Room for Rent Scammer - [email protected]

]On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 2:57 PM, Terry N. < [email protected] > wrote:

I'm the owner of the apartment you are making inquiry for, Short term and long term are both available. I'm currently in Wisconsin and that's why the apt is vacant for $700, the refundable security deposit is $500, the rent includes Heat, Hydro, Water, Cable, Internet, Parking. Here is the add of the unit 208 West 23rd street #1508, New York, NY. I'm not in town presently to show you the apartment but I want you to maintain the apartment and treat it like your own if you are willing to rent it.

If you're interested, the pictures and application form will be sent to you.

Answer these questions below:

1) Full Name:

Phone number:

2) Present Address (where you reside now):

3) Reason for Leaving:

4) Date of birth:

5) Are you married:

6) Do you have a pet:

7) Do you have a car (parking space available):

8) Occupation:

9) Occupancy desired date:

10) Landlord Reference:



Send the filled form back to me via email.

Terry

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.

Removed.

Welcome Katie,

I'm glad you were able to avoid being scammed.

What you are doing (leading the scammer on) is called scambaiting, and it can be a very useful tool for getting information on scammers (and frustrating them). However, we always recommend them doing this safely, which means not using your real information. There is more information on baiting safely on our sister site dedicated to scambaiting, www.419eater.com

We also ask that you not tell a scammer that you found his/her name and/or email address on an anti-scam site, or point out any of his mistakes. When you do this, the scammer will simply change his name and/or email address, fix those mistakes and continue to scam. The problem is, the next potential victim who comes along will see a slightly more plausible approach, and he/she will google the new information, and won't find anything because the new information has not been reported yet.

Thank you for the information regarding posting. I've removed the post. For the record, I did not provide any personal information about myself in the thread. It was all made up. However, it makes perfect sense not to mention the scamwarners, or any other website, in communication with a scammer. Thank you for pointing that out, and I'll know for next time.

Regards,

"Katie"