Room for Rent and other rental scams
by panchisua Fri May 06, 2011 7:59 pm
I saw an awesome house for half the price it should be in Gumtree. The house in theory is in Remuera, Auckland so I wrote through Gumtree and someone replied saying it's a pastor and that's his house and even sent pictures. This sounded quite suspecious but the hope is always there... I started lookin in google to see who this guy was and found out this forum through his phone number. Only in this forum there are already 5 posts about this same scammer, I'll attach the reply he gave me.

SCAM:


from: michel sidibe [email protected]

Hi

Thanks for your inquiries regarding my 3 bedrooms house for rent and sorry for the late response,it was due to my busy schedule,firstly i will like to introduce myself to you,i'm Pastor Michel Sidibe the executive director of UNAIDS, actually i bought this property when i came to New Zealand on a campaign program and presently i and my family has relocated to the United Kingdom also on a campaign program.Actually i lost one of my daughter to Hiv/Aids last year and ever since then,i have been into charity work trying all my possible best to help those that are victims and eradicate Hiv/Aids as a life-threatening disease.There are severely Multinational companies that have shown interest in it and they've been of good support to the organization.The program is taking place in different major countries in which are United States,Canada,Sweden,
New Zealand,Holland, Singapore,Hong Kong,United Kingdom. I do travel to different countries in the world and work in conjunction with UNICEF.I will like you to put this organization in your prayers because there are a lot of people suffering with this deadly disease all over the world and you can know more about our organization here: http://www.unaids.org/en. Below are my house details.

Weekly Rent including utilities: $290
Two Weeks Bond Deposit Required: $580
House Address: 121 Portland Rd, Auckland 1050, New Zealand

Executive 3Bedrooms plus study house in Remuera. 2Bathrooms/2Toilets.Two level underfloor heating.Double Garage OSP.No lawns and Gardens.Small Patio.Level 1 one bedroom plus en suite . Sep lounge, sep dinning area. Toilet for visitors. Kitchen plus a TV or another dinning area. Double garage and a small patio.Level 2 bedrooms, two bathrooms, plus small TV area or lounge.

Fully furnished with nice couch, TV and DVD,Air Conditioners,internet Cable,Dishwasher,Garbage disposal,Microwave,security alarm,gas stove,Refrigerator,Washer/Dryer.A four weeks rent and two weeks bond deposit is required to rent my house and all expenses are in the rent,please note that i'm not after the weekly rent price because such house in that area cost's more but i just need someone or family who can take absolute care of my house as i'm away,it's available for rent for either short or long term and i have all my furniture's are packed inside the storage room so you can make use of them if you wish.You can drive by my house to view it from the exterior and check out the surrounding and location at your earliest convenient,meanwhile i have attached some pictures of my house so you can have an idea of what it looks like.Note that the keys,rental lease agreement form and a letter of authorization of my house will be couriered to you upon approved of your application so you can move in.If still interested in renting my house,i want you to get back to me requesting for an application form for proceedings.

Thanks and remain blessed..

Pastor Michel Sidibe
+447024037913


Cheers scamwarners for putting an alert before it's too late.
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by John DeLaney Sat May 07, 2011 3:30 am
Hi Panchisua, thanks for posting the details. As you posted, the phone number is a British re-direct number, the scammer could be anywhere in the world, usually in our experience in Nigeria or Malysia.

A few things wrong with the advert as well, having lived in Auckland, the rent is too low by about $500 per week, houses down Portland Road, if they ever come up for rent, go for $750 + per week. My sister deals with Property Management in Auckland, believe me, if she could find any house in Remuera that rented for less than $750 per week, she'd be chasing it.

Hope you find something legitimate.

John

John DeLaney
by rainfeather Wed May 11, 2011 4:18 am
yep i saw that one also....a few things rang the alarm bells... like it all sounded far too good to be true and would a possible landlord really rely entirely on email communication to settle a deal like this....and, unfortunately a second house that I emailed about renting provided similar emails although they seemed to be from separate people..........

Hi,

Thanks for your email and it's my gladness hearing from you, am Reverend Johnson Bonner i owner the property you are making inquiry of, actually I resided in the house with my family,such as my wife and my only daughter but presently we had packed due to my transfer from my working place and now situated in Alabama,United state of America. Presently my house is still available for rent for 650per month including all house utilities like hydro,washer and security,it is fully furnished!

Meanwhile, i went for a Crusade in Africa and i will like you to get in touch with my wife in Alabama for more details about the house, as she is with the keys and the document of the house. Please i want you to note know that we're kind and honest family, we spent alot on our property,so i will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this house and want you to treat it as your own! Its not about the money but we want you to keep it tidy all the time, so that i will be glad to see it neat when i came for a check up. I also want you to let me have trust in you as i always stand on my word.

Email my wife Jantanese on ([email protected] or [email protected] ) and she will attends to you better, pls make sure you send email to both address,

Thanks and you are welcome....
Regards
by Rach Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:32 pm
Hi There, I did get scammed out of $1800 by this person and his wife, the initial email started:

Thanks for your email and it's my gladness hearing from you, am Reverend Bonner i owner the property you are making inquiry of, actually I resided in the house with my family,such as my wife and my only daughter but presently we had packed due to my transfer from my working place and now situated in Glasgow, Scotland. Presently my house is still available for rent for 650per month including all house utilities like hydro,washer and security,it is fully furnished!

Meanwhile, i went for a Crusade in Africa and i will like you to get in touch with my wife in Glasgow for more details about the house, as she is with the keys and the documents of the house. Please i want you to note know that we're kind and honest family, we spent alot on our propertys,so i will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this house and want you to treat it as your own! Its not about the money but we want you to keep it tidy all the time, so that i will be glad to see it neat when i came for a check up. I also want you to let me have trust in you as i always stand on my word.

Email my wife Janessa on ([email protected] or [email protected] ) and she will attends to you better, pls make sure you send email to both address,

Thanks and you are welcome....
Regards

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