Rental Scammer - [email protected]

From: Patrick Balk <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, May 12, 2011 at 11:11
Subject: Re: one bedroom apartment.
To: Con Warner


Hi,

I am so happy to read back from you. Firstly i want you to know that
the apartment is still available for rent. Below are some vital
information you need to know about my apartment. It cost 460euro
monthly together with all bills such as water, electricity, gas e.t.c
and also a 500euro security deposit payment which is refundable while
packing out of my apartment if there is no damage or loss of my
properties.

The apartment is situated at Annankatu 10, 00120 Helsinki, Finland and
it is close to its metro station,my apartment is spacious, it is about
60sqm in size and a room is about 30sqm. there are restaurant and
public transport all around and it's a walking distance to the
supermarket, so it's located in a very nice and safe area in Helsinki.

I attached some pics of my apartment so that you can see how the place
looks like. I will wait to read back from you if you are interested in
renting my apartment so that we can proceed. You can simply reach me
on +447045765886 for further discussion on the apartment.

Best regards,
Patrick.

This person asks for proof that you are able to pay the deposit and rent due to a string of time wasters.
This proof is in the form of a Western Union or MoneyGram payment either to him, your friend or a family member.

Sounds safe. It's not!

At other times, this person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union or Moneygram with the promise that they will send the keys through a courier company.

In either case, if payment is made and you give this person the details, they will collect the money.
You will not hear from them 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 Craigslist, Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment 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.

Thanks Con Warner for the post, I've recently encountered this same scam and received exactly the same message you have posted. Lucky I found you before proceeding.

Peope please watch out for this scammer!