Rental Scammer - [email protected]

Hi, I am currently searching for a flat in swansea and have made my interest known in two flats and got the same response from this person, who they call themselves Mr/Mrs Holmes. I thought it was a bit strange that they asked for payment upfornt without even seeing the flat so googled it and found this. I imagine they fool a lot of people as the flats look very nice for a reasonable amount of money. Anyhow here is one of the e-mails responses.

-----Original Message-----
From: matilda holmes <[email protected]>
To:
Sent: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:55
Subject: RE: Reply to your ad: A lovely One bedroom flat to rent in Swansea city center (all bills inclusive)

Dear,
Thanks for getting back to me. Regarding your question, my flat is situated in the city center and is at Gower Road SA29JJ Swansea Sketty and also i have two other lovely ones i would like to shoe you when you finally come for the viewing.

However, it was 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. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work with M. Gould (Scunthorpe) Ltd.

Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Swansea, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by their employers.

Henceforth my lawyer and i have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least 1 month rent and security deposit which is £ 500 which is refundable after your first week stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through Western union money transfer. You can make the transfer with your name as a sender name and your partner or friend in UK as the receiver.

Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your friend's custody, after verification, then we can proceed for the viewing.

Note that the transfer must be confirmed valid before the receiver picks up the money and also, i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet.

Kindly reply if you have more questions to ask.

I look forward to reading from you.

Kind Regards
Mr/Mrs Holmes

I was nearly caught but i realised that i had a similar email from someone else with the same story so thought it was a bit dodgy. Here are the emails and the people who attempted to scam me with this too good to be true property.

I sent the first small message on gumtree asking a few simple questions.

Fri, 17 December, 2010 22:19:11RE: Reply to your ad: A lovely One bedroom flat to rent in Southampton city center (all bills inclusive)
From: matilda holmes <[email protected]>Add to Contacts
To: my address

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello,
Thanks for the interest you have in my flat. My flat is available and i am more than willing to have you in my flat. Here are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit.

Rent : £ 75.00 pw
Security Deposit: £ 500.00 (Refundable at the end of your first week stay in my flat)
Utility bills inclusive (water, gas, council tax, electricity and broadband internet with Wi-Fi) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm

My flat is furnished in and out with all necessary house use, it also has a private garage and an off street parking is available. However, i would like to ask few questions from you, can you take care of my flat as it is? How many weeks or months do you intend to stay or pay for? where are coming from to stay in my flat? Do you have references in Southampton?

Kindly reply for further information.

I look forward to your reply soon.

Kind Regards
Mr/Mrs Holmes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This seemed nice enough so i replyed:
Hello,

Thank you for the reply.

I am extremely interested in renting your flat and will be more than happy to take care of it as it is. Well, I intend to stay quite some time, most probably until the end of next summer or longer. I am a student at Southampton Solent University and in my first year but halls of residence is not for me. My partner (who is in full time employment) and I, have decided we would like to "opt for a quieter life". We can supply a references and will provide you with a parental guarantor if necessary.

Would it be possible to view the flat on the 27/28th December with my parents?

Look forward to your reply
Kind regards
..................................................................

They then replyed:

From: matilda holmes <[email protected]>Add to Contacts
To: my address


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for getting back to me. However, it was 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. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work with M. Gould (Scunthorpe) Ltd.

Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Southampton, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by their employers.

Henceforth my lawyer and i have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least 1 month rent and security deposit which is £ 500 which is refundable after your first week stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through Western union money transfer. You can make the transfer with your name as a sender name and your partner or friend in UK as the receiver.

Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your friend's custody, after verification, then we can proceed for the viewing.

Note that the transfer must be confirmed valid before the receiver picks up the money and also, i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet.

Kindly reply if you have more questions to ask.

I look forward to reading from you.

Kind Regards
+447024064828


This is when i realised it sounded like a scam!
My mum picked up the phone and called the number above and yes the person who answered the phone was mr holmes but would not tell us why we had to transfer money upfront. He also pretended he couldnt hear us and then had the cheek to ask us to call back after we said we were going to report him.

Merged topic - Michelle

Thanks for posting this info.
We are so glad that you didn't fall victim to this.

Please let us know of any others that you come across.

Will do!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi,

I've just been emailed by this guy asking for money after I sent a question about his one bed place to rent in Guildford. Is there anyway to report this guy?

Thanks

Apart from posting the details here for search engines to pick up, no. Not with an anonymous Nigerian scammer. There's nothing your local police can do.

I know its really frustrating! Well on the phone he didnt even sound worried when my mum said she was going to report him.

This is such an easy scam for the average internet scammer to perform, it is virtually risk free as regards the chances of them ever getting caught, and they know that. That's why we exist to attempt to thwart the scam before it operates by warning people.

There are more organised gangs who may give themselves away by using more sophisticated techniques, such as websites and the use of other payment methods besides Western Union and, paradoxically , that makes it slightly easier to make headway against them.

There is nothing wrong with Western Union but it should never be used in any business transaction and/or to send money to a person you don't know well. If people followed that rule, the majority of scams would never work, but it's an uphill struggle to make people aware of the risks they're taking. Scammers are also getting smarter quicker than the general public.

Yeah, got a similar response from these guys...and they are all over gumtree.

When you see a flat that the price looks too good to be true, pls be wary. these guys usually go for photos and upload titles that catch the eye. A GORGEOUS 1 BED **** IN CENTRAL CITY £60 PW ALL INCLUSIVE, etc... the guys are somewhat dim wits cos how on earth do they expect people to commit financially to something they've not seen. but having said that, they must have been successful at some point, or are still successful at it, to continue dishing out the same email.

How callous people are today..or have always been. Some people are working hard to earn money and some shameless individuals sit somewhere perpertrating evil like this.

Well, here's an explanation to why they request WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER as discovered from gumtree.

These guys pretend like they are not all about your hard earned cash, and so they tell you to transfer some money to a friend or family and then send them a copy of it to ascertain that you are capable of paying. its dum really cos firstly, by sending them a photocopy is not in any way reasonable enough evidence to prove your ability to pay a rent. secondly, why would anyone have to go through the hassle of a WESTERN UNION transfer to a friend or family just to view a house, and thirdly, NO VIEWING NO PARTING WITH CASH!! Isnt that the sensible way?? Anyway, back to the point. By doing a western union money transfer, a recipt number is generated (that you may not even be aware of), and it is that receipt number these scamers require to cash your money in a dodgy way. So their 'innoncence' for you to send a photocopy is not a proof that you can pay (of course we all know you can pay ) but its their cunning way of getting a hold of your transfer receipt number for which they can then get your cash!

Please be wise, and let them know you are aware of who they are when you fall into (not my hope by the way) their hands. In my case, the guy was so shameless he said, "I am a christian God-fearing lady and i am not interested in your money)...imagine the blasphemy.

Anyway, best wishes guys