Rental Scammer - [email protected]

From: [email protected]
To: Con Warner
Subject: RE: Residential Enquiry
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 11:11

Hello ,

My name is Janina Wong and I received your email of interest for the rental of my apartment located at Flat B, Floor 7, The Zenith Block 1, 3 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai.
I am a research engineer for a pharmaceutical company and I bought the apartment while working on a 4 year contract in Hong Kong as an alternative to renting . I am the only owner of the apartment , the apartment is paid in full and with no legal problems . The apartment is not inhabited since I am no longer living in Hong Kong.You could be my second tenants .
My intention is to rent the apartment to nice , clean people and in order to do that I would like to know a little something about you , like how many persons do you intend to live in my apartment,do you have a steady income ,etc . I must tell you from the beginning that I don't have a problem if you are a student and I don't have a problem with pets (I own a little dog myself) and I appreciate sincerity .
Also here is a little something about the apartment and myself so we can get to know each other.
The apartment is the one in the pictures but the furniture has been moved into my private storage room . If you don't have furniture I can take it back with no extra costs for you .
The rent for 1 month is 6,000 HKD (for the entire apartment) including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking, air conditioning, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, private washing machine). You can rent the flat for any period of time (open end contract).
About myself, I am 44 years old and as I told you I am a research engineer for pharmaceutical products , currently living in London , United Kingdom .
You can move in the apt in the same day when you receive the keys. The only problem is that I`m already in London but i think i will find a solution.

Thank you for your interest and looking forward to a future collaboration and friendship.

Best regards

This person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union or MoneyGram with a promise that he will send the keys through a courier company.

Sounds safe. It's not!

At other times, he will ask 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 to a friend or family member.

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.

From: Money Bookers <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, May 18, 2011 at 11:11
Subject: Rent/Package ID: 31594853 -
To:





Hong Kong 17.8 million members... and more every day

This mail is a confirmation that you were successfully registered in a Moneybookers Escrow Blocked account transaction . Your transaction manager is John Mark Halben . You are about to participate in a fast, efficient and secure transaction. Moneybookers is the independent third party that will be overseeing the inspection, rent contract, securing and disbursing the funds. Please follow our instructions in order to complete the transaction safely.

All the transaction, payment and personal information is considered confidential and will not be released under any circumstances.
Moneybookers security measures are constantly reviewed and modified given evolving circumstances globally.
Our main and constant priority is the safety of our customers.
For security reasons please DO NOT release the payment details to the Seller or any other unauthorized person.

Dear Con Warner,

We require the payment to be made through Western Union money transfer service.
If you are not familiarized with the Western Union money transfer services please visit: http://westernunion.com.hk/en/. You can pay with cash at any Western Union Office.

Apartment Keys and rental contract verified and signed by the Sender. Owner of the apartment is : Janina Wong . Located at : Flat B, Floor 7, The Zenith Block 1, 3 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai ,Hong Kong . All the papers are double checked.

- Package ID: 31594853
- Insured Value Amount (first month rent) : HK $ 6.000 .
- If you decide to hold the apartment, then you will have to authorize us to release the funds to the sender, and the transaction will be completed. If you will not be satisfied with the apartment, you will be able to send the keys and contract back through the same service with no costs and inform us to return the funds to you.


IT'S EASY:
Visit any one of Western Union's nearly 45,000 Agent locations and fill out the appropriate Western Union form to send your payment in cash.
Your payment is typically sent within minutes … usually faster than paying with money orders or COD.

IT'S CONVENIENT:
There are nearly 45,000 Western Union Agent locations nationwide. Many are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

MAKE PAYMENT TO:

Moneybookers Escrow Blocked account transaction manager details :

First name: John Mark
Last name : Halben
Address : Lewisham Way 158
City/State: London
PostalCode: SE14 6PD
Country : United Kingdom

Locate the nearest WesternUnion Office:
Make the payment with cash using the above MoneyBookers agent details
When the payment is made, email us the following information :

Scanned Western Union receipt, 10 digit reference number
Exact sender's name on file with Western Union
Your street address on file with Western Union
City and country where you sent the money from
Amount sent

The seller delivered the package to MoneyBookers agents for full evaluation of content. The package will remain in the company custody until the receiver will send the payment through a Money Order Service (WesternUnion Service). After verifying the funds, MoneyBookers is ready to ship the parcel to the designated address.





Sender Information :
Name: Janina Wong
Address: 87 David Lee Point
London,E15-3LF
United Kingdom


For any questions please contact Money Bookers HK Support by replying at this e-mail .
Thank you HK Money Bookers Team
May 18 ,2011



© Moneybookers Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Use of this Web site is subject to our Terms and Conditions.
Registered in England and Wales under Company No 4260907.
Registered office: Welken House, 10-11 Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6EH

I have received the similar scam from the same email address!! [email protected]

I also shared my case at below link.
http://forum.escrow-fraud.com/viewtopic ... 9981137c69

Here's my case.
Name: LEE PICK LIN LINDA - and this "Linda"'s husband is "John".
Email: [email protected]
-----------------------------------
Website: http://hongkong.gumtree.com.hk/

But I can't find their post anymore, maybe they deleted it. Originally their ad was posted here.
http://hongkong.gumtree.com.hk/c-Flat-H ... Z296657396

The ad was like this.
"The Zenith Block 1,3 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai"
Rent: 6000HKD/month for 3 bed rooms (which is WAY too cheap for this apartment.... probably around 1/4 - 1/5 of the market price, so in my first email to them, I even asked them if the price is per room instead of the whole apartment.....Yes this was too good to be true, no one will rent this place so cheap if they are "normal".)

------------------------------------------------------
Email address: [email protected]
Name: LEE PICK LIN LINDA - and this "Linda"'s husband is "John".


1. "John" replied from "Linda"'s email - July 11, 2011

Hello ,

My name is John , Linda husband and I received your email of interest for the rental of our apartment located at Flat B, Floor 20, The Zenith Block 1, 3 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai.
I am a research engineer for a pharmaceutical company and I bought the apartment while working on a 4 year contract in Hong Kong as an alternative to renting . I am the only owner of the apartment , the apartment is paid in full and with no legal problems . The apartment is not inhabited since I am no longer living in Hong Kong.You could be my second tenants .
My intention is to rent the apartment to nice , clean people and in order to do that I would like to know a little something about you , like how many persons do you intend to live in my apartment,do you have a steady income ,etc . I must tell you from the beginning that I don't have a problem if you are a student and I don't have a problem with pets (I own a little dog myself) and I appreciate sincerity .
Also here is a little something about the apartment and myself so we can get to know each other.
The apartment is the one in the pictures but the furniture has been moved into my private storage room . If you don't have furniture I can take it back with no extra costs for you .
The rent for 1 month is 6,000 HKD (for the entire apartment) including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking, air conditioning, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, private washing machine). You can rent the flat for any period of time (open end contract).
About myself, I am 44 years old and as I told you I am a research engineer for pharmaceutical products , currently living in London , United Kingdom .
You can move in the apt in the same day when you receive the keys. The only problem is that I`m already in London but i think i will find a solution.

Thank you for your interest and looking forward to a future collaboration and friendship.

Best regards

---------------------
2. from "them" - July 13, 2011

Thank you very much for your reply and for your willingness to rent the apartment . I agree to rent the apartment to you if you are still interested , of course . I promise you that you will love the place .
Of course you will have to see the apartment before discussing any other details because you can't rent an apartment that you haven't seen . Since I removed the furniture from the apartment I am willing to send you the keys so you can visit it and see if you like it or not .
The delivery for the keys (apartment keys , inter-phone , alarm) and viewing permit (signed by me) , will be made through an authorized courier and using a Moneybookers Escrow Account to make sure that we can trust each other .
I will explain the procedure if you are interested so please email me as soon as you read this message because I really need to take care of this matter.

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

3. from "them" - July 13, 2011

Hi again,
First of all i have choose Money Bookers ( http://www.moneybookers.com ) because it is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom (FSA) and is a company with 18 million members .
The viewing procedure using the Moneybookers escrow blocked account involves 3 parties : me as the home owner , you as the prospective tenant and Moneybookers as a licensed third party responsible for good development of the transaction .
The Moneybookers Escrow Blocked account is like the blocked account where you pay the damage deposit when you rent an apartment except that instead of a bank we will use Moneybookers .Of course , nobody can touch this money until you return the keys .
The value of the deposit is equal to the first month of rent and must be paid for the activation of the Blocked Account .
The delivery for the package will be made using an authorized courier like Pegasus , DHL , Federal Express , UPS and the package will be sent by Moneybookers to your home address .
In order to initiate the procedure I will need the following information from you :
-Shipping address (address where you want the package to be delivered) and the name of the receiver
-Arrival Schedule ( when you or someone from familly,friend, will be home to receive the package and sign for the receipt)
-Telephone number in case of any emergencies .
You have 14 days to inspect the apartment since the arrival date .
If you want to keep the apartment I will set up the rent contract , I will sign it and I will send it to you .
You have to sign it and send it back to me .
-If you do not keep the apartment, you give the keys/contract back to moneybookers and you collect the security deposit .
This will be in writing in the moneybookers contract I will sign.
The MoneyBookers fees will be paid by me when i will initiate the procedure, you will have to pay for the money transfer fees when you will have to pay the moneybookers agent.
I will wait your soon reply and if you agree, i will need your full name, shipping address and your daytime phone number and i will initiate the moneybookers transaction.

Thanks again for your time and look forward to hear from you soon.

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

Hi, today I almost payed to an inexistent person. This time, it was in France. This advertisement (I give you many pages where you can find it):

http://location-appartement-meuble.viva ... e/37094815?
http://housing.justlanded.com/fr/France ... 0-Toulouse
http://immo.trovit.fr/index.php/cod.fra ... rg.1/pop.1
http://toulouse.olx.fr/appartement-t3-p ... -204499138

Here are her data:
Sender Information:
First name: Mireille
Last name : Connor
Address : 87 David Lee Point
City : London
PostalCode: E15-3LF
Country : United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]

Always using the same protocol: advertising a nice appartment, telling the story of living in London, explaining the way for giving keys and location contract using MoneyBookers, and finally asking to do a money sending by Western Union.

More information about MoneyBookers: I made a call to know what exactly they do and if they could tell me if it was a fraud or not. They told me: MONNEYBOOKERS DON'T MAKE SENDINGS OF KEYS OR LOCATION CONTRACTS and when I mentioned WesternUnion they told MONEYBOOKERS DOESN'T WORK WITH WESTERNUNION.

I hope it can help you,
Oriol