Rental Scammer - [email protected]

He's at it again. The same ad, the same 'give me £1000 to view the flat'

Hi,

Thanks for your prompt response to me regarding my flat and for your interest in knowing more about it. my flat is still available and it's just one bedroom flat but can contain a maximum of two people at a sleep, so if you have someone who you wish to share the room with, no problem. below is more about the flat. Large double bedroom 4x5 metres fully furnished with double bed, sofabed (for guests) wardrobe, chest, desk, chair, big mirror over large fireplace and is nicer than the picture suggests! The room opens up into the garden and is flooded with sun light in the morning, perfect for breakfast on the patio.

Flat is situated in a beautiful Residential Area near Restaurants, Bars and Shops. Minutes away Highbury Barn contains Grocery stores, organic store, cafes, two restaurants, French cheese shop, take-aways, shoe repairer, laundry, post office, a gift shop, a local pub, a DIY shop and bus stop. Highbury Fields Park, has a very affordable gym with a swimming pool and lots of classes.

The flat is 5 minutes walking distance to the Arsenal/Piccadilly line and 10 mins to Highbury & Islington/Victoria line. Just a few mins ride to Upper Street/Angel and all it offers. Excellent location 15 minutes on the tube from Leicester square 5 mins from Kings. The flat is well furnished and equipped with followings : standing mirror,CD - DVD - Video ,Radio , TV , High-speed Internet with WiFi,Washing Machine , Heating, iron and Ironing board , Electric Kettle,Toaster,Dishwasher,Refrigerator, Microwave and the flat comprise separate fully tiled bathroom with bath and power shower, and Off road parking space.

Rent :£400 per month, all bill inclusive
Security Deposit is £600 (refundable on your move-out date)
Flat address: Hamilton Park West,London Highbury N5 1AE United Kingdom
Minimum stay: 1 month
Maximum stay: 2 years

I have attached the photos of the flat with this e-mail so that you can have an idea of exactly what it look like and let me know if you like the flat. At present, I live and work in Liverpool but I will be happy to travel down to London any time that suits you for the viewing, waiting for your swift response

Cheers,
Marco

-----------------------

Thanks for the mail and for your interest in my flat. There's no problem in inviting you for the viewing,I currently work and live in Liverpool so I will need to take a day off from work in order to come down to arrange the viewing with you.It is unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view my flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled, has brought about great loss to me, is either they cannot afford the rent or the security deposit required but want me to come down with the aim of renegotiating.

I have consulted my lawyer and we have resolved that any potential tenants should be able to prove in the following way in order to determine who is financially buoyant and that he or she can stick to appointment when scheduled and able to pay his/her rent as at when due.In this case, a bank-statement or gurantee from your organization wont be accepted as we have had wayward tenants tendering fake documents.

PROCEDURE:

1) Transfer the amount £1000 (1 month rent and security deposit) to any of your family members or your friend via Western Union at the nearest Western Union outlet/shop close to you. You can ask any of them to make the transfer to you either.

Your Name (as Sender) to any of your family members or your friend (as Receiver) in London or any of them make you the receiver.

2) Scan & Send a copy of the Western Union transaction receipt as a proof of the transaction or mail me the transaction details. (The money is safe as it is only you that can withdraw since you need a ID card or International passport) and once I confirm from western union that the money is available to be pick up by the receiver, I will buy my train ticket to London immediately and email it to you so that you cam know the day and time I shall be arriving for the viewing.

3) I will come and pick you at the tube station, take you to the flat for the viewing and after the viewing.

4) If you decide to take the flat, we will go to any local Western Union outlet close to my flat you will collect the money from western union and pay me. (You don't need to come with cash to view, after viewing we will go together and you will collect your money and pay me).

5) Keys will be handed over to you after signing the contracts.

I do not want you to have the feeling that I am asking for money BEFORE you see what you are renting because I know that payment is meant to be done AFTER you have seen the Flat and okay with it that is why I said you should make the transfer to yourself so that you will be the one to receive the money and pay me in person after the viewing.If you are ready,you can go ahead and make the transfer and let me know immediately you do the transfer so that I can know how to squeeze out time to come and meet you.

You will need to scan the copy of the transfer receipt and email it to me to confirm it online in order to know you have made the transfer and to let you know that I will return back to you the full transfer charges whether you decide to rent the flat or not when we meet. Let me know if you are ok with this arrangement so that we can proceed.

Kind regards,
Marco


Unbelievable.

Is there nothing the police can do about this?


He's using this email address.



[email protected]

From: [email protected]
To: Michelle Banks
Subject: Await your reply back now
Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2012 08:46:16 +0000

Dear Michelle
Thanks for your message and for your interest in my flat. Yes I accept couples and the price is still £500 per month. There is no problem about viewing the flat when you arrive to London but I will like to let you know that there are other interested candidates who wish to meet me for the viewing asap but after reading your mail, I could sensed you truly love my flat. I will hold the flat for you till your arrival but before that, I will need to see a proof that you will not turn me off when you arrive.

Would you believe that I had once retained this room for a lady who is coming to London for Internship but on getting here, she told me that she is no longer interested in my flat because she had seen a better offer, this really hurt me and ever since then, I don't trust people. I explained the issue to my lawyer and he advised that before I should be holding my flat for any interested person, I must see the real fact that such person is truly interested in my flat and also he/she is capable of paying the rent fee and deposit on the day of their arrival. So we have both decided to carry out the below test:

Procedure;

1) You will go to any nearby western union outlet/shop close to you over there with £1150( I don't know how much that would be in your currency) and when you get there, you will tell any of their agent that you want to make a transfer using their service and you will be given a payment slip to fill, below is what you will fill on it:

Sender name: Your name
Receiver name: Your partner name
Sender address: Your address over there
Receiver address: London, United Kingdom
Amount to transfer: £1150

Once you fill the form, you will give the agent the money and he/she will give you a payment receipt as the proof of the transfer.

2) You will scan the receipt and email it to me for verification. I will call western union customer care here in Liverpool for confirmation and once I confirm that the money is available to be pick up by you as the receiver, I will ask my lawyer to prepare all the necessary documents you will need to sign down for you.
3) When you arrive to London, I will come and pick you up at the airport/tube station, take you to the flat for the viewing
4) If you decide to take the flat after the viewing, we will go to any local Western Union outlet close to my flat and your partner will collect the money from western union and pay me.
5) Keys will be handed over to you after signing the contracts.

I do not want you to have the feeling that I am asking for money BEFORE you see what you are renting because I know that payment is meant to be done AFTER you have seen the Flat and okay with it that is why I said you should make the transfer to yourself so that you will be the one to receive the money and pay me in person after the viewing. A little amount of money will be charged by western union as transfer charges but I don't want you to worry about that, I will refund it back to you immediately we meet in London for the viewing. If you are ok with this, I want you to go ahead now to do the transfer and email me back asap so that I can shelve aside all other interested candidates and hold the flat for you.

Thanks for your time and interest in my flat, I hope to read back from you again.

Cheers,
Marco

From: [email protected]
Subject: More details about my flat
Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2012 13:55:33 +0000

Hi,

Thanks for your prompt response to me regarding my flat and for your interest in knowing more about it. my flat is still available and it's just one bedroom flat but can contain a maximum of two people at a sleep, so if you have someone who you wish to share the room with, no problem. below is more about the flat. Large double bedroom 4x5 metres fully furnished with double bed, sofabed (for guests) wardrobe, chest, desk, chair, big mirror over large fireplace and is nicer than the picture suggests! The room opens up into the garden and is flooded with sun light in the morning, perfect for breakfast on the patio.

Flat is situated in a beautiful Residential Area near Restaurants, Bars and Shops. Minutes away Highbury Barn contains Grocery stores, organic store, cafes, two restaurants, French cheese shop, take-aways, shoe repairer, laundry, post office, a gift shop, a local pub, a DIY shop and bus stop. Highbury Fields Park, has a very affordable gym with a swimming pool and lots of classes.

The flat is 5 minutes walking distance to the Arsenal/Piccadilly line and 10 mins to Highbury & Islington/Victoria line. Just a few mins ride to Upper Street/Angel and all it offers. Excellent location 15 minutes on the tube from Leicester square 5 mins from Kings. The flat is well furnished and equipped with followings : standing mirror,CD - DVD - Video ,Radio , TV , High-speed Internet with WiFi,Washing Machine , Heating, iron and Ironing board , Electric Kettle,Toaster,Dishwasher,Refrigerator, Microwave and the flat comprise separate fully tiled bathroom with bath and power shower, and Off road parking space.

Rent :£500 per month, all bill inclusive
Security Deposit is £600 (refundable on your move-out date)
Flat address: Hamilton Park West,London Highbury N5 1AE United Kingdom
Minimum stay: 1 month
Maximum stay: 2 years

I have attached the photos of the flat with this e-mail so that you can have an idea of exactly what it look like and let me know if you like the flat. At present, I live and work in Liverpool but I will be happy to travel down to London any time that suits you for the viewing, waiting for your swift response

Cheers,
Marco