Rental Scammer - [email protected]

I made an account so I could contribute to this thread. The one about [email protected]. This scam is in Vancouver, Canada now. I found it on craigslist. The email that is being used is [email protected]. I used to be a landlord and my alarm bells went off when I received this email from "Ronald Kerra. It's the same as the [email protected] ones.

Hi there,

Thank you for your prompt response. If you are still interested I agree to rent it to you. I promise you that you will love the place. You seem to be a nice person and I can assure you we will not have any kind of problems.
At this moment I'm located in London, United Kingdom and obviously you will have to see the apartment before discussing further details because you cannot rent an apartment that you haven't seen. I am willing to send you the keys so you can visit it and see if it suits your needs.
The delivery for the keys (keys for the apartment and storage unit, key-card access for parking and apartment door.) and lease agreement (signed by me), will be made through a worldwide third party company called SmartNewHomes (http://www.smartnewhomes.com) to make sure that we can trust each other.
You will only have to deposit to SmartNewHomes the first month of rent from contract and damage deposit a total of 1300CAD. You don't need to open an account with SmartNewHomes because this transaction is a rental and the Landlord must open the transaction.

Here is the procedure explained :

1 - To start the process all I need is your full info(full name, shipping address and a cell phone number where you can be reached)
2 - I will go at SmartNewHomes to deposit the keys and the contract on your name as the intended receiver.
3 - SmartNewHomes will check the package to see if everything is in order and also the legal papers that will come along with the keys and proof of ownership with their Real Estate Professional Department in London. They will also confirm with the building management that I'm the legal owner of the apartment I'm renting to you.
4 - SmartNewHomes will send you a delivery notification to let you know they have the keys and the papers in their custody. They will also send you all the payment instructions to complete the rental transaction.
5 - At this point you will have to make a money deposit on the SmartNewHomes payments representative for the amount we agreed, the total amount you shall deposit for the first month of rent and damage deposit. The payment needs to be sent within 24 hours after you receive the transaction details or else they will charge me an additional fee.
6 - After you make the deposit you will have to send the payment details to SmartNewHomes.
7 - SmartNewHomes will verify the transfer and if everything is in order they will start the delivery through licensed shipping company such as DHL or UPS.The delivery will take 2-3 business days.
8 - After you receive the package, you will go and check the apartment and in 5 days (inspection time) you must contact SmartNewHomes to inform them if you keep the apt or not and if everything is in order you will instruct SmartNewHomes to send me the information about the money deposit and I will be able to receive the funds. If you don`t like the apartment the pamyent will be full refunded to you. SmartNewHomes can NOT release the funds without your approval. Also the inspection time of 5 days will start from the moment you will be at the building.
Using SmartNewHomes involves three parties: me as owner, you as a potential tenant and SmartNewHomes as a responsible third party authorized to handle this transaction. SmartNewHomes works the same way as the escrow account on which you place the deposit when you rent an apartment, except that instead of a bank, we use SmartNewHomes. Of course, nobody can take that money until you will sign the lease agreement.

You need to know everything about the process before we get this started. I think is right for both of us. If you have any other questions you can reach me any time at: 44 20 3290 5493 (if you are calling from Canada or United States you need to dial 011-44-20-3290 5493) or you can email me and I will respond ASAP.

Let me know if you have the funds available (1300CAD$) so we can move forward and e-mail me your full information I requested.

Thanks

Hope this helps some people. I had emailed him back about whether I could look at the apartment first. No response as of yet. Too good to be true but I'm curious as to what happens.