Rental Scammer - [email protected]

"Lynn Anne" <[email protected]>

Hi Michelle

Thanks for your interest in my flat. There's no problem if you will be arriving in late July that means I will need to book of one of the rooms for you till your arrival but before doing that I will need to email you the contract form which you are going to fill, sign and email it back to me. After doing that, you will need to pay the security deposit while the rent will be paid when you arrive.

I will email you my passport for you to know whom you are dealing with and to be rest assured that your money is very safe.

Let me know if you are okay with this.

Thanks.

"Lynn Anne" <[email protected]>


Hi,

Thanks for your interest in my flat. The flat is 3 bedroom flat and all the 3 rooms are currently available. Below is little details about the flat before we schedule viewing.

Flat address: Holyrood Road, Holyrood, Edinburgh
Post Code: EH8 8AJ
Rent: £400 per month, all bills included for a room while the security deposit is £600
Rent for the whole flat is £800 while the security deposit £900
Maximum stay: 1 year with option of extending the contract

Flat amenities:TV ,CD - DVD - Video,Radio,High-speed Internet with WiFi,Washing Machine ,dryer, Heating, iron and Ironing board,Gas cooker,oven, Electric Kettle, Toaster ,Dishwasher ,Refrigerator, Microwave e.t.c

The pictures of the flat are hereby attached with this email.


Location: The location is central, scenic and cultural. There is the National Parliament, the Royal Palace and a Royal mountain Park within 5 minutes. You are on the edge of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Town with the Royal Mile including the Queen's church and 16C buildings 2 minutes away. The finest modern architecture in Edinburgh is within 3 minutes set against a mile of crags.

Local shops/facilities are very useful. Tesco Express is 30 metres away. The sports, indoor and exercise facilities within 5 minutes include the CSE and are among the best in the Scotland. A 25m swimming pool and several University sports clubs are just 50 metres away. The jogging and fell-running routes that start 200 metres away are unbeatable. 10 to 20 University dance societies practice 400 metres away. Four places run Zumba even closer.

The evening entertainment is excellent for students. Within 5 minutes are the University societies centre, the world-famous Pleasance entertainment complex, the Cowgate (the centre of all Edinburgh nightlife), 20 cafes, 20 bars and pubs and 10 restaurants.

Everything else in Edinburgh is very close. Princes Street, Grassmarket, the central station and St James Shopping Centre are 10 minutes. 18 of the top 20 visitor attractions in Edinburgh are within 15 mins such as the National Museum, the National Gallery and Edinburgh Castle. You will never run out of things to do in the local area.

Distances for postgraduate teaching
- Education (Moray House) - 100 metres
- Sports Science (St Leonards Land) - 70 metres
- Geography (High School Yards) - 350 metres
- Law School (Old College) - 600 metres
- Music (Alison House) - 700 metres
- Architecture (Minto House) - 800 metres
- Science - the free 10 min shuttle to Kings Buildings is 850 metres
- George Square / Potterow - 950 metres
- Art (Edinburgh College of Art) - 1, 200 metres
- Religion (New College) - 1, 200 metres

Could you tell me a bit about yourself and where you are presently located now?

Will you be able to take good care of my flat like your own?

Are you capable of funding the rent and refundable deposit before moving in?

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,
Lynn & James.

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 or MoneyGram 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.

Da: Lynn Anne <[email protected]>

Oggetto: RE: Details of my studio flat in Commercial Street, Birmingham City

Hi Michelle

There's no problem having your friend view the flat, I currently work and live in London so I will need to take a day off from work in order to come down to arrange the viewing with your friend. It is 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, is either they cannot afford the rent or the security deposit required.

I have consulted my lawyer and we have resolved that any potential tenants should be able to prove in the following way in order to determine who is financially buoyant and that he or she can stick to appointment when scheduled and able to pay his/her rent as at when due.In this case, a bank-statement or guarantee from your organisation wont be accepted as we have had wayward tenants tendering fake documents.

This is what you will need to do in order to secure the room.

PROCEDURE:

1) £1100 (1 month rent and security deposit) is to be transferred to your friend via Western Union at the nearest Western Union outlet/shop close to you.

2) Scan & Send a copy of the Western Union transaction receipt as a proof of the transaction or mail me the transaction details. (The money is safe as it is only your friend that can withdraw since she need a ID card or International passport)

3) If after the viewing she decide to take the flat, we will go to any local Western Union outlet close to the flat for her to pick up the money and pay me to secure the room for you till your arrival and key will also be given to her.

4) Keys will be handed over to her after signing the contracts on your behalf.

You are doing this just to be sure of your seriousness and capability before securing the room for you because I will not want a situation whereby the room will be reserve for you and you will not turn up when you arrive that's why I want you to do the transfer and you will need to email me the scanned copy of the transfer receipt for confirmation before securing the room for you.

I do not want you to have the feeling that I am asking for money BEFORE you see what you are renting because I know that payment is meant to be done AFTER you have seen the flat and okay with it that is why I said you should make the transfer to friend so that she will be the one to receive the money and pay me in person after the viewing.

You don't need to worry about the transfer charges, I will personally refund it back to you,I'm doing this just to make sure everything is perfect before securing the room for you.

Let me know if you are ok with this arrangement so that we can proceed.

Kind regards,
Lynn.