Room for Rent Scammer - [email protected]

On 16 Aug 2010, at 23:48, Ralph Smith < [email protected] > wrote:

Thank you for Inquiring, My flat is still available for rent.
It is a fully furnished flat with internet connection, parking space for 2 cars,central heating, laundry and satellite.Pets are allowed.Bath and shower...Walk in wardrobes, sound proof, double glazed, 24hrs security system etc.
Here are the fees :rent and security deposit.
Rent : £ 170.00 Per Week 680 per month...
Minimum Stay : 2 weeks Security Deposit: £ 400.00 (Returned at the end of a week stay in my flat) Utility bills and Council Tax inclusive in the rent.
Address : Above Bar Street, Southampton, United Kingdom SO14 7FF...
It is available for short and long term rent...
Where are you coming from? When do you want to move in? and when are you free for viewing? It is available from today and you can move in asap.
I just need some one who is responsible, neat and that is capable of taking care of my flat because that was where i lived before i got transferred to work and live in Ireland and i have been given a new fully furnished home here, i think that is why the price may look cheap! I furnished the flat to my taste..
Regards...

From: Ralph Smith <[email protected]>
Date: 17 August 2010 10:17:03 GMT+01:00
To: Michelle
Subject: Re: Reply to your ad:

Okay sounds good! i will need your name, address, email address, contact number for my solicitor to draft a contract for you asap today.. Get back to me asap..
Regards

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.

< [email protected] > wrote:
Viewing can be possible asap but it is unfortunate that my past bitter experience of booking viewing for tenants without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled has made me loss time and money for traveling as I work and Live in Ireland.
I need to be sure that you can afford to rent the flat before i can come from Ireland to come and show you my flat, you need to transfer at least £800 to your friend, partner family member or anyone around you and scan the transfer receipt to me as proof that you have the money to rent my flat and that you are really interested...
I wouldn't want you to get me wrong! i have not asked you to make ant transfer to me prior to viewing, you just have to transfer the money to anyone you know and trust within the UK and scan the receipt to me as proof that you have the money to rent the place....

Transfer should be made via western union only so that the status of the transfer can be tracked online..I will fully refund all the
transfer charges procured in the transfer to you when we meet..
Regards..

thanks for this - he just emailed me tonight - offering the same deal - even though i would never wire money via western transfer - it's good to read this as it saved much time wasting. Now I just need to go through the other 6 responses and work out whether they are scams as well!

This guy tried to scam me. Okay here is what happened:

He posted something on Gumtree about a Flat. And it had beautiful photos. Then he mentioned in the ad that its all inclusive and that it includes the bills too and it is just for £680 a month. Then I sent a reply to his ad asking for more details. After I did that, I realized that he immediately pulled his ad off of gumtree. He replied from the email address ([email protected]) and he said:

"Thank you for Inquiring, My flat is still available for rent.
It is a fully furnished flat with internet connection, parking space for 2 cars,central heating, laundry and satellite.Pets are allowed.Bath and shower...Walk in wardrobes, sound proof, double glazed, 24hrs security system etc.
Here are the fees :rent and security deposit.
Rent : £ 170.00 Per Week 680 per month...
Minimum Stay : 2 weeks Security Deposit: £ 400.00 (Returned at the end of a week stay in my flat) Utility bills and Council Tax inclusive in the rent.
Address : Upper North St Brighton, Brighton and Hove BN1 3, UK....
It is available for short and long term rent...
Where are you coming from? When do you want to move in? and when are you free for viewing? It is available from today and you can move in asap.
I just need some one who is responsible, neat and that is capable of taking care of my flat because that was where i lived before i got transferred to work and live in Ireland and i have been given a new fully furnished home here, i think that is why the price may look cheap! I furnished the flat to my taste..
Regards..."


Then I sent him an email asking for more information and then he said:

"I like your info and i can arrange a viewing anytime with you but you need to proof your financial ability before we can proceed with the viewing...All rooms are en suit master bedrooms..
You need to proof your financial ability before viewing! I just want to be sure of your capability to rent the flat before viewing, i will be coming from Belfast Ireland to take you round the flat. I will be glad to have you as my new tenant..Attached are some photos...
Regards"

I sent him another email because I was confused why the flat was so cheap and why the photos looked suspicious and from two different flats. He then replied:

"Its the same flat! 2 different rooms...The bedroom 1 used to be our roomand the second is our daughters room...The whole flat is for 680 gbp per month...You can view it..
Regards"

And I got VERY suspicious so I started searching for his email address and I found this website. I think we need to report this guy to the police. They will be able to track him from his email address. Do not trust Gumtree at all. People like this are everywhere. BE AWARE.

Welcome to Scamwarners.

You need to proof your financial ability before viewing!

By sending money by Western Union to someone you know and sending a scanned copy of the receipt to the scammer. Something that sounds reasonable if you don't know how insecure Western Union can be.

I think we need to report this guy to the police. They will be able to track him from his email address. Do not trust Gumtree at all.

As you haven't lost any money, the police won't be interested. And if you had, there's little they would do. They don't have the resources to try and track down an anonymous scammer working from a West African Internet cafe.

Hello

I'm currently in contact with this "Ralph Smith". Obviously I received exactly the same emails as you about the wonderful "Clean and luxury 2 bedroom apartment for rent central Southampton" but now he wants a £1000 transfer. In all emails he insisted on the fact that I have to wait for him to confirm the status of the transfer before I pick the money up from Western Union. My boyfriend went to Western Union in Paris to have more details about that kind of transfer, and the guy working there told him to be careful as many people have already been swindled in such situations, especially within the UK. So I wrote to Ralph Smith again and this is what he replied:

I am honest, you are not the first person to do this to me as proof, it has to be available for pick up while you give me the receipt so that we can track the status online......You can blank the secret question and answers on the receipt...
I just need the senders name, receivers name and 10 digit MTCN number to track it before you pick the money up..Only the receiver with ID and the secret question and answers can pick the money up from western union...Tell you boyfriend to place a secret question and answer on the transfer which will be known to only you and him...
Regards

And like 10 minutes after, I received an other email from him:

This western union receipt was sent to me by someone who viewed the flat last two weeks and want to move in December but i need someone to move in asap...You are not the first person to do this as i am a man of God....You can blank your address, secret question and answer on the receipt for your safety reasons..

Basically he sent to me the 2 Western Union receipts from a certain Ami. She did the transfer on 19 August 2010. As I didn't trust him, I typed his email address on Google and I found this forum. I also found Ami's facebook, and on 20 August she wrote on her wall "being scammed and a trip to the police station, not the day i expected :/".

Hello Javootte and welcome to Scamwarners.

Thank you for sharing your story,

This clearly demonstrates that Western Union and MoneyGram transactions are intended only for transactions between yourself and people you know and trust and that the transaction details should never be disclosed to a third party.

Despite what a scammer might tell you, Western Union and MoneyGram Transfers can be picked up virtually anywhere in the world and with a minimum of identification, or even none at all. They are almost impossible to trace once the money has been collected.

If you still have copies of the Western Union forms that you have mentioned, will you forward them to the address in my signature line together with a link to Ami's Facebook profile.