Room for Rent and other rental scams
by Michelle Tue Jul 17, 2012 12:14 pm
From: [email protected]
To: Michelle Banks
Subject: My flat in Bristol
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:41:14 +0100

Thanks for the interest you have in my flat.My flat is still available for rent and you can stay in my flat as long as you pay your rent at when due.My flat is located at Greville Road,Bristol,BS3 1LL.Here are the necessary details you need to know about the rent and deposit.

Rent £480 pcm : £120.00 pw Security Deposit: £ 500.00 (Returnable at the end of your stay in my flat) with 100% Guarantee, Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm.

However, At this stage that you want to rent my flat, i need to know some few question about you.How long do you intend to stay in my flat? Can you keep my flat clean and tidy? Do you have references in Bristol?. Kindly reply for further information and i will like to know where you are coming from to stay in my flat.Make sure you reply with all answers to the questions i asked you.

I look forward to reading from you.Thank you and God bless you.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Lawson


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.
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by BackToBrock Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:20 am
Thanks for the post, I'm a Canadian Law student searching for accommodations in Brighton in September. The two BEST apartments I found on homesforstudents.co.uk and on gumtree turned out to be the scammer you mentioned above.

I e-mailed [email protected] about a flat, and received a reply from [email protected]

Hello Michael,Thanks for the reply.I would like you to know that my flat will be fully reserved for you.I would also want you to know that i have discuss your stay in my flat with my husband and with my lawyer and we have all concluded to make a reservation of you as long as you have promise that you 'll take proper good care of my flat just the way it is.I am willing to rent out the entire 2 bedroom flat.However,it is unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view my flat and making reservation for them 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. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work.

Some outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Brighton, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by there employees.my lawyer asked me not to collect any money from you as long as you have not sign a contract neither have i taken you round my flat, he decided to make a confirmation of your financial ability before we proceed with the reservation.

I would not ask you to send your bank statement. At least 1 month rent of £480 and security deposit which is £ 500 which is refundable after your first week stay in my flat, would be required from you to transfer through any western union outlet around you over there in Canada. You can make the transfer using any of your relatives name as the sender's name while you use your own name as a receiver to an address in the UK and you can as well use my flat address.(Preston Road,Brighton,BN1 6SA).

Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my lawyer to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your custody, after verification, then we can proceed to make a full reservation for you and you can easily pick up the money at the nearest western union outlet when you arrives in Brighton since you will be the receiver and also, i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet.

Kindly reply if you have more questions to ask.I will be looking forward to reading from you soon.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Lawson
+447024093708
Last edited by Bubbles on Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:45 pm, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Quotations added for clarity.
by Bubbles Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:49 pm
Welcome to ScamWarners BackToBrock and thank you for posting this scam information up. This is indeed a scam. The phone number provided is all that is needed to know it is a scam. Telephone numbers which with +4470 are redirect numbers which can be directed to any place in the world, while appearing to originate in the UK.

Bubbles, former Scamwarners moderator.

Rest in Peace 24 June 2015.

Gone, but never forgotten.
by MortimerCat Thu Jul 04, 2013 4:14 pm
Just thought I would mention that this same person is still trying the same scam a year later.

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

Thank you for your reply,i have just spoken to my lawyer and we have both agreed to secure my flat for you.The western union transfer is the acceptable means of transfer that my lawyer requested for,however you will proceed with security deposit transfer of £ 500 with a 1 month rent of £600 making a total transfer of £ 1,100,with your friends' name as the senders name and your own name or his wife's as the receiver name to any address here in the UK.

Once you have gotten the transfer done in any western union outlet close to you,you get back to me with the scan copy of the transfer receipt and so i can forward it to my lawyer for confirmation,and you will as well write out the details of the transfer out and send it to me as follow:

1:senders name:
2:receivers name:
3:MTCN:
4:amount sent:
5:cost of transfer:
6:phone number:

After the transfer has been confirmed valid i will give you a call and send you an email so i can inform you of the confirmation while we proceed with the viewing asap.You must also understand that the transfer must be confirmed valid before the receiver picks up the money as the essence of the transfer is to confirm its validity and once it as been confirmed valid,we will proceed with the viewing while he fills up and sign the tenancy agreement contract then he can move in at his own convenience.

Also don't forget that i will be responsible for the cost of transfer when we meet for the viewing.Kindly reply and let me know exactly when you're going to get the transfer done so i can inform my lawyer about your viewing date.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Lawson

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


I was nearly fooled by the getting someone to send a Western Union to myself. It was the sentence "the transfer must be confirmed valid before the receiver picks up the money" that made the alarm bells ring, and when I found your website. Thanks for saving me.
Last edited by Bryon Williams on Thu Jul 04, 2013 4:30 pm, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Added quotation for clarity.
by Bryon Williams Thu Jul 04, 2013 4:33 pm
Welcome to Scamwarners MortimerCat,

I am happy the alarm bells rang and you found yourself here.

Did the scammer use the email address posted on this thread or a new email address? Could you please post the email address he used and the full names he used?

Please contacta moferatorstor if you have a question or information about this post.



Please do not tell the scammer he is posted here.


Please remember the fallen. https://www.odmp.org/
by Bryon Williams Thu Jul 04, 2013 6:05 pm
^^Thank you.

Please contacta moferatorstor if you have a question or information about this post.



Please do not tell the scammer he is posted here.


Please remember the fallen. https://www.odmp.org/
by debbiedoesthis Wed Oct 30, 2013 5:24 pm
She's still active ...

I like how she's not sure if she's Mr or Mrs Lawson. The other giveaway is the awful use of the spacebar.

========================================
from: diane lawson <[email protected]>
to: <Removed - CW>
date: 30 October 2013 19:01
subject: RE: Forwarded mail from Clickflatshare server
mailed-by: hotmail.com

Hello, Thanks for the interest you have in my flat.My flat is presently available for rent and you can stay in my flat as long as you pay your rent at when due.My flat is located at Kensington Church Street,Kensington,London,W8 4EZ.Here are the necessary details you need to know about the rent and deposit.

Rent £600 pcm : £150.00 pw Security Deposit: £ 500.00 (Returnable at the end of your stay in my flat) with 100% Guarantee, Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, electricity,TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm.

However, At this stage that you want to rent my flat, i need to know some few question about you.How long do you intend to stay in my flat? Can you keep my flat clean and tidy? Do you have references in London?. Kindly reply for further information and i will like to know where you are coming from to stay in my flat.Make sure you reply with all answers to the questions i asked you.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Lawson
Last edited by Con Warner on Thu Oct 31, 2013 4:03 am, edited 2 times in total. Reason: Added quotation.
by Babbs1990 Mon Nov 25, 2013 6:05 pm
This person is still active,
Almost got me! I thought that this sounded too good to he true and it was!
This name is plastered everywhere, or a different name but the same e-mail content.
I'm so grateful that I found this site to save me from losing so much money.
I got in contact with the Diane lawson e-mail Address and the same phone number was given.
Here is an example of one of the emails she sent to me

Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 16:27:30 +0000

Hello Again Ellie, I want you to know that there has been a slight changes in the transfer procedure now. Some outside tenants performed a dubious transaction through the western union outlet earlier today and it almost got my attorney into trouble.

Therefore, you are required to get the transfer done through the Money gram post office on the 29th instead of the western union. This is for the interest of both parties as you understand that my attorney has a reputation to protect likewise myself.The procedure is also the same with the western union so you have nothing to worry about as i have already given you the procedure to follow in my previous e-mail.

Once the transfer is confirmed valid on the 29th as agreed,i will give you a call so i can inform you of the confirmation while i proceed with your viewing. I will personally drive you down to the nearest money gram post office here so you can withdraw the money while you make a formal payment and i will hand over the flat keys to you so you can move in at your own convenience. Also don't forget that i will refund back to you the cost of transfer when we meet for your viewing.

Kindly reply for acknowledgement. Thank you and God bless you.

Regards
Mrs Lawson
by rosy Mon Jan 13, 2014 4:17 am
from: diane lawson <[email protected]>
date: 11 January 2014 20:19
subject: RE: Trade-It.co.uk: Message from someone interested in your advert
mailed-by: hotmail.com

Thank you for your great interest in my flat,it is presently available and i will love to accommodate you in my property. My property is situated at Ham Road, Worthing, BN11 2QY. Below are the details you need to know about my flat:
Rent £600 pcm : £150.00 pw Security Deposit: £ 500.00 (This will be Refunded at the end of your stay in my flat) with 100% Guarantee, Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, electricity,TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm.
I have some queries as i will like to know if you'll be able to take good care of my flat as it has always been? How long do you wish to stay in my flat? Do you have any reference(s) here in Brighton? Where exactly are you coming from to secure my flat?
Kindly reply with all answers to the questions i asked you so we can proceed with other necessities as soon as i am satisfied with your answers. Thank you and God bless you.
Regards
Mrs Lawson

from: diane lawson <[email protected]>
date: 12 January 2014 08:57
subject: RE: Trade-It.co.uk: Message from someone interested in your advert
mailed-by: hotmail.com

Hello, Thanks for your response. I do appreciate your interest in my property and the fact that you really want to stay in my flat and i promise you a wonderful time during your stay,My flat is fully furnished in and out as you can see in the pictures,there is a garage and a off street parking in my flat, I was able to speak with my attorney as regards to your interest in my flat and we both agreed to have you and your partner in my flat.
However, it is quite unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view or reserve my flat, and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled, has brought about great loss to me. I currently work and live in Portishead and i would need to take a day off in order to come down to Brighton and schedule viewing with you.
Some prospective tenants do not have the funds to pay the rent and yet they disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Brighton, also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by there employees.
Nevertheless, you would need to make a deposit to secure the room but before that, my attorney would need some information from you to draft an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement which you will print and bring along with you on your arrival date to my flat.
A:YOUR FULL NAME(S):
B:CURRENT ADDRESS:
C:CONFIRMED MOVE-IN-DATE:
D:MOBILE NUMBER:
Kindly get back to me with these information so that i can inform you on how to proceed.
I look forward to hearing from you.Thank you and God bless you.
Regards
Mrs Lawson
+447024093708

from: diane lawson <[email protected]>
date: 12 January 2014 17:53
subject: RE: Trade-It.co.uk: Message from someone interested in your advert
mailed-by: hotmail.com

Hello, Thank you for your response. I have just forwarded your details to my attorney to draft your tenancy agreement contract which you will receive on Monday,13th of January. Apologies for my previous error as i meant to say ''flat''
However, i want you to understand that there is need for you to make a deposit before we proceed with your move in. Just like i have informed you in my previous e-mail that i have experienced horrible situations in the past whereby most of my client don't even have the funds to pay for rent and yet they disturb me for viewing and reservation and at the end of the day, they can't even afford to pay their rent as at when due.
This is why myself and my attorney has decided on the new policy that every prospective candidate must make a deposit before we proceed with viewing and ever since then everything has been working out fine without any complications. I just wanted you to be aware of this as you will receive your Shorthold tenancy agreement contract tomorrow as schedule so you will go through it, print it out and sign it. Then we will proceed from there.
I hope understand this e-mail. I will contact you tomorrow once your tenancy contract is ready. Thank you and God bless you.
Regards
Mrs Lawson

from: diane lawson <[email protected]>
date: 12 January 2014 21:46
subject: RE: Trade-It.co.uk: Message from someone interested in your advert
mailed-by: hotmail.com

I would not want you to get me wrong,the idea of making a confirmation of your financial ability is not only my idea, my attorney and i decided to use that process and i can't violate my attorney's procedure.I am a professional woman and i am not after your hard earned money neither did i asked you to send any money to me. All my attorney requires from you is to confirm your financial ability to secure my flat through the bank transfer process as we have so many horrible experience with most of my previous candidates just as i have told you in my previous e-mail and this was why i had to arrange a Shorthold tenancy agreement for you in advance which will indicate that you're the official candidate to retain my flat.
The issue is just a matter of once bitten twice shy. I am not going to go against the normal procedure we have been using over the past few years because of a single client as the same tenant that moved out previously also undergo the same procedure before she moved in without any complications. Your tenancy agreement will be sent as i said tomorrow.However, if you still feels uncomfortable then i will advise that you kindly look for another flat so as to avoid time wasting. Thank you.
Regards
Mrs Lawson
by oscarwhite Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:01 pm
I have been contacted today (I posted an advert on gumtree as I am currently looking for acomodation) by a scammer using email :

[email protected]

I believe her/him? to be still operating. I am sending you email received by her/him:
Thank you for your great interest in my flat, it is presently available and here are the required details you need to know. My property is situated at Kensington Church Street,Kensington,London,W8 4EZ. Below are the details you need to know about my flat:

Rent £600 pcm : £150.00 pw Security Deposit: £ 500.00 (This will be Refunded at the end of your stay in my flat) with 100% Guarantee, Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, electricity,TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm.

I have some queries as i will like to know if you'll be able to take good care of my flat as it has always been? How long do you wish to stay in my flat? Do you have any reference(s) here in London? Where exactly are you coming from to secure my flat?

Kindly reply with all answers to the questions i asked you so we can proceed with other necessities as soon as i am satisfied with your answers. Thank you and God bless you.

Regards
Mrs Lawson
Last edited by Bryon Williams on Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:56 pm, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Added quotation.
by Appleface Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:44 pm
OMG!
I have this weekend been talking to this person, thank you so much!
I was going to send the money on Tuesday, I feel so utterly stupid now!

Here is the ad

http://www.friday-ad.co.uk/brighton/pro ... -YI408OBA4

Hello I do appreciate your interest in my property and the fact that you really want to stay in my flat and i promise you a wonderful time during your stay,My flat is fully furnished in and out as you can see in the pictures,there is a garage and a off street parking in my flat, I was able to speak with my solicitor as regards to your interest in my flat and we both agreed to have you in my flat. However,it is quite 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 huge loss to me. I have traveled all the way from Ireland to take some interested candidates round my flat because that's where i work. Most outside tenants do not have the money to pay the rent and yet they disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Brighton,also some do not meet up with the appointments which has led to the dismissal of some landlords in office by there employees.

Henceforth my solicitor and myself have decided to carry out a simple test on your financial ability to pay so as to ensure that you're capable of paying your rent before coming for viewing or before making a reservation for any interested candidate.I would not ask you to send your bank statement neither your pay slip because it will be inappropriate for me to collect any money from you neither my attorney before viewing. At least 1 month rent of £600 and security deposit of £500 which is refundable after your stay in my flat, would be required of you to transfer through any western union outlet close to you. You can make the transfer with your name as a sender's name and your partner's name as a receiver to any address here in the UK,Once you have done this, scan the receipt to me and if you do not have scanner, you may write out the details on the receipt as i will send it to my solicitor to verify if it's truly genuine and available in your partner's custody, after verification, then we can proceed with the viewing while you move in at your own convenience.

NOTE:I won't want you to get me wrong concerning the transfer,please note that i just decided to communicate with you because you're the first candidate that responded to my flat advert.The transfer procedure is just a way of confirming your financial ability to secure my flat and also i will be responsible for the cost of the transfer when we meet for your move in and viewing.

I look forward to reading from you soon. Thank you and God bless you

Regards

Mr/Mrs Lawson
by Bryon Williams Sat Apr 19, 2014 3:45 pm
Welcome to Scamwarners Appleface,

Thank you for updating the information. Remember if you can not physically go inside of the rental consider it a scam. Never send money to anyone including to yourself or family members. Meet the landlord face to face.

Please contacta moferatorstor if you have a question or information about this post.



Please do not tell the scammer he is posted here.


Please remember the fallen. https://www.odmp.org/
by Appleface Mon Apr 21, 2014 6:56 am
She said me a contract

It is using Anderson's Solicitors which does not exist now as it got reported
I have reported this to the fraud action and the police.
by Sassy29 Thu May 22, 2014 7:37 am
Hello,

I have just signed up to this website so I could post an email from 'Mrs Lawson'. These people make me so angry. Why do they get away with it?.. Sent from email address [email protected]

Thank you for your great interest in my flat, it is presently available and here are the required details you need to know. My property is situated at Church Road,Hove,East Sussex,BN3 2BB. Just within walking distance to Portslade and hove station. Below are the details you need to know about my flat:

Rent £600 pcm : £150.00 pw Security Deposit: £ 500.00 (This will be Refunded at the end of your stay in my flat) with 100% Guarantee, Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, electricity,TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm.

I have some queries as i will like to know if you'll be able to take good care of my flat as it has always been? How long do you wish to stay in my flat? Do you have any reference(s) here in Brighton? Where exactly are you coming from to secure my flat?

Kindly reply with all answers to the questions i asked you so we can proceed with other necessities as soon as i am satisfied with your answers. Thank you and God bless you.

Regards
Mrs Lawson

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