Room for Rent and other rental scams
by Michelle Thu Sep 09, 2010 12:00 pm
From: Finn Herskind < [email protected] >
Date: Wed, Sep 8, 2010 at 9:57 PM
Subject: Re:
To: Michelle


Hello

Thank you for showing interest in my apartment,the apartment consist
of the living room, 2 bedrooms, one with a double sized bed and one
with a smaller bed, the bathroom and toilet and a well furnished
living room. I live in London presently, I have a job here and moved
with my family last Summer. I have a 2 years contract with a very good
chance of an extension. I am in London presently and the keys to the
apartment is with me here so I will only be able to come to show you
round the apartment after seriousness has been established on your
path. The apartment is in a very conducive environment, there are lots
of cultural attractions in the area, shopping centers, restaurants and
public transportation is just around the corner. The whole apartment
cost EUR1000, if you do not wish to rent the whole apartment and would
prefer to share, there is an option for you to take one of the 2 rooms
and I will get someone else to occupy the other room.

DETAILS ABOUT MY APARTMENT..........

Address: 119 Via Sabelli, 00185, Rome, Italy

Nearest Bus / Trainway: 4 minutes walk from the apartment
The apartment comes equipped with telephone and ADSL internet connection.
Number of bedrooms:2
Number of bathrooms:2
Max number of people:5
Square Meters:65m.sq
Monthly rental price: 500euros per room inclusive of the all bills
1000euros Monthly for the whole apartment inclusive of all the bills
Security Deposit: 750euros


Overview

Apartment in the center of Rome, in via Sabelli few steps to the
Termini Train Station, the University of Rome 'La Sapienza', and the
city center.
The Apartment is very bright , tastefully furnished, sleeps 6, located
on the third floor (with lift) of a three floor building whit very
easy stairs, has a very characteristic view on the roofs of the
neighbourhood
Very well connected with the airport, Train Stations, metro, buses, and taxis.
Supermarket few meters from the apartment.
The 'San Lorenzo', neighbourhood is very carachteristic, particularly
famous for the nocturnal life with its big concentration of bars,
premises with live music and good restaurants, most appreciated from
students and artists.


Location & area

The 'San Lorenzo', neighbourhood is very carachteristic, particularly
famous for the nocturnal life with its big concentration of bars,
premises with live music and good restaurants, most appreciated from
students and artists.


The neighbourhood is also well connected to public means of transport
(busses and metro), close to all kind of shops, and in strategic
position for the city sightseeing on foot.

Address:
119 Via Sabelli, 00185, Rome, Italy
Accommodation located in:
near historical interest, near restaurants & bars, near shopping
area, old town, town!


Bathroom

* Yes Towels:
* Yes Bath:
* Yes Hair Drier:
* Yes Shower:

Extras

* DVD Player:
* Fax:
* Washing Machine:
* Work Desk:
* Bed Sheets:
* Cable/Satelite TV:
* Internet Broadband:
* Ironing Board:
* Library:
* Stereo/Radio System:
* Telephone:

Kitchen

* Microwave:
* Oven:
* American Kitchen:
* Fridge & Freezer:
* Crockery & Utensils:
* Dish Washer:

Living room

* Fireplace:
* Sofa Bed:
* Table & Chairs:

Outside


* Terrace:
* Parking:
* Pets Welcome:
* Barbecue:

* Sauna:
* Bathroom:
* Spa / Jacuzzi:
* Lift / Elevator:
* Swimming Pool:
* Disabled Facilities:

Rooms

* DVD/Music Collection:
* Air Conditioning:
* Ensuite Bathroom:
* Balcony:
* Safe:
* Central Heating:
* City View:
* Daily Cleaning:


MODE OF REGISTRATION.
A)Tenants will supply his/her details which will be forwarded to my
lawyer to prepare the contract documents.
B)Tenants will email a confirmation message to me to confirm that
he/she received the contract documents.
C)Tenants will print out the Contract Documents and then Sign it.
D)Tenants will pay the deposit payment via western union money
transfer,the receipt will be attached to the contract documents and
scan back to me for confirmation and proper documentations by my
Lawyer.
Please read through the email carefully and if you agree with the
terms of the email, I want you to provide me with the following
details so I can forward it to my lawyer so he can prepare the
contract documents. Please provide me with:

Name in Full..............
Address.................
Nationality.................
Date of move in and out.................
Phone number...................
Sex...................Male or Female.

You can call me on my mobile line anytime,for more details

+447011182938

Hope to read from you soon.

Regards,
Finn Herskind
+447011182938


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.
Advertisement

by liberate12 Sun Sep 19, 2010 8:08 am
Hi!

I was almost fooled by this guy. Thanks for the information.

Also, this James Thornhill sends the same message like Finn. His e-mail address is [email protected]

SGD2000 / 2br - **CHARMING AND WELL CLEAN 2BEDROOM APARTMENT FOR RENT/LEASE BY OWNER*

Thanks for the prompt response! Thats sound real good to hear that you're interested in my apartment,its okay by me if you only want just a room,i got no problem with that like i said in my previous email,i'll get someone to occupy the next room..My apartment is available for both long and short term lease,so i don't think thats a problem in anyway..It was really nice talking to you on phone despite the fact that we coulcnt talk long on phone..Hell no,you don't have to pay for anything agent fee than just the deposit and the fist month rent..Anyways,the next step is the mode of registration which i already draft below for you and do go through it carefully below:

MODE OF REGISTRATION
* Tenants will supply his/her details to prepare the contract documents.
* Tenants will email a confirmation message to me to confirm that he/she received the contract documents.
* Tenants will print out the Contract Documents and then Sign it.
* Tenants will pay the deposit payment via Regular Money Transfer(western union money transfer) to my Lawyer and the receipt will be attached to the contract documents and scan back to me for confirmation and proper documentations.


Please read through the email carefully and if you agree with the terms of the email, I want you to provide me with the following details so I can prepare the contract documents. Please provide me with below:

* Name in Full:
* Address:
* Nationality:
* Date of move in and out:
* Phone number:
* Sex:


Best Regards,
James
+1 (619) 906-7159

Actually he called me twice, and I saw that the country code he was using was +1. So I kinda trusted him at first. However, when I mentioned to him about my discovery about Finn, he did not reply to me anymore.
by Skylivedk Tue Sep 21, 2010 6:44 pm
Karl Kimble (+447031744532)
Vasile (+447045741111)
Smith Kingsley ( +447031744532)

All use exactly the same email. I found them on craigslist and I suspect they're the same scammer.

Thanks for keeping these warnings out here.
by Jillian Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:29 am
Welcome liberate12 and Skylivedk. I'm glad our information was usefult to you. Thanks for posting further information.

@Skylivedk, can you please post the email addresses and headers for the scammers using those names and numbers? Let us know if you have any questions. :D

Have you sent a payment to a scammer with Western Union and now realize it's a scam? If the payment has not been picked up, you can cancel it immediately! 1-800-448-1492

Follow ScamWarners on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ScamWarners
by jadewiland Wed Oct 20, 2010 6:00 am
Thank you for posting this!
My husband and I just encountered this same rental scammer, this time posing as William who is renting a flat in Brussels.
We thought it seemed fishy when he asked us to wire him the money, so we did a reverse look-up on his IP address (98.138.91.68) via <http://whatismyipaddress.com/blacklist-check> and it is blacklisted as a spam proxy-server IP address via <spam.dnsbl.sorbs.net>
I am glad you posted this information, because when we did a Google-search of the scammer's phone number listed as 619-906-7159, this thread popped-up, so we wanted to add to it, as well.
I hope that more people will also Google-search 619-906-7159 before "renting" from this scammer.
by Michelle Wed Oct 20, 2010 6:18 am
Hello and welcome to Scamwarners jadewiland

Thank you for posting this information.

Just to let you know - IP address 98.138.91.68 belongs to an internal server actually belonging to Yahoo!

You may be referencing the wrong number or, on some occasions, Yahoo does not show the actual IP of the sender substituting one of it's own. Reading from the bottom of the full/expanded hearers - the first one you see is normally the one that you are interested in.
by dcmaph Wed Dec 22, 2010 9:35 am
Unfortunatelly I found this site too late! Finn Herskind got from me yesterday 750€ via Western Union!

This Finn Herskind guy is certaily still going and seems to have apartments here there and everywhere. He's got an sdvert for an apartment in Charlottenburg Berlin, Germany with a very similar description to the ones above.He's a very professional guy even sending me pdf files with Tennancy agreements allegedly prepared by his lawer in the Uk. I having received a copy of this signed "legal" tenancy agreement prepared by "his lawer" and a photocopy of his passport sent him via Western Union 750€ the deposit he required. :(
Last night he contacted me requesting the first months rental payment of 800€ to be sent to him today, again via Wester Union. Luckily for me, I found this website before sending him another 800€.
Please be careful and don't fall into the same trap as I did. FINN HERSKIND is a CROOK!
Below I post the Emails correspondence thatI received from him...

Hello M,

Thank you for showing interest in my apartment,the apartment consist of the living room, 2 bedrooms, one with a double sized bed and one with a smaller bed, the bathroom and toilet and a well furnished living room. I live in London presently, I have a job here and moved with my family last Summer. I have a 2 years contract with a very good chance of an extension. I am in London presently and the keys to the apartment is with me here so I will only be able to come to show you round the apartment after seriousness has been established on your path. The apartment is in a very conducive environment, there are lots of cultural attractions in the area, shopping centers, restaurants and public transportation is just around the corner. The whole apartment cost EUR800, if you do not wish to rent the whole apartment and would prefer to share, there is an option for you to take one of the 2 rooms and I will get someone else to occupy the other room.

DETAILS ABOUT MY APARTMENT..........

Address: 25 Lohmeyerstrasse, 10587, Berlin, Germany

Nearest Bus / Trainway: 4 minutes walk from the apartment
The apartment comes equipped with telephone and ADSL internet connection.
Number of bedrooms:2
Number of bathrooms:2
Max number of people:5
Square Meters:65m.sq
Monthly rental price: Eur400 per room including all
bills Eur800 for the whole apartment including all bills..
Security Deposit: Eur750


Location & area

It is situated in Charlottenburg, a few mins. walk to the castle. There are many museums, restaurants, pubs, cafes along the main road.

It is situated in the center of Berlin, 3 mins. walk to Schloss Charlottenburg. The underground station Richard Wagner Platz is 3 mins. walk, and bus M45 travels all through the day and night. It is also close to the International Convention Center (ICC) and Kurfurstendamm, and all the other sights are easily reached.

Address:
25 Lohmeyerstrasse, 10587, Berlin, Germany



Bathroom

* Yes Towels:
* Yes Bath:
* Yes Hair Drier:
* Yes Shower:

Extras

* DVD Player:
* Fax:
* Washing Machine:
* Work Desk:
* Bed Sheets:
* Cable/Satelite TV:
* Internet Broadband:
* Ironing Board:
* Library:
* Stereo/Radio System:
* Telephone:

Kitchen

* Microwave:
* Oven:
* American Kitchen:
* Fridge & Freezer:
* Crockery & Utensils:
* Dish Washer:

Living room

* Fireplace:
* Sofa Bed:
* Table & Chairs:

Outside


* Terrace:
* Parking:
* Pets Welcome:
* Barbecue:

* Sauna:
* Bathroom:
* Spa / Jacuzzi:
* Lift / Elevator:
* Swimming Pool:
* Disabled Facilities:

Rooms

* DVD/Music Collection:
* Air Conditioning:
* Ensuite Bathroom:
* Balcony:
* Safe:
* Central Heating:
* City View:
* Daily Cleaning:


MODE OF REGISTRATION.
A)Tenants will supply his/her details which will be forwarded to my lawyer to prepare the contract documents.
B)Tenants will email a confirmation message to me to confirm that he/she received the contract documents.
C)Tenants will print out the Contract Documents and then Sign it.
D)Tenants will pay the deposit payment via western union money transfer,the receipt will be attached to the contract documents and scan back to me for confirmation and proper documentations by my Lawyer.
Please read through the email carefully and if you agree with the terms of the email, I want you to provide me with the following details so I can forward it to my lawyer so he can prepare the contract documents. Please provide me with:

Name in Full..............
Address.................
Nationality.................
Date of move in and out.................
Phone number...................
Sex...................Male or Female.

You can call me on my mobile line anytime,for more details

+447011182938

Hope to read from you soon.

Regards,
Finn Herskind
+447011182938
...............................................................................................................................

Dear M,

My lawyer have prepared the contract agreement for the property at (25 Lohmeyerstrasse, 10587, Berlin, Germany
)you are interested in renting from me. I have gone through the agreement and i have appended my signature so I am sending it to you now in this email so you can go through it and sign it where necessary.

You have to go through it properly and sign where necessary and send it back to me with the receipt of the payment for the security deposit of EUR750

I will act as trustee for the security deposit so I am including my details that you will need to make the payment for the refundable security
deposit via Western Union.

Here is my details to use for the western union transfer:

Name: Finn Herskind
Address: 38 Lensbury Way, London, SE2 9SY, United Kingdom

You are to get back to me with the following information.

SENDERS NAME:
SENDERS ADDRESS:
MTCN 10DIGIT NO:

I look forward to hear from you.

Finn Herskind.
..........................................................................................................................
Hello M,

This is to confirm the receipt of your email, The rental payments will be made into my British bank account that i will set up soon and i shall furnish you with the details when i have set up the account.

I will be in Berlin on the 9th of January 2011 to hand over the keys to you and also give you the bank account details where the monthly rent will be paid in by you.

I have attached a copy of my passport.

Do email me the western union transfer slip or the mtcn numbers and also the signed contracts on Monday morning so my lawyer can seal up the contract and you will move in on the 9th of January 2011.

Regards.
Finn Herskind.
.............................................................................................................................

Dear Mr M,

How are you doing today? I have received the payment of the security deposit and the signed contract today, so this is a confirmatory email for you to know I have received the security deposit and the signed contracts.

All that is left for you to do right now as stated in the contract is to make the payment for a month's rent which is 800 EUROS, I need a payment of a full month's rent from you for my Lawyer to be able to seal up the contract and a receipt of payment slips will be sent out to you as soon as the payment is received.

My Lawyer cannot issue you a receipt of the payment slip without receiving the payment for the first month of your occupancy, it is a necessary requirement before the receipt can be issued and my Lawyer need to seal up the contract as soon as possible.

I need you to make this payment as soon as possible so she can issue the receipt to both parties. i.e. You and me the Landlord.

You are to make the payment directly to me using the same details you used for making the payment for the security deposit.


Name: Finn Herskind
Address: 38 Lensbury Way, London, SE2 9SY, United Kingdom
Amount: 800 EUROS


You are to get back to me with the following information.

SENDERS NAME:
SENDERS ADDRESS:
MTCN 10DIGIT NO:

I hope you can take care of this as soon as possible so all arrangements can be finalized.

Yours sincerely,

Finn Herskind.
................................................................................................................................

Hello M,

I do not wish to disturb your schedule but I want to inform you that any step you can take to make sure the payment is sent out by today will be really appreciated.

I do not want us to have any problems with you moving into the apartment on the January 9th, 2011 , this might be a glitch that will affect your moving into the apartment so I do not want that to happen. So please Martin, I want you to try as much as possible to please get the money sent today so my lawyer can seal up the whole contract today and issue the receipts, I expect a positive response from you and I really hope this will be a successful arrangement as I do not want this to cause us all any problems

Please try to take care of this and I expect a positive response from you. Sorry for the inconvenience this might cause you, I really apologize.

I shall wait for the western union transfer details after you have made the transfers today.

Regards,
Mr Finn Herskind.


I have edited out what looks to be your real name. ~ Bubbles
by Bubbles Thu Dec 23, 2010 2:05 am
I am sorry to hear that you were scammed dcmaph. Yes some scammers are very prepared and their work looks very professional and accurate. This hurts honest people who are advertising something and those who are looking for something.

Scammers use money transfer services like Western Union because they cannot be traced. Hopefully your posting will help someone else to not be scammed. Thank you for posting this information here.

Bubbles, former Scamwarners moderator.

Rest in Peace 24 June 2015.

Gone, but never forgotten.

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