Rental Scammer - [email protected]

Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:41:59 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Reply to your ad: Fully Furnished one bedroom with High End furnishings
To: Michelle

Hello,

Thanks you for your interest, the Apartment is still available and it has 1 bedroom and bathroom. I am looking for someone to live in it as soon as possible because i got a contract job recently in Nigeria and am yet to arrange my accomodation so as a result of this I want to rent out my apartment so as to get some money to balance out the apartment i want to rent out here.

I`m the owner of the apartment and it is furnished. The rent for 1 week is 75 pounds and this includes all utilities (water, electricity, heat, Internet, cable, parking, air conditioning, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator). You can move into the apartment when you receive the keys but the only problem is that am the only person who has the keys but i hope that we will reach a compromise on this.


Any further questions please contact and get back to me for the pics and address of the apartment. Thank you for your interest and i`m awaiting for your response.

Thanks.

Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:13:07 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE: Reply to your ad: Fully Furnished one bedroom with High End furnishings
To: Michelle

Thanks, i have attached the pics of the apartment to this mail and i will like you to provide me some details which are listed below so that i can use it to fill out the rental applicants form which will be included among the rental documents.

1)Your Full Name
2)Present Address(where you reside now) & Phone Number
3)How old are you?
4)Are you married?
5)How many people will be living in the apartment?
6)Do you have a pet?
7)Occupation?
8)How long are you staying

Belowis the address of the apartment and the apartment is fully furnished and all necessary appliance and utilities are in the apartment. If satisfied please get back to me so that we can proceed with the rental process.

Apartment address: 72-84 Lambs Conduit Street, WC1N 3LT
London, United Kingdom

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.