Rental Scammer: Morris Jones aka Coco Place

I have alerted the authorities about this scam as well as the bona fide agent who, as it turns out, rented the place legitimately 45 days ago. The scammer won't know that, of course.

I'm forwarding you what I sent him. Unfortunately I told him the truth so I hope he doesn't use it against me somehow. Does anyone have any ideas about how to undo that potentially fatal faux pas?

We really are in all the trouble I mentioned, plus a lot more. I don’t have much time to play with this guy but perhaps it would give me something to take my mind off our difficult situation. It might me fun.
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This is my original query to this scammer
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From “Sighgirl” (not what my header said my name was) to Coko (what his header said his name was)

Dear Landlord.


There seems to be some confusion over the monthy rent of this house.

According to Craigslist this house is being rented for $1000 per month.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/apa/2004128506.html

According to Google Maps the Real estate at this address is being rented for :$3,950/mo, 4 bed, 2 bath?


Naturally, we would be more interested in renting it for the Craigslist value than the Google value

Please clarify.


Regards,

--
Sighgirl Is Sighing
925 123 4567 (unfortunately I provided him with my real telephone number in Danville, California. It’s on a menu system so he would have a little trouble getting through if he did call ? )
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Coco Place to Sighgirl

Hello,

Thanks for your email and interest in renting my house..I am the owner of the house you are making inquiry of...Actually I resided in the house with my family before and presently we have moved out due to my transfer from my work now in Warsaw,Poland. Presently my house is still available for rent for $1000 USD (rent already includes utilities).More so Now, i am currently in Lagos, Nigeria for an international Christian follower's crusade. I will like to let you know that i initially wanted to sell the house but my wife advice i rent it out to responsible people.

Please i want you to note that i spent a lot on my property that i want to give to you for rent,so i will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this house and want you to treat it as your own, It is not the money that is the main problem but i want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad to see it neat when i come for a check up.I also want you to let me have trust in you as i always stand on my word..

Recently constructed (2006) custom built home. Never lived in by owner. 4 bdrm/2.5 ba - 3 levels with gorgeous Bay views from most floors. Quality finish work and grand architectural design and floor-plan. Home gym equipment and exercise room ! May come furnished if necessary.it out.


Address of my house (1109 Sterling Avenue, Berkeley CA 94708)

SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE
RENT APPLICATION FORM BELOW

RENT APPLICATION FORM.

FIRST NAME:__________?
MIDDLE NAME:__________?
LAST NAME:__________?
SEX:__________?
DATE OF BIRTH:_________?
PROFESSION:__________?
PHONE:
(CELL)PHONE__________?
(WORK)PHONE__________?
(HOME)PHONE__________?
WHICH NUMBER IS THE BEST TO CALL YOU ON__________?
MARITAL STATUS:__________?
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
PRESENT ADDRESS: _____________________
CITY: _______________
STATE:______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING__________?
IF THIS HOUSE IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________?
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________?
DO YOU AGREE TO PAY THE DEPOSIT BEFORE RECEIVING THE KEYS _____________?
IF YOU HAVE A PET,
KIND OF PETS: _____________?
HABITS
DO YOU SMOKE ______________ ?
DO YOU DRINK ______________?
DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT? ____?

Looking forward to hearing from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you...Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the keys to you,please we are giving you all this based on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that we have not seen yet and only putting everything into Gods hands,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this...my number is (+234-816-937-5328 OR 011-234-816-937-5328).

The house is available for rent at the moment so you are free to move in as soon as you wish to....A Deposit of $700 (which happens to be the security deposit) is required before moving in...Feel free to ask me for more information and arrangements on how to get the keys and other necessary documents delivered to you.The house will be available for rent for a period of 4 years so you have a choice of deciding how long you intend staying there...

Regards..
Remain Blessed.

Morris Jones.
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You may be an answer to our prayers.

We are in a very bad situation right now, through no fault of our own. We have been given notice by the owner of the house we are renting because he does not want to bring the house up to habitalbiltiy standard. I have recently been discharged from hospital, am disabled and will have trouble moving. We have a 15 year old son with special needs who is attending a special school in Rheem Valley.

We are all extremely stressed out.

We have excellent references from our previous landlard, property manager and neighbors.

I will get back to you later today with an application.


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Hello Sighgirl,

Thanks for getting back to me,I like i told you before that am here in west Africa with my family so there is nobody to show you the side of the house but you are free to drive by the place any time you like and get back to me with your rent application form as soon as you have done that so the we can also proceed ASAP.

Remain Blessed.

Morris Jones


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Hello, again, Morris.

I will do a drive past some time today, if I can fit it into my schedule. Otherwise, tomorrow.

I note that the property is listed for rent (at a rate that we could definitely not afford) with Jeff Auen. I presume Jeff could show us around, but that may cause conflicts if you prefer to manage the property yourself. I can be discrete, of course.

We understand the problems of renting a house that you have just completed before being relocated to another country. That is what happened to us. We rent a property out in City, Australia, that was finally finished as we were packing to move out. I would not recommend trying to pack for an international trip around painters, floorers and carpenters. We only have photos from the agent of what it looks like now. Unfortunately my carefully prepared and weeded herb lawn has disappeared and many of the garden plants that I grew from seed have vanished. It is very sad.

BTW, I would like to speak to you by telephone at some point. Our number is International 1 (123) 456 7890. Forgive me if I am a little nervous when you mention Christian and Nigeria in the one sentence. Like everyone else here, we've received lots of letters from "christians" in Nigeria ( or "Nigeria") who would be happy to relieve us what little money we have at this crisis point in our lives.

We are currently trying to get the State government to refund us several tens of thousands of dollars that it owes us, due to a mistake caused by the IRS which it took us until March this year to resolve. For some reason they are not in a hurry to comply. They have cancelled three appointments in the last month after taking nearly two years to supply us with documentation we need to complete their tax forms.
It has been an extremely difficult and stressful year couple of years. Our problems started when the IRS suddenly decided that Phillip (I used his real name but this is not it) had earned 3 million dollars in 2000 and that he owed them 1 million in back taxes. They levied most of my husband's wage for so that we had to use up all our savings just in order to survive. It brought us to the brink of bankruptcy in January. If you are a foreigner yourself, you will probably appreciate how hard it can be to fix these things when you are not familiar with the way things work in the U.S and you do not have the same resources as the born-here people. The nightmare continued when the house we were renting fell apart from lack of maintenance during the 7 years we have been there. If we had treated our own tenants like this we would have hung our heads in shame.

We have ordered a better year for 2011
Sighgirl


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I didn’t think this guy would get back to me after my crack about “nigerian” “christians”, but he did.
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Hello Sighgirl,

Thanks for getting back to me,I really understand how you feel but right now what i will adivce you to do is take a drive by the property anytime you want and get back to me with what you feel will can do to help,Am also doing this beasd on trust and i believe you shuold trust me too,so get back to me with your rent application form such as:your full home adrees where you want us to ship the keys and vital document of the property to,Once again (Jeff Auen) is my agent but my wife adivce me to rent it out myself ok so you have nothing to worry abouy,awiting you reply.

Remain Blessed.

Morris Jones.


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So --- stringing him along a little further - - -
Morris,

We will drive past the property later today and get back to you if it looks like it will meet our needs. It is fortunate that there are such good photos on the internet of what it looks like inside.

My husband wants to know if the utilities that you mention includes a gardener and a cleaning lady. Could you tell me how far it is from your house to the nearest train station. Is there a bus that goes past your door?

Sighgirl

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Any suggestions for what to say next? And how to “reveal” that my real name is … um … Lisa Moaning? Nicol Kidding? Julia Styles (the current Austalian Prime Minister)?, Koo Kaburra?

Or does my “husband” take over –with an entirely different name, as is traditional among Australians who originate from Fakistan? Kiri Takanawa (a female opera star from New Zealand)? Khanga Rhoo?
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The Full Header is listed below.(It, and the body text, was sent to the correct anti-spam agency).
My husband checked the most relevant item:
41.155.7.78 - Geo Information IP Address 41.155.7.78 Host dial-pool8.lg.starcomms.net Location NG, Nigeria City Lagos, 05 - Organization Starcomms Limited ISP Starcomms Limited AS Number AS33776 STARCOMMS-ASN Latitude 6°45'31" North Longitude 3°39'58" East Distance 4478.25 km (2782.66 miles)
(NIGERIA, of course.)
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Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:49:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Coco Place <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: $1000 / 4br - Executive Home in Berkeley Hills For Rent (berkeley)
To: [censored]
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Removed overlooked 'to' address - CF

Hello Sighgirl and welcome to ScamWarners.

I'm glad that you reaslised this was a scam before you sent any money to the scammer.

As the scammer has your real information, please don't play along with him any longer, but instead drop all contact with him. He will then just assume that you changed your mind, or discovered that it was a scam. But if you continue playing along with him, and he somehow realises this is what you are doing, he could be angry and harass you in retaliation.

It would be equally unsafe to invent a fake person to write to him instead - if this fake character has any connection to the real you.

It is possible to play along with scammers in a safe way, in order to waste their time and, hopefully, keep them away from real victims, but you would need to first research how to do this. If this is something that interests you, please visit http://www.419eater.com - where you can learn everything you need to know, and find lots of support and encouragement on the forums.

As you have told this scammer quite a lot of personal information, please be on the look-out for further scams arriving; both vague/general ones, and ones specifically targeted to your situation, or addressing you by name. These could come from any name, any email address, and any country.

To repeat, though: drop all contact with this scammer. He might try to prompt you into further correspondence for a little while, but will then just assume that he has 'lost' you as a potential victim - like the many other potential scam victims that, hopefully, he has also lost part-way through his scamming attempt.

Hi and welcome.
Please follow Chris's advice above.
You may find it interesting.

I recently saw this same deal on craigs list for OKC. The email I got was nearly identical. Why would they want to know if I worked late night anyways? I researched some of the ad. The house is legit. The way the email was written was the first thing that got my attention, then the mention about Poland and then Lagos, Nigeria. Ubber red flag there. Now the name of the realtor, googles as a real person. Maryam Daneshvaran. A licensed agent in the OKC area. I should mention that this same house is listed on Realtor.com as a rental for $1100/mo. I also found it strange, slightly, that they only wanted $500 for the deposit. Most from what I have seen ask for a deposit equal to the rent, but not always. I have thought about contacting this agent and letting them know that their name is being used in a internet scam. The company web page lists the property at $1200/mo. One notable difference, and maybe the perps of this thing are starting to get wise, Morris Jones is seen in the message. Looking for the post to I could report it to craigs list, the last date for it was 21 Mar 11. I've reported to them, hope they'll delete it and any others remotely similar to it. I only hope that no one has fallen for it, and that someones business reputation (assuming they're legit) hasn't been destroyed.

Hello,

Thanks for your email and interest in renting my house..I am the owner of the house you are making inquiry of...Actually I resided in the house with my family before and presently we have moved out due to my transfer from my work now in Warsaw,Poland. Presently my house is still available for rent for $1000 USD (rent already includes utilities).More so Now, i am currently in Lagos, Nigeria for an international Christian follower's crusade. I will like to let you know that i initially wanted to sell the house but my wife adviced i rent it out to responsible people.

Please i want you to note that i spent a lot on my property that i want to give to you for rent,so i will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this house and want you to treat it as your own, It is not the money that is the main problem but i want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad to see it neat when i come for a check up.I also want you to let me have trust in you as i always stand on my word..
IMPORTANT - If you are a housing broker or are charging a fee to renters please indicate this fact prominently within your posting.
Address:10508 White Oak Canyon Road #1, Oklahoma City OK 73162

SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE
RENT APPLICATION FORM BELOW

RENT APPLICATION FORM.

FIRST NAME:__________?
MIDDLE NAME:__________?
LAST NAME:__________?
SEX:__________?
DATE OF BIRTH:_________?
PROFESSION:__________?
PHONE:
(CELL)PHONE__________?
(WORK)PHONE__________?
(HOME)PHONE__________?
WHICH NUMBER IS THE BEST TO CALL YOU ON__________?
MARITAL STATUS:__________?
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
PRESENT ADDRESS: _____________________
CITY: _______________
STATE:______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING__________?
IF THIS HOUSE IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________?
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________?
DO YOU AGREE TO PAY THE DEPOSIT BEFORE RECEIVING THE KEYS _____________?
IF YOU HAVE A PET,
KIND OF PETS: _____________?
HABITS
DO YOU SMOKE ______________ ?
DO YOU DRINK ______________?
DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT? ____?

Looking forward to hearing from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you...Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the keys to you,please we are giving you all this based on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that we have not seen yet and only putting everything into Gods hands,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this...my number is (+234-816-937-5328 OR 011-234-816-937-5328).

The house is available for rent at the moment so you are free to move in as soon as you wish to....A Deposit of $500 (which happens to be the security deposit) is required before moving in...Feel free to ask me for more information and arrangements on how to get the keys and other necessary documents delivered to you.The house will be available for rent for a period of 4 years so you have a choice of deciding how long you intend staying there...

Regards..
Remain Blessed.
Maryam Daneshvaran.