Rental Scammer - [email protected]

From: Dallas Currin <[email protected]>
To: Michelle Banks

Subject: Re: 2 Bedroom Apartment For Rent

Hello Michelle

My name is Dallas Currin and I am the owner of the apartment located at Harrington House 52, Cape Town City Centre.

The property is available for rent at R 10000 per month including all utilities (Gas/Electricity/Water/Cable/Internet/Car Park). The rent is for the entire apartment. It is in a very good condition, very clean and completely livable. It comes with all the furniture that you are seeing the pictures.
The kitchen is completely furnished and everything is included in the rental price. In the apartment you will find a dishwasher, a refrigerator, a freezer, a washing machine, a dryer, an iron, an oven, a toaster, a coffee maker, vacuum cleaner, ADSL internet and Wi-Fi access.
You have available a large storage space in the building so you are able to move the furniture as you wish. In case you desire to move out the furniture that is already in the apartment and use your own.

The apartment was bought by me in 2013, and I lived there until August 2015 when my main contracts ended and I moved to London, UK.
Also the apartment is near the public transportation, and other facilities. There are no problems if you have any pets, as long as you clean up after them. The apartment has a parking space for one car. I have spent a great amount of money and time with the apartment and my request is that you treat it like it was your own.

I am looking for a long term tenancy agreement as I will most definitely not return to South Africa for permanent residency.
When I moved to London, in 2015, I didn’t know it was permanent. But I met someone and started building a family. I did travel back and forth between the UK and South Africa but it has become time consuming. Once my first child was born I decided to start searching for a viable long term tenant. Once I find a legit tenant I will return to South Africa to show the apartment and complete the lease agreement in person.
Attached you can find all the pictures that I have available. Please let me know if you are seriously interested.

Some questions:
Are you a student or a professional?
How many persons will be living in the apartment?
What is the period you wish to rent the place for?
Do you have any pets? Generally not a problem, asking because I can’t accept someone with 3-4 dogs, I think you get the point.

My Regards,
Dallas Currin.
[email protected]
http://www.currinconsulting.eu/

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.

From: Sean Currin <[email protected]>
Subject: 43 Buitenkant St, Cape Town

Hello Michelle
Thank you for your response. Sorry for my late reply. I think you are
suitable for my apartment, and I am interested by your offer, I can make
a discount for 12 month upfront payment, at R 9500. The exact address
is: 43 Buitenkant St, Cape Town.
Like I said in my first E-mail, my current location is London. I am
willing to travel, as soon as possible, back to Cape Town and complete
the letting procedure.
The only problem I have is that I don’t want to travel without knowing
that I’m speaking with someone definitely interested in letting the
apartment.
In order for the both of us to be completely safe, we can follow this
process:
Airbnb is offering a simple verification process for owners and tenants.
They will verify me as the owner of the apartment and you as a potential
tenant by depositing a temporary amount, completely refundable, with them.
The amount you need to secure with Airbnb is the rent for two months.
Here is a short description of the process:
- I, as the owner, will have to submit proof of ownership and personal
id's to Airbnb.com for verification;
- after the apartment listing is approved, I will be able to invite you
to book the apartment for a period of 2 months;
- you will receive the booking information directly from Airbnb and
instructions on how to complete the deposit;
- when the deposit with Airbnb.com is confirmed I will travel back to
Cape Town, show you the apartment and complete the renting agreement, if
you agree to move in, if not, Airbnb will refund the amount you
transferred in a maximum of 24 hours;
In my opinion, there are zero chances you don’t like the place.
If you agree to move forward please let me know and I will send you an
invitation to secure the 2 months deposit with Airbnb.com.
You can find out more information on this page https://www.airbnb.com/trust.
If you don’t agree with this process, then there is no need to go
forward as we do not have other possible way to insure that both of us
are completely eligible to enter into a lease agreement.
I need the certainty that you are definitely interested before
travelling back to Cape Town. I have no one in Cape Town at this time to
ask for help. And I think it’s better for both of us to meet before we
commit to a long term agreement.
Please find attached copies of my passport and ID for a better
communication.
Hope you understand.

My Regards,
Sean Currin.
[email protected] - office.
[email protected] - home.

From: Dallas Currin <[email protected]>
Date: Sunday, 02 October 2016 at 11:43 PM

Hello Ms. Karien,

My name is Dallas Currin and I am the owner of the apartment located at Victoria Rd, Clifton, Cape Town.

The property is available for rent at R 9000 per month including all utilities (Gas/Electricity/Water/Cable/Internet/Car Park). The rent is for the entire apartment. It is in a very good condition, very clean and completely livable. It comes with all the furniture that you are seeing the pictures.
The kitchen is completely furnished and everything is included in the rental price. In the apartment you will find a dishwasher, a refrigerator, a freezer, a washing machine, a dryer, an iron, an oven, a toaster, a coffee maker, vacuum cleaner, ADSL internet and Wi-Fi access.
You have available a large storage space in the building so you are able to move the furniture as you wish. In case you desire to move out the furniture that is already in the apartment and use your own.

The apartment was bought by me in 2013, and I lived there until August 2015 when my main contracts ended and I moved to London, UK.
Also the apartment is near the public transportation, and other facilities. There are no problems if you have any pets, as long as you clean up after them. The apartment has a parking space for one car. I have spent a great amount of money and time with the apartment and my request is that you treat it like it was your own.

I am looking for a long term tenancy agreement as I will most definitely not return to South Africa for permanent residency.
When I moved to London, in 2015, I didn’t know it was permanent. But I met someone and started building a family. I did travel back and forth between the UK and South Africa but it has become time consuming. Once my first child was born I decided to start searching for a viable long term tenant. Once I find a legit tenant I will return to South Africa to show the apartment and complete the lease agreement in person.
Attached you can find all the pictures that I have available. Please let me know if you are seriously interested.

Some questions:
Are you a student or a professional?
How many persons will be living in the apartment?
What is the period you wish to rent the place for?
Do you have any pets? Generally not a problem, asking because I can’t accept someone with 3-4 dogs, I think you get the point.

My Regards,
Dallas Currin.
[email protected]
www.currinconsulting.eu
____________________________________________________
From: Sean Currin <[email protected]>
Date: Tuesday, 04 October 2016 at 12:35 AM

Hello Ms. Karien,

Thank you for your response.
Like I said in my first E-mail, my current location is London. I am willing to travel, as soon as possible, back to Cape Town and complete the letting procedure.
The only problem I have is that I don’t want to travel without knowing that I’m speaking with someone definitely interested in letting the apartment.
In order for the both of us to be completely safe, we can follow this process:
Airbnb is offering a simple verification process for owners and tenants. They will verify me as the owner of the apartment and you as a potential tenant by depositing a temporary amount, completely refundable, with them.
The amount you need to secure with Airbnb is the rent for two months.
Here is a short description of the process:
- I, as the owner, will have to submit proof of ownership and personal id's to Airbnb.com for verification;
- after the apartment listing is approved, I will be able to invite you to book the apartment for a period of 2 months;
- you will receive the booking information directly from Airbnb and instructions on how to complete the deposit;
- when the deposit with Airbnb.com is confirmed I will travel back to Cape Town, show you the apartment and complete the renting agreement, if you agree to move in, if not, Airbnb will refund the amount you transferred in a maximum of 24 hours;
In my opinion, there are zero chances you don’t like the place.
If you agree to move forward please let me know and I will send you an invitation to secure the 2 months deposit with Airbnb.com.
You can find out more information on this page https://www.airbnb.com/trust.
If you don’t agree with this process, then there is no need to go forward as we do not have other possible way to insure that both of us are completely eligible to enter into a lease agreement.
I need the certainty that you are definitely interested before travelling back to Cape Town. I have no one in Cape Town at this time to ask for help. And I think it’s better for both of us to meet before we commit to a long term agreement.
Please find attached copies of my passport and ID for a better communication.
Hope you understand.

My Regards,
Sean Currin.