by Michelle
Sun May 29, 2011 11:06 am
******
The thief will tell you that you can rent his accommodation only if you can prove that you have genuine interest. He will ask you send money by wire transfer (normally Western Union) to yourself or a member of the family to show that you have sufficient finances and that you are not a "time waster".
Another variation of this scam is that you need to send money (again via Western Union) in order that the keys and other documents can be couriered to you
He will ask you to send him the transfer details.
Make no mistake ! Western Union Transfers can be picked up virtually anywhere in the world and with the minimum of identification. They are almost impossible to trace once the money has been collected. You will never get to see the accommodation or your money 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 Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment by Western Union 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: keith morris ([email protected])
Sent: Wed 5/25/11 8:10 PM
To: Michelle Banks
Hi,
thanks for your response and I am very delighted to hear from you.However owing to my past unpleasant experience of inviting intending tenant to view my flat without confirming if they are actually capable of paying their rent at the right time has caused me a great discomfort and as such i do not want to experience it anymore, because i have to travel all the way from Scotland to take interested candidate round my flat because that is where i work with Greens insurance company,and i do hope you understand my point of view.
In view of the previous occurrences, I am not asking any money from you as long as i have not taken you round my flat and signed your contract with my solicitor,but i have been strongly advised to confirm that you can pay your rent as at when due, so before we can proceed for viewing, I will like to confirm that you can afford your rent. All you need to do now is to make a transfer of 2 weeks rent plus the security deposit of £400 to your friend or partner within the UK through money gram close to you, The reason for using money gram is that it is faster and my solicitor can easily confirm the transfer almost immediately she receives the scanned copy of the transfer receipt or the details of the transfer.
Once you are done with the transfer, get back to me with the scanned copy of the transfer receipt as i forward it to my solicitor to confirm if the transfer is valid and available for pick-up by your friend or partner.Once my solicitor confirms the transaction valid, i will then ask you to tell your friend to pick up the money for you, then we can immediately proceed for viewing. I shall refund the cost of transfer to you when we meet for the viewing. After the viewing, you can proceed to signing the contract and then pay your rent and security deposit to me directly.
Kindly proceed with the transfer and get back to me as soon as possible as there are lots of other interested tenants which i have placed on hold for you.
I look forward to your reply,and i do hope to meet you soon.
Regards
Mr/Mrs Morris
From: [email protected]
To: Michelle Banks
Subject: RE: RE
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 03:05:53 -0700
Dear Michelle
Thanks for your swift reply ,i can make reservation for the said period of time stated in your email.My flat is situated at Flat 2 Brooklands Court Brooklands Avenue Cambridge CB2 8BP, there is a direct link transport for Barton Rd because its not far from my flat.The apartment is quiet with nice neighbors and is a few steps to a very good small grocery store, cleaners.
However,owing to my past unpleasant experience of inviting intending tenant to view my flat without confirming if they are actually able to pay their rent at the right time has caused me a great discomfort and as such do not want to experience it anymore, because i have to travel all the way from Scotland to take interested candidate round my flat. I have discovered over the years that Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in the city, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by there employees.
However, you will need to make a reservation deposit but before that, my lawyer will need some few information from you to draft a contract which you'll print and bring along with you on your arrival date to my flat.
Your full name:
Present address:
Confirmed move-in and Move-out date:
Purpose of visit to the UK:
Kindly get back to me with this information so that i can forward it to my lawyer in time.
Regards
Mr/Mrs Morris
The thief will tell you that you can rent his accommodation only if you can prove that you have genuine interest. He will ask you send money by wire transfer (normally Western Union) to yourself or a member of the family to show that you have sufficient finances and that you are not a "time waster".
Another variation of this scam is that you need to send money (again via Western Union) in order that the keys and other documents can be couriered to you
He will ask you to send him the transfer details.
Make no mistake ! Western Union Transfers can be picked up virtually anywhere in the world and with the minimum of identification. They are almost impossible to trace once the money has been collected. You will never get to see the accommodation or your money 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 Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment by Western Union 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.
