Gumtree "Diane Watson" Soho Flat Scammer

If you see this ad on Gumtree: "A Room For Rent Including Utilities. MUST SEE!!!!" *** (seems to also be the same 'Sarah Smith' Scammer in a previous post on here)

"I have two lovely bedrooms for rent in a 3bedroom upstairs flat. Both rooms are very spacious and super clean.

Available now for short term or long term

The rent is £375 ALL bills included (wifi too). Deposit of £400 required. I am looking for a friendly, tidy and respectful individual to share my flat with. Ideally i would like someone who stays at least 3 weeks.

Pets allowed and Couples Accepted.

If you are interested please drop me a line and I can respond with some photos of the room and apartment."

STAY AWAY!!! She is definitely a scammer only after your money! Here is the following email I received from her:

"Hello,

Thanks for the interest in my flat. I have attached the pictures of the rooms. It is a 3 bedroom and 3 baths upstairs flat. I currently occupy one room so i have two rooms available now for rent. One room is slightly bigger than the other. The one labeled toilet1 is for the double room while the one labeled toilet2 is for the single room. The bigger room cost £380 while the smaller room cost £350 a month, all bills included. I am looking for mature students or professional people to rent the rooms, the refundable deposit is only £400(REQUIRED) plus 1st month Rent. All common areas like kitchen, dining room, living room, washer/dryer are accessible. All you pay is rent and the flat takes care of the bills. A little about myself... I'm a 28 year old single (VERY BUSY). I am easy going and neat. I am not smoking and I don't have pets, All I ask is that you don't bring ANY drama! I work approx. 83 hours a week so I'm out of the house a lot. super laid back and non-judgmental. Pretty mellow and quite, except for an occasional get-together with friends. Pets are welcome only if you promise to look after your pets yourself.

Address: 53 Rupert Street, Soho, LONDON W1D 7PH.

All inclusive package includes:

• Gas
• Electric
• Water
• Council Tax
• TV Licence
• Wi-Fi Internet access
• Virgin Digital Cable TV

Furniture & Appliances Included:

•Double Bed
• Bedroom Furniture (wardrobe, desk, chest of drawers, bedside table)
• Lounge with laminate flooring and TV
• Combi boiler (meaning hot water available 24 hours a day)
• Bathroom with bath and shower
• Microwave
• Washing machine
• FREE on street parking
• Gas safety Certificate
• Electrics safety certificate
• Mains powered smoke alarms

Lease Lengths:
2 weeks minimum

Please let me know your preference on flatmates.
1. Female, male or either
2. Other information......??

Can you tell me a little about yourself? I also attached the tenancy questionnaire, kindly fill and email it back to me for review.

Thanks
Hope to hear back from you"

After emailing her back with the 'tenancy questionaire' she requested, she replied back with the following email:

"Hi,

How are you doing today? Thanks for the mail. I just got word from the city council regarding the tenancy form approval and am glad to let you know that your tenancy form has been reviewed and accepted so you have been approved to rent one of the rooms available. What i was told to tell you is for you to pay the required deposit to the below information. All you have to do is to look for the nearest western union outlet closest to you and make the deposit there using the below information as the receivers info or simply log on to http://www.westernunion.com and register, after doing that, you click the send money in minutes button and then fill the form using your credit card, the confirmation will be sent to your phone or emailed to you. Once you receive that, you are to call and activate the transaction. Email me with the transfer info once it has been activated. When filling out the form, you will be asked if you the money being sent is for the purchase of goods,payment for house,payment for services and e.t.c please note that you are not to tick the box.
 
 
Receivers Name: Diane Watson
Receivers Address: 133 Edward Street Brighton BN2 0JL
 
Once you have sent the deposit, kindly attach and e-mail me with the deposit slip been given to you after the transfer or e-mail me with the below info.
And after the deposit has been made you just get back to me with the below information..
 
Senders name:
Sender address:
Mtcn Confirmation code:
Amount sent: £750
 
Once i receive the details, I will send you the receipt, residency approval and rent agreement confirmation immediately i receive the deposit. I would be waiting to hear from you to know if you got my  email or not.
 
Thanks for your time and effort!
 
Expecting your reply,
 
Regards,

Diane"

I was so angry when I received this email!!! I replied back to her that I really hope that for my sake in humanity, that she was not a thieving scammer, and will have the decency take her advert off Gumtree... do you know what her response was?!! GOODLUCK!

I really hope no one falls for this scam - I'm glad that she's a bad liar and that most people will steer clear. This kind of blatant selfish thieving makes my blood boil- karma will get you!

Welcome to ScamWarners yungle and thank you for posting this information. I moved your post to the Rental scams topic so people who are checking rental scams by topic can see your post.

Scammers are accustomed to being told off and called scammers. They do not respond admitting they are scammers and they are not interested in changing their ways.

Please post up the scammers email address so that others who are searching to see if they are dealing with a scammer can find the information you have posted.

Also it can be helpful to post up the headers that come with the email messages.