[email protected] / maisonfinder.com

Original posting I found: "https://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/apa/d/cozy-neatly-furnsiehd-1bed/6582819134.html" was pulled from craigslist already. However another post is up with the contact being at the same suspicious domain: maisonfinder.com: https://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/apa ... 62255.html

Original listing showed a 1 bedroom for a far below market price in a building that only does 3 bedroom units. New posting seems to show badly photoshopped images.

Corresponded using an alternate e-mail account w/ [email protected]- the contact person for the first listing. His responses:

Aloha,

This is newly renovated and a fully furnished unit that comes with all modern amenities (Washer/Dryer, High Speed Internet, Assigned Parking. etc) and the lease length is flexible(short/long Term) and located @ #600 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96813

This Apartment features a Big Size Bed and a Lovely Bathroom, with a fully equipped kitchen that has a Gas Burners, Microwave, Dishwasher. This is a comfortable home that is extremely quiet and peaceful and all utilities are included.


Monthly rent: $1800
Refundable Security Deposit: $1800
Bedroom: 1
Bathroom: 1

One Bedroom Lease Plan
3 Months Lease attract 5% Discount
6 Months Lease attract 10% Discount
12 Months lease attract 20% Discount
Month to Month Lease attract no Discount

Note: The discount is only effective when you pay for the selected plan in full.

I would appreciate the following about you;

Full Name:
Sex:
Occupation:
Pet:
Your Exact Move in Date:
Present Location:

I apologize for being personal. But I need to have a little idea of whom is looking to rent my property.

Regards


Adam Snow

[email protected]

After I replied with fake info about myself:

Am ok with your details, Please be informed that the apartment is not available for immediate viewing until May 30th as the apartment is currently occupied by a newly wed couple on their honeymoon and will be moving out on 30th of May and before they rented the apartment they requested for complete privacy which I granted.

but if the timing works and you do not want to miss out, due to the rush on this apartment you can have the apartment reserve for you until you view/move-in with the payment of the First Month Rent and in addition with the Refundable Security Deposit, and You will also be filling the lease contract form, and your rent will start counting from your move in date.

Note that after securing the apartment with the down payment and you happen to see the apartment or for any reason you don't like the apartment when you see it, Your funds will be refunded back to you in full.

Let me know if you wish to proceed with lease contract review and reservation details for booking (Landlord's details).
i can provide you with photos of the apartment if you need it

Mahalo

Adam Snow

[email protected]

Will keep you all updated if he asks for form of payment etc...

Second listing says to contact [email protected].

It appears the scammer may have copied listing information from this real listing by actual Frank Noh. Frank appears to be a real Real Estate agent- with various references on the web- but never citing the maisonfinder.com address.

https://www.homes.com/property/2500-kal ... 013035594/

Domain Name: MAISONFINDER.COM
Registry Domain ID: 2162698353_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.namecheap.com
Registrar URL: http://www.namecheap.com
Updated Date: 2018-04-28T02:35:38Z
Creation Date: 2017-09-13T19:19:59Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2018-09-13T19:19:59Z

"Frank Noh"- has replied back. Similar to my interaction w/ "Adam Snow"- I reply to the @maisonfinder.com e-mail and the response comes from an AOL address- in this case "[email protected]". The text of his response is a near verbatim copy of the response from Adam Snow.

Aloha,

This is newly renovated and a fully furnished unit that comes with all modern amenities (Washer/Dryer, High Speed Internet, Assigned Parking. etc) and the lease length is flexible(short/long Term) and located @ #2500 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815

This Apartment features a Big Size Bed and a Lovely Bathroom, with a fully equipped kitchen that has a Gas Burners, Microwave, Dishwasher. This is a comfortable home that is extremely quiet and peaceful and all utilities are included.


Monthly rent: $2,000
Refundable Security Deposit: $2,000
Bedroom: 1
Bathroom: 1

One Bedroom Lease Plan
3 Months Lease attract 5% Discount
6 Months Lease attract 10% Discount
12 Months lease attract 20% Discount
Month to Month Lease attract no Discount

Note: The discount is only effective when you pay for the selected plan in full.

I would appreciate the following about you;

Full Name:
Sex:
Occupation:
Pet:
Your Exact Move in Date:
Present Location:

I apologize for being personal. But I need to have a little idea of whom is looking to rent my property.


Mahalo
Frank Noh

…

And the intrigue continues- I've been able to trace at least one of the scammers ([email protected]) to Lagos, Nigeria. All the postings I've found that use the maisonfinder.com address follow the same pattern addressed in my previous posts- but I can't verify if it's the same individual behind all these postings or a group.

[email protected] has sent me a PDF format lease agreement which includes a request to pay a security deposit and first month's rent via a Chase Bank account under the name Lisa A. Silva (the supposed landlord).

I'm not sure if I should post the full PDF here. Also, I'm not sure how I'd go about reporting this bank account as been associated with fraudulent activity.

Though it might not help some users in detecting this scam- the end user appears to be operating from a static IP address of 197.211.61.172 provided by Glomobile GPRS mobile interent.