pics
for you in the next
mail for you to see then decide if you will be renting it or not
because i wont be available for the viewing because of my work abroad,so the
flat is 400euro with refundable deposit of 600euro.

We can chat on gtalk or skype if you have any of it send it to me pls

after talking in gtalk i got this:

Hello,
thanks for the details of the contract.... so you will have to
read it carefully before you sign it in case you have any
question....,so if you are ok with it then you can sign it and then go
ahead with the transfer of the payment by western union....all you
need to do is to located a western union around you,go there with my
name and address with the payment then you will be given a receipt in
which you will attached to the contract and send it to my
email......so below are the details you will need at the western union
office.....

Name: Christina Maria Pichler
Address: Bramall Lane, 323 Sheffield South Yorkshire S2 4RQ United Kingdom

Make sure you get back to me with the senders name, senders address,
exact amount sent and the 10 digits MTCN. You can also send me a
scanned copy of the western union receipt. I will email you the
tracking number for the shipment as soon as it is sent. Once i receive
the payment confirmation from you, i will go ahead with the shipment
as soon as possible. .And note that the western union will charge you
for the transfer charges so you can deduct that from the payment and
transfer the rest as i will be responsible for the transfer charges

I await your email soonest.

Regards,
Christina.

I just googled her name and find this board here...thank you guys for the info.

email is: [email protected]

Welcome to ScamWarners grillkaese, we are pleased you found us and pleased you posted this information for others to find.

Hello,

thanks to all of you, I was checking an ad on Craigslist for an apartment to rent in Paris, and has serious doubts when I received the "tenant's" answer...

The ad is there :
http://paris.fr.craigslist.fr/roo/2715019870.html

The ad content :

EUR400 1 br apartment available for rent at the center of Paris (Paris)

Date : 2011-11-22, 5:46AM CET
Répondre à : [email protected] [Erreurs lorsque vous répondez aux annonces?]

I have a fully furnished room apartment for rent...

it is well furnished and it is well decorated with alot of facilities.
* Large living room and dining room
* Brand new kitchen and bathroom with separate shower.
* All new kitchen appliances
* High speed and Wi Fi internet.
* TV, VHS and DVD player
* Parking space

If you are interested please contact me for further information.

Regards,
Carmen

The person who answered me is Carmen KellyAnert - [email protected]
Here is email content :

Hello
Thanks for the mail, i am so happy to let you know that the apartment is still very much available for rent.Here are some important information about the apartment. The apartment cost 400euro per month including all bills such as,washing machine, water, electricity, gas,internet e.t.c plus 500euro for security deposit payment which is refundable while packing without any lost or damage of my properties.The apartment is located at 50 Rue de Rivoli 75004 Paris, France. and it just about 1.2km distance to its metro station,the apartment spacious is about 80sqm and a room is about 30sqm, restaurant and public transport all around and it's 8mins walking distance to the supermarket, so it's located in a very nice and safe area in France.
Attached are some pics of how my apartment looks like. Kindly let me know if you will be interested in renting my apartment so that we can proceed further.
You can simply reach me on +447045717849 or +447045780295 or +447045782952 for further discussion on the apartment.
Best regards,
Carmen

If you know a little about Paris, when you see the address, the square meters and the price, you *know* there is something wrong ! So I just googled one of the phone number, and landed on this forum !
Big thanks to all of you, and I hope my post will also help people not to be scammed !

N.

Welcome to ScamWarners HeyNick. Yes, that is a scam. Phone numbers with 4470 are redirect numbers which allow the receiver to appear to be some place they are not. Yes, the ridiculously low rent for the location is another give away that it is a scam.

Hello there, I'm so glad I found this website.
I believe I've almost been totally scammed by this particular Apartment scam...
I live in Bangkok, Thailand and thought that I found a great deal on an apartment on Craigslist.

Well, turns out the deal is too good to be true...This scammer asked me for my personal info:

Full Name
Date of Birth
Work
Address
Passport ID

I answered the questions and replied back with an email...For some reason, I felt that things were a bit "off" and decided to look into it. Sure enough, it was a scam!

Now, I didn't send any money or financial information, but I did give my Birthdate, Full Name and Work Address but, I think because I wasn't completely trusting in the first place...I gave a fake passport number, or well not exactly my "real" one.

Should I be worried about any of this info being used fraudulently by this particular scammer? I'm hoping that because I stopped short of giving my 'real' passport id number that I averted a total identity rip off...

Any info or advice would be very much appreciated!

Wow, this has really opened my eyes on how careful you need to be online!

Many thanks and best regards,
Mike

Welcome to ScamWarners neonbangkok

The good news is that what you have given him is of no financial value.
It takes a lot more than that to steal someone's identity enough to make money and that's all a rental scammer wants, your money.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Thanks a lot Con...Whew! I will definitely sleep much better now.
Such a vicious thing these guys try and do...I feel bad for whoever get's duped by them.

Again...a big thanks...

Mikey

I m so glad I google this name ...

Here are the email we have exchanged. i got suspicious because of the many grammar mistake in his letter and the phone number he wrote down on his email are not connected or real numbers. I tried to call.

Anyway here s a lit of the email we exchanged

Thanks for your response to my aprtment,i am so sorry i will not be available in Thailand for now as i am presently in uk working but all you need to do is to go straight to the address i sent you and view the apartment but i want you to have it in mind that you will not have full access into the apartment as it is locked and i am here with the keys. Thats why i sent you those pictures so that you can see how the apartment looks like.


then


Thanks so much for your prompt response,that is my phone number, i guess it maybe network problem.i dont have skype.it available as for now on you will be living in my apartment without sharing it with anybody take a look for you from outside but i want you to have it in mind that he wont gain full access into the inside because is looked and am here with the keys,my apartment is at the first floor of the building and it is available for short term and long term basis because am going to be here for 1 years and i dont want my apartment to be dusty when coming back in the next 1 years,that is the main reason why am renting out my apartment.But all you need to do is to go straight to the address i sent you and view the apartment but i want you to have it in mind that you will not have full access into the apartment as it is locked and i am here with the keys.

But before any reservation,Can you tell me little about yourself,Anything you think you want me to know about you.

where are you from and also where are you presently?
what is your experience in renting an apartment?
Have you ever rent an apartment before?
Did you smoke?
Did you have pet?
did you take drugs?
did you have car?
Are you going to stay alone?
Are you paying the rent yourself?
What are you doing for living?
How old are you?
What is your gender?
Phone number?
Mobile Number?


then the violin lol

Thanks so much for your prompt response,I will be willing to rent out my apartment to you,i want you to please do take very good care of my apartment for me in my absence.

Here is little about myself,Am John Kellywhales i was born in England,my father is from England why my mother is from Thailand,Am 53 years old widow with 2 daughter and they are also here with me in United Kingdom,am nice faithful loyal honest caring open minded, i respect people a lot and i do love to meet new people, i travel a lot and i love an outgoing, i do smoke but i dont drink acholoh.

Two year ago i Inherite the apartment from my late mother who is from Thailand because am the only one for my mum and also am here working for my company in United Kingdom and there is no way i could come to take good care of the apartment myself thats why i am looking for a reliable tenant who is going to take good care of this apartment for me in my absense because i dont want it to be dusty.

For you to get the place reserved we will both sign a rental agreement contract which will be prepared by my lawyer then i will post the keys of the apartment and the payment receipt to you via DHL express (1 days delivery ) after your deposit payment which is your first month rent and the security deposit has been confirmed.

Do get back to me with the below informations so that we can proceed further:

Your full name:
Your full address:
Nationality:
Passport id:
Phone number:
Date of birth:
Move in date and out:


Unfortunately I have given my information incl. passport numbers and address... but I am sure glad I didint get to waste 1000 $ IN DEPOSITE AND RENT!!!

We just avoided the same scam, this time in Frankfurt. The posting appears on Just Landed at the following site: http://housing.justlanded.com/en/German ... -Frankfurt.

The scammer used the name Paul Grinder, and the phone number +447011173785. Hopefully this will help other people also avoid this particular trap.

This appartment scam is also going on for Zurich - email address of "[email protected]"
emails are exactly the same as those shown from "john kelly whales"

luckily I googled and got to your site to warn me. I did think the price was way too good to be true.

Hi Just want to let people know I'm in contact with the same scammer using the same story...doctor from the London with son. He is using the website rent.ie in Ireland. Very suspicious with reply email

Hello

Thank you for your reply but the thing is that I'm in United Kingdom already. Like I have inform you before, the price you must pay on the first month of rent will be 600 eur + 600 eur security deposit ( 1200 eur ), with no extra fees . I must have one month rent + security deposit from you. The money, I want to receive it monthly to my bank account, so I hope it will be no problem for you to wire the money to my bank account. The apartment is ready for you, you will need only to receive the keys and the contract to check it, and see if you like it. Obviously we need a way to complete this deal, that will allow us to make sure we receive what we are after. So i have found a way for us to complete the deal safely and fast, and in this way you will receive the Keys in less than 2 days, if you move fast as well . The solution is provided by a rental company called Trulia Real Estate which is similar to FedEx or UPS , Escrow ... etc, which will handle both payment and delivery of the keys. I have found a procedure that will allow you receive the keys of it and through this way you will see it and decide if you will stay in the apt or not before I receive my payment. To start this transaction, I need your full name, address and telephone number. I will also need to know the rental period and the day you want to move in so I can put it in the contract. I will pay for the services of the agency, so there will be no costs for you. Also, in case you have another apartment right now, and you cannot move out immediately, we can make the deal as I explained it now, and consider it only an inspection and reservation.

I look forward to hear from you soon .

Just to warn people s/he is using the email address now of [email protected] and is using the name Annie Cranford.

Hope this helps people avoid this scam.
Thanks

Welcome to ScamWarners aodonnell25, and thank you for posting this information. It will help someone and that is what keeps our site fresh. I am glad you didn't get scammed.

I note you bring up Trulia Real Estate. Scammer says UK.
The UK link is http://www.aboutus.org/Trulia.co.uk

offers a searchable database for locating real estate. Edit this microsummary

http://www.trulia.com/about is an agents search engine. Estate agents place advertising to the engine. This one is the USA link. It dos not sell houses or rent out property all it dos is advertise. It does not do courier services or deal with money. Email addresses of the fake company are useful so we can shut a fake website down and stop people being scammed. If you have these please incude mail headers.

Hi Scamwarners!
So I’m already in Geneva and have a place to stay, but I wouldn’t mind moving. I found an apartment on Glocals that, frankly, sounds too good to be true, but no harm in sending an email. The email used is [email protected]; a quick google doesn’t bring anything up but…
Anyway, here’s the first email:

Apartment plan
The apartment is a 1 bedroom apartment located on the first floor of the building with its own personal entrance.For this reason,you can register at the address.Its has a bedroom which is 18sqm.The total sq m of the apartment is 50sqm.There is a bathroom in the bedroom and a small closet.The front door of the apartment leads to the sitting room which its total size is 20sqm.The kitchen and dinning is located on one end of the apartment while the bedroom and the laundry is located on the other end.The living room separates them.
Utilities
There is a 32inches LCD TV in the living room,the TV is cabled.In the bedroom,there is a side bed lamp and a very comfortable foam.There is a washing machine in the laundry room and an ironing bench.The kitchen is equipped with basic things needed like fridge,oven,dish washer,electric kettle and etc.You are welcome to bring other things needed by you.The apartment is already furnished as well.
Payment
The apartment rental cost is 750chf(non negotiable),which includes all cost such as water,gas,and electricity.The deposit is 750chf(negotiable)Please understand that the apartment deposit will be returned on moving out of the apartment.Its just for security
Rental condition and length of rental
A working person or student are okay to contact.Very responsible and of good background.The apartment will be rented out via a legal rental agreement contract.It is available for a long time
Apartment address
9, rue Richemont 1202 Genève Pâquis

And some pics.
I kept going, tried to arrange a viewing date. I get this:

Viewing of this apartment is possible but i would like to discuss somethings with you before the viewing.This is for the fact that i have to come down there and view the apartment together with you.For this reason,i have to be sure you the kind of person i am willing to rent my apartment to.Could you tell me a little bit of your background? What you do for a living and the kind of relationship you keep with your surroundings. If you were to be the person renting an apartment out,what would you expect from the person renting it from you?.I really don't have much experience renting out apartment because this is the first time am renting out the apartment.This apartment was giving to me some weeks ago because i am the next of kin to my brother.The apartment belonged to my brother before he had an accident which caused his death.I decided to rent out this apartment because it is of no use to me as i live in England, Birmingham to be precise.I work as a private investigator here and i am comfortable with what i do.One more thing i need you to do for me as well is this,i want you to go to the area where this apartment is located and take a good look at it.I am saying this in order to make everything in place so all that is going to remain when i come is just seeing the inside of the apartment and signing the agreement contract.I wouldn't want a situation where by you will tell me you like the inside of the apartment but don't like the surroundings.Please write me back tomorrow or when you have checked the area where this apartment is situated,am sure by then i would already know the day i will be able to come down there for the meeting.I hope am little bit clear of my self and you could return my main and tell me about you too.

So the obvious warning signs are there; lives in England, fanciful story, etc. But what’s unique is that there’s no talk about money transfer, or leaving the keys with someone else; instead he claims he’ll arrange to come into the country. So could it be possible that he’s the exception that proves the rule, or has anyone else run into similar scams like this?
Thanks!

Welcome to Scamwarners BrooksCracktackle.

It sounds highly suspicious and I regret that part of this scam involves a preamble designed to make his pretend concerns about you take precedence, and impatient to get the deal done. Then, when he comes up with the method of making payment, you'll be less questioning and just keen to get it dealt with.

On a second read I'd say it's definitely a scam as he's giving you fanciful detail about death and being a private investigator that only happens in the mind of scammers located in Africa.