Rental Scam - [email protected]

David Bembenek <[email protected]> wrote:


Hey there,
My name is David Bembenek and I own the property, not subletting or anything like that.
This apartment comes fully furnished, ready for move-in as we speak. A clean and quiet apartment with cable TV, high-speed WiFi internet, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer. One garage parking spot and if you prefer to use your own furniture there is a storage unit where I can deposit my furniture before you move in. Well behaved pets are allowed. In my opinion this is the best area to live in, a simply great and safe neighborhood.
The monthly rent for the entire apartment will be $1000 - utilities included (electricity, heat, cable, water, sewer). I'm looking for long-term rent (minimum 2 months - maximum is up to you). My job is inspecting offshore oil rigs so I will never bother you during your rental period.
My previous tenants practically destroyed the apartment and now I had the entire property completely refurbished, everything is brand new (see attached photos). I am not after a high profit, i'd rather have good tenants who will treat my property as their own home and I hope that you can send me some personal information about yourself.
Being offshore and with so limited options I must use HomeAway for the rental process. Here is a brief description of how it works:
The process is pretty simple, as owner I need to submit information about my property to HomeAway, my details and some documents. Then they will process the tenant's details as well.

Please reply if you want to know more about the rental process and I will send you the step by step procedure.

Find attached more photos and let me know if you like the apartment.

Best Regards,
IADC Certified Engineer - David Bembenek

David Bembenek < [email protected] > wrote:


Hello again,
Thanks for your reply. As I mentioned, HomeAway will handle the rental process on my behalf due to my offshore job.
The first step (Starting the process):
I will have to contact the HomeAway agency and provide them all the necessary information so they can start the rental process. That being said I will need your full name, the rental period with exact move-in date, how many people will live there, your email, your phone number and a copy of your ID or Passport so we can initiate the rental process.
Step two (Reservation):
HomeAway will require from you a security deposit of $1000 to confirm reservation ( which is fully refundable in case you don't like the apartment ). Once you confirm reservation I will immediately book my next flight and organize the walk-through. If you are in a hurry to move in I could send you the keys by FedEx at your current address. It goes without saying that I will not book a flight or send any keys before you pay the security deposit to HomeAway and confirm the reservation !
The $1000 security deposit will play as holding fee as well and will be refunded immediately with no questions asked if you don't like the place or once the contract will end if you decide to rent. ( But only if the apartment is not vandalized or something). A 30 days advance notice is required in case you need to leave early.
If you are satisfied with the apartment all you have to do is to provide a valid ID, pay the first month rent and sign the lease agreement. After you move in, the monthly payment will be sent directly to my bank account or you can continue paying through HomeAway.
If you find it acceptable please provide the requested details and I will submit your application right away. I will send the HomeAway reservation offer to your email and you can take it from there.

Very important !! Please reply only if you fully understand the process as I have been disappointed lately with unserious persons when it comes to reserving. Please remember that I'll have to pay transaction fees and just in case you change your mind I will not receive a refund from them!

Best Regards,
IADC Certified Engineer - David Bembenek

From: David Bembenek < [email protected] >
Subject: Re: Rental Inquiry - $1000/m for 2750 N Dayton St, Chicago, IL 60614

The number is not working because I'm on an oil rig. There is no network here.

This Scammer will arrange to send you an Invoice -- Make no mistake, the Invoice will be fake !
If you are reading this because you have received such an invoice, kindly forward it to the address in my signature line and I will report the details to the appropriate authorities.

Domain Name: BEMBENEK-MAINTENANCE.COM
Registry Domain ID: 2263961165_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.namecheap.com
Registrar URL: http://www.namecheap.com
Updated Date: 2018-05-16T12:48:27Z
Creation Date: 2018-05-16T12:48:26Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2019-05-16T12:48:26Z

Just exchanged emails with this guy for the past 12 days. Sounded too good to be true, and it was. The final red flag was when he asked me to pay via bitcoin because a previous tenant paid with a stolen credit card so he wouldn't accept that payment method. I immediately called HomeAway to report it - and learned that they don't even accept Bitcoin.

He changed his email address to [email protected]

Here is the first email he sent me that is nearly identical to the one below, this time for an apartment in Chicago.

Hello there,

For starters i'm going to let you know that i'm the owner of the property so i'm not subletting or anything like that.

This apartment comes completely furnished, ready for move-in as we speak. A clean and quiet apartment with cable TV, high-speed WiFi internet, dishwasher, washer/dryer combo and also one garage parking spot. If you would rather use your own furniture, i have a storage unit where I can deposit my furniture and all my belongings before you move in. Well behaved pets are allowed. In my opinion, this is the best area to live in, a simply great and safe neighborhood.

The monthly rent for the entire apartment will be $1200 - utilities included (electricity, heat, cable, water, sewer). I'm looking for long-term rent (minimum 2 months - maximum is up to you). My job is inspecting offshore oil rigs so I will never bother you during your rental period.

My previous tenants practically destroyed the apartment so I had the entire place completely refurbished, everything is brand new (see attached photos). I am not looking to get rich renting, i'd rather have good tenants who will treat my place like their own home and I hope that you can send me some personal information about yourself.

Being offshore and with so limited options I must use HomeAway for the rental process. Here is a brief description of how it works:
The process is pretty simple, as owner I need to submit information about my property to HomeAway, my details and some other documents. Then they will process the tenant's details as well.

Please reply if you want to know more about the rental process and I will send you the step by step procedure.

I have also attached a full set of photos of the apartment so please let me know if you like it.

Have a great day,
IADC Certified Engineer - Thomas Rutterford