Sydney, Australia apartment rental

I'm looking for a place to stay for 5 months as I will be studying abroad in Sydney, Australia in July. I received an email from Michelle who found my ad on craigslist.org. She sounds legit but she asked me to send her a $300 deposit to secure the room. She also provided me with 2 emails from previous renters, they are also abroad students from Turkey and UK respectively. Here is my email conversations with Michelle:

Gmail Edgar
$500 Looking for a room for 4 months (Sydney) near University of Technology
15 messages
Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 10:40 AM
To: [email protected]
Hello

A highly and spacious flat is for rent for short and long term lease, great neighborhood, large living room. The apartment is available in SYDNEY , it is suitable for rent. Electricity, charges, heating, bed linen + bath towels, TV, and high-speed Internet available in the apartment. The rent is $600 per month.


Hope to hear from you again.


Warmest Regards
Michelle

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Edgar Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 10:53 AM
To: Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]>
Michelle,

Your flat is amazingly gorgeous! Will it be available when I arrive in Sydney (20 July, 2012)? I know it's 6 months from now and I would most definitely check out your flat when I arrive and perhaps stay at your place for the time I am in Sydney if everything works out. May I ask where the flat is located?

Also, my girlfriend will be staying with me for the first 3 weeks from 20 July, 2012 to 12 August, 2012. I am willing to work with you to accommodate her.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you.
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Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 10:55 AM
To: Edgar
You will need to make a part payment in other to reserve the apartment for you. hope to hear from you again
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Edgar Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 11:04 AM
To: Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]>
Michelle,

I would place a deposit for the apartment but I am aware of fraud and scam on craigslist. Do you have a web site for your apartment listing and references from past renters? Please excuse me as I am a college student so losing the deposit would be very costly for my study abroad program in Sydney. Thank you.



Sincerely,
Edgar

"Shoot for the stars, so if you fall you land on a cloud." - Kanye West

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Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 11:12 AM
To: Edgar
Thanks you for your email, my husband and i are the owner of the apartment. we live down the street of the apartment, we have daughter that schooling in other part of the country. we will never cheat you, references from past renters and you can email them for inquiring... [email protected], [email protected]
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Edgar Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 11:26 AM
To: Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]>
Thank you Michelle. I have contact the two past renters as you have provided. May I ask how much deposit you would like me to place for the apartment? Also, is this for a single bedroom (not shared) with a bathroom that will be shared?
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Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 11:36 AM
To: Edgar
You have to pay a refundable security deposit of $300 in other to reserve the apartment for you, after that i would send you the rental lease agreement form signed by our family lawyer. how do you like to proceed? it is single bedroom and bathroom that is not shared, only you will use it.

Hope to hear from you again

Regards
Michelle
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Edgar Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 11:41 AM
To: Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]>
The refundable security deposit of $300 is reasonable. Is the monthly rental amount negotiable? Will you be willing to meet halfway from my anticipated amount of $500 and your $600 for $550/month?

Also, may you provide me with the exact address of the apartment so I can see how far/close it is from the UTS campus.
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Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 11:46 AM
To: Edgar
I will accept $550 as monthly rent from you, i hope you have a lovely stay at Sydney
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Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 12:06 PM
To: Edgar
Hello Edger,

The apartment is located at Broadway Chippendale NSW 2008, Australia . It is 0.1 km from University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Located next to Central Station, Chinatown and Sydney Entertainment Centre are just 10 minutes’ walk away. Located in the vibrant inner city suburb of Chippendale, the apartment is only 15 minutes’ walk from Darling Harbour. Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World is a 20-minute walk away.

location only two minutes walk from the all Shops, bars and restaurants can be found nearby and there are enough public transport options nearby to reach the rest of the city with ease. Free public parking is available in front of the residence.

We hope to hear from you again, how do you like to proceed?

Warmest Regards
Michelle
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Edgar Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 12:23 PM
To: Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]>
Michelle,

$550/month would be perfect! It looks like everything is going the right direction. I love how the apartment is situated close by to UTS and local shops and I really appreciate your kindness. We can move forward with the deposit. Do you accept Paypal payments? I have a Paypal account which is verified. If you have a Paypal account you can send me an invoice to my email - [email protected] and I can proceed with the deposit. Thank you.



Sincerely,
Edgar

"Shoot for the stars, so if you fall you land on a cloud." - Kanye West



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Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 12:31 PM
To: Edgar
sorry, i did not use Paypal account, i prefer to make the payment via Western Union. hope to hear from you again...
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Edgar Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 12:56 PM
To: Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]>
Michelle, I have used Western Union in the past but am a bit skeptical about it because of its reputation in the past. Worse case scenario is wiring the deposit and upon arrival I am out of luck with nowhere to stay and $300 short. I have received emails from the two who have stayed at your apartment but there is the "what if's" I still have. Will there be a contract regarding the deposit? If so, I will be more than happy to send the $300 through Western Union.

I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you!



Sincerely,
Edgar

"Shoot for the stars, so if you fall you land on a cloud." - Kanye West



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Michelle Tomasz <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 1:08 PM
To: Edgar
Hi Edgar,

I have attached the rental lease agreement form signed by our family lawyer, you will have to fill in your details, sign then send it back to us for review. pls, make sure you fill and sign it, then send it back to me the way i sent it to you. after that i will give you details on how you will make payment.

Hope to hear from you again.


Warmest Regards
Michelle




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The following are emails from the renters:

Gmail Edgar
Inquiry on your stay in Michelle Tomasz's Property
5 messages
Edgar Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 11:24 AM
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Hello, I am a student from the United States studying in Sydney, Australia this coming July. I was contacted by Michelle Tomasz regarding her apartment from my craigslist ad in search for a room. I was wondering if you can shed some insight and experience you have had with Michelle and her property. I have seen the photos of her place and it looks fantastic! I am a bit sketchy about placing a deposit on a place overseas when I won't be arriving until 6 weeks from now.

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your help.



Sincerely,
Edgar

"Shoot for the stars, so if you fall you land on a cloud." - Kanye West


Mary Steven <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 11:43 AM
To: Edgar

Hi Edger, thanks you for your email. Mr/Mrs. Michelle Tomasz's are very lovely people and they are very accommodating. i was living in Uk when i paid reservation fees for apartment in Sydney and they reserved the apartment for me before my arrival date....i spent 6 months in their apartment....is that all you wanna know, i will be happy to hear from you again.






--- On Thu, 6/7/12, Edgar wrote:


From: Edgar
Subject: Inquiry on your stay in Michelle Tomasz's Property
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Date: Thursday, June 7, 2012, 1:24 PM
[Quoted text hidden]

Edgar Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 12:12 PM
To: Mary Steven <[email protected]>
Mary,

Thank you for your quick response! I have a few quick questions - where is the apartment located if you remember the address? Where did you study (I am studying at the University of Technology, Sydney)? How was the neighborhood? How many apartment-mates were there?

Thanks!



Sincerely,
Edgar

"Shoot for the stars, so if you fall you land on a cloud." - Kanye West



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Maryam Abdulkareem <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 12:31 PM
To: Edgar
Hi,
I can see that you want to rent the apartment and thats good because im so sure you will enjoy your stay.
To start with let me introduce myself my name is Maryam from Turkey and i stayed in the apartment for over 7 months, i was supposed to stay for 6 months but i had to extend my stay because i loved the apartment
Well, first of all i will say she and her husband are very wonderful and caring set of people. They are trustworthy, kindhearted and easy going. They both help out when one is in need of something and i really appreciated them for that.
I was a skeptical about placing a deposit as well because of the scams out there but i had seen an apartment i wanted to rent and was asked to place a deposit but i didnt and ended up losing the place eventually. I will advice you to place a deposit so as to secure the place for you in order not to fall the same fate as i did.

It seems i talk alot,lol, anyways i do hope you enjoy your stay in Sydney as much as you would enjoy the apartment.

Have a splendid day

Maryam

--- On Thu, 6/7/12, Edgar wrote:


From: Edgar
Subject: Inquiry on your stay in Michelle Tomasz's Property
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Date: Thursday, June 7, 2012, 11:24 AM
[Quoted text hidden]

Mary Steven <[email protected]> Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 12:59 PM
To: Edgar
Hi Edgar,

Thanks you for your reply once again, the apartment is located at 34, Broadway Chippendale NSW 2008, Australia. I also study at at the University of Technology, Sydney, the neighborhood are very good people. i live a lone in the apartment.


Thanks





--- On Thu, 6/7/12, Edgar wrote:


From: Edgar
Subject: Re: Inquiry on your stay in Michelle Tomasz's Property
To: "Mary Steven" <[email protected]>
Date: Thursday, June 7, 2012, 2:12 PM
[Quoted text hidden]

Please help! I don't want to lose $300 for my study abroad trip! Thank you!

Hello,

It's a scam!

sorry, i did not use Paypal account, i prefer to make the payment via Western Union

You were right to be suspicious about this as it is a huge red flag. If you notice the refferances have the exact same writting style as the "owner".

Justin

Gosh! Thanks for confirming this with me. I was very close to sending the $300 via Western Union but their site is poorly designed and keeps timing out. I went ahead and tried to locate their IP address from Gmail with this link: http://aruljohn.com/info/howtofindipaddress/#gmail and I couldn't locate their exact location because it was marked as a private IP address. Also, I checked out this site based on their IP address: http://www.whatsmyip.org/ip-geo-locatio ... 180.94.227 When I zoomed out, the location is situated near Africa.

Furthermore, I noticed the "renter" and the "rentee" both misspelled my name at around the same time when they responded to my email with "Edger" rather than "Edgar". I also noticed the emails were sent around 5-6am Australian time! It's evening time in Africa right now. I hope all these clues mean this is a scam.

I must admit until it got to the bit about Western union, it did seem plausible !. I suspect that the 2 References were actually the scammer.

Good that you did not send any money !!

I think your putting together some good clues . If you really look at all three emails you will seethe same errors and general style of writting. As Gateway said all three people are the same.