Rental Scammer - [email protected]

From: Sarah Brown <[email protected]>
To: Michelle Bank
Subject: Re: Rent. 580 Hay st, Perth

Hi Michelle
We can start with a 6 or 12 month lease, that we can renew it after that,if you wish.The apartment it's available right now, so you can move straight after your inspection.
It's $250 per week for the apartment, the rent included all utilities,Gas/Electricity/Dishwasher/Telephone/Cable/Internet/Car Park.
You should pay first 1 month rent + BOND (1000) so the total amount will be $2000.
In the following lines I will try to explain the procedure.You will have to send me your details (your full name and address) so I can fill out the lease agreement and start the transaction.
I will pay for a 3 days delivery so you will receive the Keys and the contract signed by me right away.
I will send you the signed lease agreement and the apartment keys through Airborne Express.They will send you a notification that they have received the keys and the lease. Next you will have to send the 1st month payment and the bond to the Airborne Express account through bank wire transfer.You will have to send the deposit information(a photocopy of the transfer receipt) to Airborne Express.
You will receive the keys and the lease from Airborne Express.You will checkout the apartment and if you like it you release the payment to me.If you don't like it you return the keys and the unsigned lease to the Airborne Express agent and they will refund the cash you deposited.
I think that this way we are both safe.I will pay for all the Airborne Express expenses and you will pay for all the bank wire transfer charges.I am hoping that this is ok with you and we can close the deal.
Best regards,
Sarah

This person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union, MoneyGram, pre-paid credit card or bank transfer with a promise that you can have the keys to a property that does not belong to him.

Sounds safe. It's not!

At other times, he will ask for proof that you are able to pay the deposit and rent due to a string of time wasters.
This proof is in the form of a Western Union, MoneyGram or Bank payment to a lawyer,a friend or family member.

In either case, if payment is made and you give this person the details, they will collect the money.
You will not hear from them again.

All the details such as names, addresses, pictures etc. that the scammer uses in order to back up his story, are stolen from elsewhere.

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 Craigslist, Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment 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.

From: Sarah Brown [mailto:[email protected]]

To: me
Subject: Re: 22-24 Jane Bell Lane Melbourne

Hello xxxxxxxxxxxxxx,

Thanks for taking the time to look at my apartment.

My name is Sarah Brown, I'm 43 years old and I'm the owner of the apartment located at: 2309/22-24 Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000.I lived in this beautiful apartment for over 1 year and loved every day of it, until last month when I received a promotion and needed to move to Athens, Greece.

The apartment is in the best conditions, it is newly furnished and equipped with all the dependencies, central air and heat, the apartment come with two parking spots,a storage unit where you can deposit my furniture (if you don't like it and you want to use your own furniture),there is also a linen closet, washer and drier.The rent of the apartment is $300 p/w including all utilities(water,electricity, Internet,cable, parking,air conditioning, garbage).Also the apartment is near the public transportation and other facilities.There are no problems if you have pets, as long as you clean up after them.

My contract here, in Athens, expires in June 2020, so I can rent you the apartment for max. 4 years and minimum 3 months.
Because I had to move to Athens so soon, I didn't had the time to find a trustworthy agent,so I had to take the apartment keys with me. I had a really bad experience with the renting agents from the area, with my previous home. I can't come to show you the apartment and I don't have any friends in the area to send the keys. I found an alternate solution in order to close the transaction safe for the both of us, it is an shipping company called Airborne Express (I will arrange for a 3 days delivery),they will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the Keys and Lease Agreement.With this procedure you will be able to check the apartment before I receive the payment.

I really want to find a good and responsible tenant for it, and I hope that you can send me some personal information about yourself.
If you are interested in renting my apartment please reply back and i will send you all the details about how Airborne Express works, step by step.

Looking forward to your reply,

Best wishes,

Sarah

Welcome to Scamwarners,

Make sure you can physically go inside any rental and view it. Also make sure you meet the landlord face to face.

I'd also like to add, in case anyone searches it, that I got that email by sending my enquiry to:

[email protected]

But yes, that response to me sent up all kinds of red flags, which is why I searched it, and found this thread.

Thank you.

All the details you post will help others if they search for the information.

I'm leading this scammer on for more information on how his/her scam works.

I'd also like to point out, that in my case, I did not go looking for apartments on craigslist or gumtree, I actually found this ad on realestate.com.au, but did not contact by the "contact agent" button, but by the email address provided elsewhere in the ad.

This person has now provided "documents" to try and prove their identity. I have been asking to talk over skype, and denied.

I have captured small images of both documents, but am worried that it's perhaps identity theft, so will leave them off here. The documents show a black and white Australian Passport photocopy in black and white, showing "Sarah Brown" born 1973, The other is an electrical bill from Energy Australia, billed to Sarah Brown at the address of the apartment. If either of them are photoshopped, they're done well as I don't see any clear sign of photoshop, however as both are black and white, it wouldn't be too hard.

This is the email she sent attached with these "documents", regarding my request to talk on skype:

Hi XXXXX,
I'm sorry, but as i said before i'm already in Greece and this is the best that i can do from here.
Airborne Express it's a third party company,they will take care of our deal.Like i said before, you will need to transfer the security deposit to their company account and the package will be delivered to you in 3 days.
After your inspection , if you will sign the lease,they will release the funds to me , if you don't sign the lease they will refund your security deposit and return my keys.
As soon as the transaction is started and the package is left in their custody, they will contact you with more information and a tracking number.
I will need your full name and exact delivery address, in order to start this transaction.
Best regards,
Sarah

p.s. i have attached some documents to this email

The detail of this scam is quite surprising.

[AlanJones]

^^^You are playing games with a criminal who has details of your real life and has the possibilty to cause you, your family and friends real problems.

There is nothing to be gained by continuing communication with him, so I would recommend that you stop communicating with him immediately. Don't accuse him of being a scammer as he will just deny it, just block him and don't respond any further.

I should have checked here first. Sent an email - THEN searched the address. I knew it had to be a scam. Same email reply. I found this on REALESTATE.com but they ask to use their email address to contact them rather than using the website service
This was for an apartment on Eagle St Brisbane CBD

Hi All,

I also replied to a rental in Brisbane at Adelaide Street. Will be forwarding on the info to Soliel tomorrow. Had replied my interest to the apartment, a few alarm bells went off for sure. The original ad, which has now been removed, requested an email to [email protected]. It also states not to make contact through the contact form on realestate.com.au. I sent a short note, stating my interest, and querying the price. Got the reply pasted below today. Searched the apartment number- nothing registered; searched TCS Express which is a Courier service from Pakistan, searched the images of the apartment-which are different from the meriton standard. Searched Sarah Taylor, nothing. Big alarm bells. Email copied below::


Sandra Taylor <[email protected]>
7:22 AM (18 hours ago)

to me
Hello Sharyn,
Thanks for taking the time to look at my listing.I am really glad that you are interested in my apartment.Please allow me to introduce myself:

My name is Sandra Taylor, I'm 38 years old and I'm the owner of the apartment located at: 2903/485-501 Adelaide St, Brisbane City QLD 4000.I lived in this beautiful apartment for over 1 year and loved every day of it.Fortunately last month I was promoted as a manager over EMEA and I found out that I needed to relocate for an extended period to Athens, Greece.

The apartment is in the best conditions, I renovated and refurbished it 16 months ago when I purchased it, so everything is almost new.The apartment has a linen closet, a washer and a drier and complete living room and bedroom furniture.The bed has a memory foam mattress so I can guarantee that you will have the best sleep.Also with the apartment you will get two parking spots for your car(s) and a storage unit that is empty (here you can deposit my furniture if you have your own or if you do not like it).Also I have no problem if you have pets, as long as you clean up after them and are willing to replace any items that they may damage.

The apartment is located near public transport, so don’t worry if you don’t have a car.Also the neighborhood has restaurants, bank, grocery store, and other facilities.

Because my contract here, in Athens, expires in November 2020, I am looking for a 4 years lease or a minimum of 3 months, also that is why I am willing to have a lower rent in order to find a better person. I really want to find a good and responsible tenant for it, because I have invested so much in it and can’t afford to risk giving my lovely nest to someone that will not take good care of my property.I hope you don’t mind if I want to get to know you a little better and you will write me a little more about you.The rent of the apartment is $250 p/w including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking, air conditioning, garbage).

Because my promotion was unexpected and I was needed here in Athens ASAP, I did not have the time to find a trustworthy agent (I had a really bad experience with the renting agents in the area, this was one of the factors that made me buy this apartment).Also I do not have anyone in the region so I was forced to take the keys with me in Greece.Because of this I will not be able to come and show you the apartment, I hope you understand my predicament.If you are really interested in renting the apartment I found a solution that is safe for both of us.It is a shipping company and it is called TCS Express.I will arrange for a 3 day delivery and I will pay all the fees.They allow me to send the keys and the lease agreement to you and will hold your funds towards me until you had time to check the place out.This way you will be able to view the apartment before you decide if you want to rent it.

If you are interested in going forward with this write me more about you, and if we are a good match I will start the procedure with TCS Express and I will write an email to you will all the steps that we need to do in order to finish the transaction.

Looking forward to your reply,
Best wishes,
Sandra