Rental Scammer - [email protected]

Good morning to everyone!

My friend Daniela and I are looking for a flat in Bruxelles and we received the very same email posted here above.
The email comes from ANNE BERGER, [email protected]

When we've been asked to send the money through Western Union ["When you have read the Contract and are sure you can abide by the rules and the regulations on the contract, you should send the stated sum of €900 euro in the contract to my family lawyer whose information appears on the contract as he will be the one to confirm the payment to my Mother and prepare the contract documents with rent receipts. His information once again is: Name: FERNANDO MARQUEZ
Address: 1200 Chesterly Drive, Yakima, WA 98902 USA"],
we started to suspect and asked "Anne" if would have been possible to send a bank transfer to her bank account. This is Anne's answer:


"Hi [Name Removed - Michelle]

Thanks so much for the swift response, Like i told you that My mother would be the one to confirm the first payment as she would be the one to confirm you as my flatmate while every other subsequent payment would be made to me cash in the flat. I would have loved for you to send the payment to my Lawyer's bank account. But he does not give out his bank account anymore because a renter who was supposed to transfer money to his account some times ago used his account for fraud [!!!!] so his account got freezed. I would prefer you send the money to him by Western Union and western union union is mostly preferable due to the fact that your payment has to be confirmed as soon as possible because there are some other people who are interested in the flat so you have to act fast to secure the room and meanwhile bank transfer do take 5 - 7 days to clear and confirmed.

All you have to do is go with the money and my Lawyer's information which i gave to you to any Western Union outlet and have the money wired from there, Post office also offer western union services. I understand that you might be charge some fee by western union for the transfer, but that should be no problem.. once you have wired the money, let me know the amount you were charge to transfer the money to my Lawyer, i will reimburse that to you when you arrive at the flat.

Kindly sign on the contract and proceed with the payment and then get back to me with the signed contract and the payment confirmation so that i can send the keys, documents and rent receipt to you right away so that we can conclude on becoming flatmate.

Regards,
Anne."

Apart from the contract, I received also the jpg of a scanned passport (fake? Or authentic, maybe sent by other potential flat-mates as it has been requested to us - luckily we didn't send it!)

A big "thank you!" to the Administrators and the Members of this forum, every little contribution with information represents a precious help for the online community!


[Name Removed - Michelle]

From: Anne Last nameberger <[email protected]>
Date: 2011/8/18
Subject: Re: Flat in Bruxelles
To:


Hi

I am extremely happy and glad that we have come to a conclusion as regards the renting and also the documents. Daniela has not yet sent her details for me to prepare the contract, when i get her details i will prepare the contract for her too and send it to her so I have the documents for you only, read it thoroughly and sign on it before you can then make your payment and move in. I have also attached a copy of my Passport ID for your security. I am sending this email to you only because this email contains your contract only. You will be receiving different contracts and you have to reserve your rooms by yourselves.

My Mother would be the one to receive the first payment as she will be the one to confirm you as my flatmate and before the contract documents and rent receipts could be prepared by my family lawyer, he has to receive the payment and confirm it to my Mother after which every documents will be prepared which i will send to you as you will need to come along with them to the flat. Every other subsequent payment will be made to me cash in the flat. There are some other people who are also interested in the room so you have to act fast so that i can secure the room for you.

When you have read the Contract and are sure you can abide by the rules and the regulations on the contract, you should send the stated sum of €900 euro in the contract to my family lawyer whose information appears on the contract as he will be the one to confirm the payment to my Mother and prepare the contract documents with rent receipts. His information once again is:

Name: FERNANDO MARQUEZ
Address: 1200 Chesterly Drive, Yakima, WA 98902 USA

You should have the payment sent to him by Western Union Money Transfer, All you have to do is locate any western union office/location or check there website on www.westernunion.com/locator to check any nearest office and send the payment to my family lawyer.

When you have made your payment by western union to him, you would get back to me with the payment confirmation which are:

- The money transfer control number; MTCN
- The sender's first and last name and also the location where it was sent from.
- The Amount sent.
- Scanned receipt.

As soon as I get these details and have confirmed it, I would then begin the sending of the Contract Documents and also the receipt of payment to your home address. So kindly provide me with your current address where you want me to send the keys, documents and rent receipts to.

I await your payment confirmation and I am happy for we would be the best flatmates ever. Thanks for choosing me and my flat and Please find attached the Tenement agreement and my Passport ID below and make your payment for you to reserve the room for your eventual move in.

Looking forward to hear from you with the payment confirmation.

Regards.

Your Flatmate,
Anne.

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 (by Western Union) money 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.

Fake or Stolen Belgium Passport - Number EG527912:-

now the scammer changed his/her e-mail address:

[email protected]