Rental Scammer - [email protected]

Hey everybody!
Just found another scammer on Gumtree, again for a flat in Plymouth.
The email address: [email protected]
"Its" email:

Hello,
My flat is available and i am more than willing to have you in my flat until Christmas. Regarding to your question, the property is located in Greenbank, Plymouth Merthyr Tydfil PL4 8TP. Here are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit.

Rent : £ 75.00 pw
Security Deposit: £ 400.00 (Refundable at the end of your first week stay in my flat)
Utility bills inclusive (water, gas, council tax, electricity and broadband with Wi-Fi) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm

Kindly reply for further information.

I look forward to your reply soon.

Kind Regards
Mr/Mrs Watson
+44-702-401-7947

It´s the same as with "Lora Colins" and all the others!

Now with a change of telephone number:-

From: [email protected]
To: Michelle
Subject: RE: Reply to your ad: Refurbished and fully furnished flat in Liverpool. Easy access to City Centre
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2010 22:28:47 +0100

Hello,
Thanks for getting back to me. However, it was unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view my flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled, has brought about great loss to me. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work with M. Gould (Scunthorpe) Ltd.

Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Liverpool, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by their employers.

Henceforth my lawyer and i have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least 1 month rent and security deposit which is £ 400 which is refundable after your first week stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through Western union money transfer. You can make the transfer with your name as a sender name and your partner or friend in UK as the receiver.

Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your friend's custody, after verification, then we can proceed for the viewing.

Note that the transfer must be confirmed valid before the receiver picks up the money and also, i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet.

Kindly reply if you have more questions to ask.

I look forward to reading from you.

Kind Regards
Nessa Watson
+44-702-409-3928

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.

Change of telephone number

Kind Regards
Nessa Watson
+44-702-401-4830

Their trying it again but with a flat in Birmingham! What scum they are!

"Thanks for getting back to me. I am more than willing to have you in my flat. However, it was unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view my flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled, has brought about great loss to me. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work with M. Gould (Scunthorpe) Ltd.

Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Birmingham, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by their employers.

Henceforth my lawyer and i have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least the security deposit which is £ 200 which is refundable after your first week stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through Western union money transfer. You can make the transfer with your family member or partner's name as a sender name and your name as the receiver in Birmingham.

Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your custody, after verification, then we can proceed for the viewing on your arrival in Birmingham and there after, you would locate the Western union office and pick up the money to pay for the rent. Nevertheless, will refund to you the cost of transfer when we meet.

Kindly reply if you have more questions to ask.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards
Nessa"


"Hello ...,
Thanks for the interest you have in my flat. My flat is available and i am more than willing to have you in my flat beginning from 25th - 28th of November. Here are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit:

Rent : £ 75.00 pw (4 days: £ 45.00)
Security Deposit: £ 200.00 (Refundable at the end of your first week stay in my flat)
Utility bills inclusive (water, gas, council tax, electricity and broadband internet with Wi-Fi) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm

However, i would like to ask few questions from you, can you take care of my flat as it is? Do you have references in Birmingham?

Kindly reply for further information.

I look forward to your reply soon.

Kind Regards
Mr/Mrs Watson
+44-702-401-4830

NEW NAME!!!

Almost bought in until I googled the phone number "she" gave me and got this page. Thank you so much for this site, it saved me a lot of money and headache!!

This is the email i received.

Thanks for the interest you have in my flat. My flat is still available for rent and you can rent my flat as long as you pay your rent at when due. Here are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit.

Rent : £ 64.00 pw
Security Deposit: £ 400.00 (Returnable at the end of a week stay in my flat)
Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, electricity and broadband internet with Wi-Fi)
Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm

However, my flat is fully furnished in and out. At this stage that you want to rent my flat, i need to know few question about you. Can you take care of my flat as it is? How many months do you intend to rent and pay for? Do you have references in Oxford?


Kindly reply for further information and i would like to know where you are coming from to stay in my flat.


Regards
Rosalie Barrett

(after some correspondence)

Thanks for your reply. I don't know how you can't find the address closer to the University. I am willing to schedule a viewing with you without any deposit in order for you to confirm the location. I spoke with my lawyer concerning the whole procedure because i have been disappointed in so many ways in the past when it comes to viewing or reservation.

However, my lawyer asked me not to collect any money from you as long as you have not sign a contract neither have i taken you round my flat so he decided to make a confirmation of your financial ability before we proceed with the reservation.

Henceforth, my lawyer and i have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least 1 month rent of £256 and security deposit which is £ 400 which is refundable after a week stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through Western union money transfer agent. You can make the transfer with your family member or friend's name as a sender and your name as a receiver to an address in Oxford and you can as well use my flat address.

Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your custody, after verification, then we can proceed for the reservation and you can easily pick up the money at the nearest Western union outlet when you arrive to Oxford and also, i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet.

I look forward to reading from you soon.

Regards
Rosalie Barrett
+447031871731

_____

Some of the things written I noticed above word for word! I am SO glad i found this page!!

Again, beware of the name change!

Kind Regards
Mr/Mrs Watson
+44-702-401-4830

Hello,

I'm French. I have to relocate to London by mid-November to stay a whole year to work. I'm looking for a flatshare. I've posted an ad on Gumtree, EasyRoommate and SpareRoom.

Someone called Alice Watson replied to my Gumtree ad. She offered a double room near King's Cross (the area I'm interested in). Everything seemed fine (bills included, pictures of the flatshare, tenancy agreement, flat ownernship certificate...).

However, I was seized by doubt when she asked me to send the security deposit and rent in advance (£660) via Western Union. I told her I didn't want to use this service and would rather pay by cheque or by bank transfer. She replied she had a family business bank account and that it was undergoing some check process. To be true, I don't really understand what it is.

The tenancy agreement she sent me was issued by Myers, Fletcher & Gordon. I decided to call this very morning to check she was a real person. The AST mentioned her lawyer's name as Anita Bakers. The man who took my call told me there was no Anita Bakers working for them. They don't have any client named Alice Watson. I explained my story and he said I wasn't the first one to call them about this.

Please do not deal anything with this person. She is a fraud. This is a shame she tries to scam foreigners. I'm glad I haven't sent her anything.

Here is the rent offer of "Alice Watson" (or whatever her real name is):

I am pleased to offer furnished double bedroom in a flat share. However, the flat comprises of Kitchen fully furnished (washing machine, microwave, kettle, fridge, table, cutlery, plates)

Central heating
It's a really cosy flat
The location: Grays Inn Road, Bloomsbury, London WC1X 8TU

The room:

Bright room newly decorated, with wardrobe, drawers, desk, chair.
Wood floor it’s really warm in winter!
Double glazed, double bed, chest of drawers, computer desk.
New Flat TV 32” with more than 100 Channels.

The Price:

Room : (£440 pcm) all bills included, (electricity, gas, council tax, broadband internet)
Refundable security deposit: £400

Kindly reply for further information.

I look forward to your reply soon.

Kind Regards
Alice Watson
+44-702-401-4830
[email protected]

NEW NAME!!!

Almost bought in until I googled the phone number "she" gave me and got this page. Thank you so much for this site, it saved me a lot of money and headache!!

Yes, thank you for this web page. When I received the email asking me to pay via Western Union, I googled her name and number. It is very useful!