Rental Scammer - [email protected]

Sandra Biesinger <[email protected]> wrote:
Good to read from you on your interest on my apartment, which i am leasing out for rent

The apartment is still very much available for rent. Just to give you a little low down about the apartment and myself. I am a German citizen. I inherited the flat from my late father, as his only child. He was actually residing there only. Until his death with heart failure. This is why i decided to put up the apartment for lease. I am living in Madrid, Spain with my fiance. Who i am about getting married to in less than two months. And i am presently working at The international School of Madrid.

The whole flat is up for a total of R4500 Per Month. Which i also think is fair enough considering the location. I just need someone with an open heart, love and clean to occupy the apartment and put all my worries off concerning the maintenance of the apartment for now.

The flat comprises of two bedroom. Excellent condition inside. Good sized lounge, with a sofa, DVD player, air-conditioning, stereo, and washing machine. Can sleep a max of 4, and ideal for family, couple and friends. The kitchen is fully equipped with all necessary cooking utensils

Just to let you know, the keys are right here with me. But there wouldn't be any problem with that. As it can be posted to you, after all necessary agreement has be reached and signed into lease. Also i will like you to know that the rent charges is not really an issue here , but your absolute maintenance of the apartment, because it is good to keep the property in good condition, just for the memories of my father. Who committed so much putting those facilities in place, so i wouldn't want an violation of my property if finally rented by you.

The Apartment is situated at Mutual Heights, 14 Darling Street, 2nd floor, Cape town 8000, South Africa. . With access to elevator. Under ground parking bay. As for the utility bills, there are not included on the rent, and also no outstanding bills. So you be paying the bills and starting the lease with a clean slate. The minimum lease term is 2 months, and a maximum of 2 years with a possibility of extension.

Regards,
Sandra

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 lawyer,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.

Obviously i can understand your point regarding the viewing of the flat and meeting before reaching an agreement. But unfortunately, that would not be possible for now. Like i said, i wasn't residing over there. I only came to locked up the apartment and make sure the apartment is in perfect condition, after my late father passed away. So i am actually renting it out, so my tenant can look after the flat on my behalf as well. Which was why i lowered the rent compare to the present market value. And for now i am so much committed to my work and our wedding preparation for now. And there is no one over there with the keys, as i have all the keys here with me, like i told you earlier. As my plans of sending the keys, would be after reaching an agreement.

So i would suggest for now, if you don't mind. You go over and visit the building and neighborhood to determine your interest for now. So as to have an idea of the living situation around there, before making your decision. As i do know your worries and reservations at this point, since i am not presently available to meet with you in person and show your the flat. Though you can understand, i was suppose to lock up the flat since there was no one presently occupying the flat after the death of my Father. And moreover, i never had any intention of renting out the flat. It was my fiance who recently advise i should lease out the flat, which probably was a good idea for someone to occupy the place, and take up the maintenance. And often send me feed backs regarding the state of the flat,. Just to put off my worries. Since no one was occupying the place, and i don't have any intention of visiting soon or moving over there.

Let me know what to you feel. If you are still interested in renting the property off me. So we could start up with the renting process.

Hi, I have recently been involved in this exact situation. I only saw this post when i had already made the payment of the deposit via western union however it had not yet been collected when i called and so i should be able to collect my money! Upon finding the deposit i had sent was no longer there she called me but it was a poor connection. She maintains it is all legitimate although she does not want me to receive the keys without the deposit and i have suggested many alternative forms of providing a proof of my funds, but they have not been accepted. What do you think?

Did you actually cancel the transaction? If not, you need to do so immediately, or the scammer may get hold of it before you manage to pick it up. These scammers are pretty good at getting their hands on payments that aren't supposed to belong to them.

There is no chance it is legitimate. Real property owners do not send keys to random strangers, period. A real property owner would either make arrangements to meet you in person (and you should not send money to anyone before meeting) or he/she will rent their place through an agency. African scammers, on the other hand, use this tactic every day.