Rental Scammer - [email protected]

From: paul towler <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: 418 W Date St
To: Michelle Banks

Hello There,

I am happy to let you know that my apartment is presently available even for long and short term periods. I am Paul Towler, the owner of the apartment. I bought this apartment for my daughter during her studies in US, but now she's back home (London/United Kingdom) permanently, so I'm renting the place for unlimited time.

The flat is exactly like in the pictures . The utilities (cold/hot water, electricity, wireless broadband Internet, digital TV, 1 parking spot, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine, etc.) are INCLUDED in the price of $950 per month and the warranty is also $950 and you get it back, once you decide to leave the apartment (with a 30 days notice). As for me, you can rest assured that I will never ask you to leave the apartment. My daughter is building her live here, and i am too old to move to US, so we won't disturb you.

Before we go any further I would like to know a little something about you, like how many persons you intend to live in the apartment, and for how long.

All the best from London,

Paul Towler

This person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union, MoneyGram, pre-paid credit card or bank transfer with a promise that you can have the keys to a property that does not belong to him.

Sounds safe. It's not!

At other times, he will ask for proof that you are able to pay the deposit and rent due to a string of time wasters.
This proof is in the form of a Western Union or MoneyGram payment to a lawyer,a friend or family member.

In either case, if payment is made and you give this person the details, they will collect the money.
You will not hear from them again.

All the details such as names, addresses, pictures etc. that the scammer uses in order to back up his story, are stolen from elsewhere.

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 Craigslist, Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment 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.

According to my email;
Paul Towler <[email protected]> wrote:

Hello ,

Thanks for your interest in my apartment .
It's located at (604 George Street Sydney NSW 2000),Just steps from METRO .
The rent including all utilities for the whole apartment ( 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, 1 Garage space ) $ 1.200 per month also the security deposit is $ 1.200.

According to an authorized realtor, the apartment is in "first class condition" .Exactly like in the pictures.(Open kitc w/breakfst bar, private balcony, open floor plan, walk-in closets,lux bath) .A brand new front loading stacked washer and drier, equipped with recessed lighting, central air and heat .

This was my father's apartment who recently passed away so I know it has always been properly maintained. I moved out of town when I got married so I used to come back home occasionally. The very big distance, my kids and my job as a policeman , doesn't allow me to come there often , so i will like do this online,through Airbnb ,i believe you know Airbnb is the biggest site of rental in the world.

Let me know if you want to continue the deal so i will explain all .
Give me a email if you like to continue .

Thanks
Best Regards

------------------------

I have found this scammer, he would like me to transfer the money by Airbnb, please see below;

Hello again,

Here is the like to my apartment : http://www.airbnb.com.au/account/bookin ... F12%2F2016

Let me explain you again . You have to select a booking for two months (60 days ) in the right ,after selection 60 days pres Instant Booking .

After Instant Booking Complete your personal data and click book it .
After book it again .
And you will receive a instant invoice online .

After this follow the instruction on the invoice to make the payment .

Thanks
Best Regards

----------------

I already told rent.com.au to manage this user so they have deleted this ads.

I've unfortunately fell victim to this scammer, at the time I was suspicious that I had completed the booking via AirBnB and received a .pdf invoice from [email protected] but being a new user, I had innocently assumed that this was procedure and felt that it was secure to verify the booking using my credit card and a bank transfer. I had even gone to the bank to explain that I needed a larger daily limit just so I could complete my booking. I had found his Ad for 604 George Street, Sydney via Rent.com.au and also saw it on Sydney Craigslist. But on 1st December I noticed that the ad was removed on Rent.com.au so I was suspicious.

After reading all the terms and conditions, I felt secure that I can get a full refund from AirBnB if Paul Towler the owner did not turn up. I completed the booking and payment on 30 Nov and the bank transfer was deducted on 1st December.

As I've been working, I didn't bother emailing [email protected] until today 4th December to enquire why AirBnB hadn't confirmed my reservation yet. Needless to say he did not reply. I had already emailed [email protected] to inform them about this "host". But reading the previous posts on this scammer, I feel that I would have sadly lost my payment of $2400 (supposedly 1 month rent and 1 month rent as deposit).

I have realised my stupidity when I logged onto AirBnB app and checked 'My Trip' only to find nothing there and followed the link the AirBnB Resolutions Centre to find that 'I have no eligible reservations'. So it looks like I did not even book through the secure AirBnB platform in the first place.

I have all email correspondence, screenshots and still fuctioning links that Paul Towler sent to me which I will take to my bank. Although, I don't have much hope in getting my money back at all.

I simply want other people to avoid the same mistake as me. Don't pay an invoice sent by AirBnB as they said they would never ask for payment via email. It is all done online (which in my case, it was, but I had completed a bank transfer to AirBnB, which isn't the usual procedure I have since realised).

I've seen other people post the fake email addresses and here was mine: [email protected]

Http://Sydney.craiglist.com.au/reo/5334750298.html

Http://www.airbnb.com.au/account/bookin ... F12%2F2016

Welcome to Scamwarners,

I am sorry to hear that you fell victim to this scam.

Can you please forward the the email to me where the scammer asked you to send money to a bank account. I want his bank account information, so it can be reported.

My email address is in my link below. Remove the spaces.

Please also report the fraud to Action Fraud >> http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

This is one of the bank accounts the scammer is using.

Airbnb representative: Marian Dan Banu
Bank Name: Via Cellina 3, 33170 Pordenone, PN, Italie
Account Number: IT10I0760105138220386720396
IBAN: IT10I0760105138220386720396