Craigslist Apartment Rental Scams (Diff. emails)

Would like to share a few scams, or rather the same scam executed by the same person/organisation, that I came across while searching for accomodation in Boston. These emails will be sent upon your inquiry and contain the characteristic flawed english.

The scams can only be spotted through a cross-check with very similar email content from other emails. Don't just depend on identifying the same email as the scammer uses several emails and several names. Here are a few:

From: Harthaway Lewis <[email protected]>
Date: June 18, 2011 2:53:15 PM GMT+08:00
Subject: Re: $1530 / 3br - great three bedroom apt in cambridge (cambridge)

Hello ,

Thanks for the email and also i want you to know that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be kept clean all the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were his or her own. The address is written below for you to go and view the outside and area of the apartment if you will like it or not am attaching you the interior pictures.
The apartment is located at;

Address: 1636 Massachusetts Ave, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138

I tried to look for an agent that I could give the documents & the keys before I left for Scotland with my small family on a course but could not find in the state where my apartment is as a matter of urgency. And I don't want home misused in my absence that is why I took the keys and documents along with me. So I hope you will promise me to take very good care of the apt always.

I am in the Scotland for a Project that has just been awarded to my company,so i hope you will promise me that you will take very good care of the appartment.

So get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting an apartment. Hope you are okay with the price which offers secure access. internet, cable, laundry in-suite, storage facilities, heat, water, electric and parking is included in the rent and pet are allowed.
Attached are the interior pictures for you and address to have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks, I will like you to get back to me with your final decision after viewing the interior pictures and let me know if you are interested in proceeding with the rental so that I can forward the application form to you.

Thanks,
Await your reply.

- Pictures of different rooms attached -

From: Scott Raley <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Subject: Re: Inquiry: $1500 / 2br - FULLY FURNISHED - immaculate 2 bdrm/2 car garage (Cambridge)

Thanks for your interest in my apartment. I am a professional piano/music theory teacher, I'm easy going and friendly. I like Music and have deep interests in travelling. I respect every religion and love to hang around with people and i am definitely not a trouble maker and very helpful in nature. I am currently living in Philippines and I will be here for long that is why am renting out my apartment. The apartment is located at: 52 Maple Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

The apartment is a modern 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom apartment and is strategically located in a very cool and lovely environment with five (5) appliances including dishwasher with in-suite laundry and plenty of storage space and parking space, professional and mature neighbors ensure peaceful living arrangements. Freshly painted and immaculately clean.

The rent per month is $1500 monthly including utilities and $750 for damage deposit. I will like you to drive by to the building at your convenience to view the exterior of the building for you to know where the apartment is located and get back to me so that I can forward you the full interior pictures to you to have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks.

Waiting to hear from you soon,
Regards


After my second email asking for more info: -

Hello,

Nice to read from you.The apartment building is in a great location situated in the quiet and safe area and parking is included in the rent,pet are allowed.The rent is $1500 and is fully furnished including all utilities as water, electricity, gas etc., while the security deposit is $750 but you have the option of sending all my furniture into a storage if you want to bring your own.I would have love to show you the interior through a friend or relatives but i don't have anybody that can do that for me at the moment.

I tried to look for an agent that I could give the document & the keys before I left but could not find any as a matter of urgency. And I don't want home misused in my absence that is why I took the keys and documents along with me. So I hope you will promise me to take very good care of the room always.

Attached are the interior pictures for you to have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks i will like you to get back to me with your final decision after viewing the interior pictures and let me know if you are interested in proceeding with the rental.


I look forward to hearing from you ASAP.
Regards

A third received by my friend also sourcing for the shared apartment.

Thanks for your interest in my apartment. To tell you little about myself. I am a professional piano/music theory teacher, I'm easy going and friendly. Music is my life and I have deep interests in travelling. I respect every religion and l...ove to hang around with people and i am definitely not a trouble maker and very helpful in nature. I am currently living in Manila - Philippine and I will be here for long that is why am renting out my apartment.

The apartment is located at: 1643 Cambridge St, Cambridge MA 02138

The apartment is a spacious 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom furnished apartment and is strategically located in a very cool and lovely environment with five (5) appliances including dishwasher with in-suite laundry and plenty of storage space, professional and mature neighbors ensure peaceful living arrangements. Freshly painted and immaculately clean.

The rent is $700 monthly including utilities and $350 damage deposit. I will like you to drive by to the building at your convenience to view the exterior of the building for you to know where the apartment is located and get back to me so that I can forward you the full interior pictures to you to have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks so we can proceed to the next step.

Waiting to hear from you soon,

Regards
John


After his email asking about payment: -

The keys will be shipped to you through DHL courier service and payment will be through wire transfer (Money Gram) and the keys will be shipped to immediately payment as been confirmed.

The bottom line is never to rent an apartment if the seller claims to be overseas and can't pass you the keys. Better still, get a friend to check it out for you. The pictures attached don't verify anything. There are numerous warnings all over Craigslist, heed them.

Thanks for posting these scams.

All of these contain certain signs in the English that tell us the author is actually African. As you said, any time a potential landlord says he is overseas with the keys, it should be a red flag, as should the suggestion that you drive by and look at the place from the outside. Claims that they couldn't find an agent, meant to explain away the obvious, should be a big flag too, as in this economy, there are plenty of agents looking for opportunities--and if the person really lived there, it's ridiculous to think they wouldn't have a single friend or neighbor who could hold the keys.

As for the similarities in script, though, they don't guarantee it is the same scammer, though it is certainly possible. Scammers copy, steal, and even sell scripts to each other so things can get very jumbled at times. Many of the issues with language have to do with differences between the scammers' native language and English, and you will find a large number of different people actually make the same mistakes.

In the end, though, what matters is that people who are apartment hunting be aware of and on the lookout for scams, and understand that sites like Craigslist and Gumtree are filled with scammers.

FRAUD
______________________________________________________________


[email protected]

Thanks for showing interest in my place.My Business recently locate me to Malaysia,I just opened a new outlet here in Philippines so i moved,i am looking to rent this unit out, long and short term is allowed

My apartment is Located at : 1643 Cambridge St.Cambridge MA 02138


The room is Available for immediate move in. Its a Modern 2 bedroom & 2 bathroom and a large living room apartment,I am only renting one of the rooms and you will have access to the rest of the amenities in the apartment which includes dish washer with in-suite laundry room and plenty of storage space and parking space . Professional and mature neighbors ensure peaceful living arrangements.well behaved pets are allowed

The rent is $500 per month including utilities and $410 for damage deposit,I will like you to drive by to the building today to view the exterior of the building for you to know where the apartment is located,i am not available to meet with you for viewing as i am out of the country,when you check out the exterior,kindly get back to me so that I can forward you the full interior pictures and application form then we can proceed to how the keys will be delivered to you...

Thanks for taking your time in writing me and hope to hear back from you.
Regards
Shayne

I got responses from two craigslist posts with the same addresses!!!

On Sun, Jul 29, 2012 at 7:17 PM, David Howard <[email protected]> wrote:
Thanks for showing interest in my place.My Business recently locate me to Philippines,I just opened a new outlet here in Philippines so i moved,i am looking to rent this unit out, long and short term is allowed
My apartment is Located at :
1643 Cambridge Street, Cambridge MA 02138

The room is Available for immediate move in. Its a Modern 2 bedroom & 2 bathroom and a large living room apartment,you will have access to the rest of the amenities in the apartment which includes dish washer with in-suite laundry room and plenty of storage space and parking space . Professional and mature neighbors ensure peaceful living arrangements.well behaved pets are allowed
The rent is $455 per month including utilities and $455 for damage deposit,I will like you to drive by to the building today to view the exterior of the building for you to know where the apartment is located,i am not available to meet with you for viewing as i am out of the country,when you check out the exterior,kindly get back to me so that I can forward you the full interior pictures and application form then we can proceed to how the keys will be delivered to you...
Thanks for taking your time in writing me and hope to hear back from you.
Regards
David




On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 3:03 PM, Matt Gomez <[email protected]> wrote:
I'm glad you are interested in my place..Will start by saying a bit about me,i'm a professional artist,self employed and i work alone..I have just opened a new venture here in Manila(Phillipines) and moved so i am looking to rent my place out both on short and long term basis.

My place is Located: 52 Maple Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

It is presently available for immediate move in,a very clean modern 2 bedroom and 1 bath apartment and i am renting just one room out at the moment but you will definitely have full access to the rest of the apartment which also comes with every bit of utility needed plus a dish washer,laudry,storage space and also parking space.You will be living in an environment of professionals and mature neighbours so you don't have to worry about privacy.

The rent is $500 per month and it will have all utilities included and a damage deposit of $500 ..I will like you to drive by the building to get a view of the exterior so you can be familiar with the location, as soon as you have done that pls get back to me soonest so i can forward the interior pictures and we can proceed to the application process.

Will be looking out to read from you soonest.
Cheers

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