by Michelle
Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:53 am
From: [email protected]
To: Michelle Banks
Subject: RE: Reply to your ad: CHARMING AND COSY FLAT SHARE FOR RENT NOW DOUBLE BEDROOM ..AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:29:06 -0700
Thanks for your email and it is my gladness to hear from you.I am Tobi Johnson,the owner of the flat you are making inquiry of.Actually I resided in the flat with my wife our two kids do not live with us anymore My 2 vacant bedroom is located at 24 Rosary Gardens,South kensington, London , SW7 4NT.This rooms are fully furnished. my flat is still available for rent for 300 GBP per month including the utilities like hydro,washer,gas.Electricity,Garbage,Telephone,Water,Gas,stainless steel appliances,recessed lighting,laundry room in building,Large closest,Lots of Storage,including wireless internet and Cable,separate shower and one secured parking Space all bills and taxes included..And i accept a minimum stay of 1 month. Now, I went for a Crusade in West Africa as i am a minister of God and i will like you to get in touch with my wife in the United states for more details & pictures of our flat.Please, i want you to note that i am a kind and honest person, also i spent a lot of money on the property that i want to give you for rent,so i will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this flat and want you to treat it as your own,I hope you understand that.I want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad to see it neat when i eventually come to London to see how clean and comfortable it is for you i will try to do that some day...Where are you located? we are deciding very soon on who to take the rooms. Email my wife Mercy, on [email protected] she will attend to you better and let you know the procedures, Thanks for your interest.
Best Regards,
Tobi Johnson.
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.
