ben steve <[email protected]>

This is a typical rental scammer. He has no apartment for rent. He has placed the ads for the sole purpose of stealing the money of innocent people. While it seems safe to transfer money to yourself, or to a friend or a partner, with the information you provide, the scammer will be able to pick up the money himself, which is exactly what he intends to do.

On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 8:41 PM, ben steve <[email protected]> wrote:
I wouldn't want you to get me wrong,the idea of making a confirmation of your financial ability is not my personal idea,i don't need any deposit from you or pay me any money at all before move in, all i need from you is ability and to show that you are capable to have the flat and take very good care of the flat for me,the process has to be done due to some bad tenant that find it hard to pay there monthly rent after move in,that is the reason why you need to process the procedure to show and prove of capable to have the rent and to take very good care of the property,and i would have advice you to prove of bank statement or payslip but is not allowed as a major prove that is the reason why i ask you to make the transfer to your real name not me via western union because i ll need to present the prove to housing body who are incharge landlord and tenant due to what has happened in the pass and to have the approval and issue your reservation receipt in which you we bring along with you when coming to viewing the flat, due to some bad tenant that came and steal in the building, a lot of this has happened that is the reason why you will need to prove of ability to show that you have interest in the flat and capable as well not for other things.
I will not collect any deposit from you not until i take you round my flat and you are satisfied with it, i just need to confirm your financial ability before they can issue your reservation receipt to arrange the viewing with you,i ll be very happy if you can take very good care of the flat for me ,and never worry about the transfer fees i ll refund it back to you if that would be a problem.
Hope to read from you soon so that i can know may be i should hold the flat for you or not.
Thanks

On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 8:21 PM, ben steve <[email protected]> wrote:
The flat is available because My son live in the apartment and he has marry and move out to him own apartment and is not share apartment but you can share it with any of your own relative, i just need someone decent and honest who can take very good care of my property and who can be able to pay my rent, and you we need to make the reservation of the flat so that it can be secure for you, because some tenant find it hard to pay there monthly rent which are not capable to pay there rent after moving in and you we need to prove of having ability to take very good care of my property and to pay my rent.
Hope to read from you so that i can know may be i should hold the flat for you.
Best Regards

Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:43:25 +0300
Subject: Flat Ad (Kings Cross Rd)
To: [email protected]

Hello there!
I am interested in renting your flat.

Il giorno 17/feb/2013 14:55, "ben steve" <[email protected]> ha scritto:

Luxurious 49 Sq Ft,studio apartment in Central London,
Locate In 111 Kings Cross Road, London, WC1X 9DT, England and good road links for the motorist, and great transport links; Broadband, Parking; Sleeps as many as 3 Ultra Comfortable beds for couple .short and long term Available
The Apartment is situated in an up-market building. and 10 to 15mins distance walk to tube station and there are several new cafes, fine dining restaurants, cultural and tourist attractions in the vicinity.
The apartment's design is modern and spacious, and is fitted with all modern amenities, including:internet Broadband, A Bose DVD system, an extensive kitchen (Electric Gas, Deep Freezer, Washer / Dryer etc).
The apartment itself is in a quiet residential area.
Rent price 70pounds per week, 280pounds per month, 500pound refundable deposit for reservation of the apartment.
Notice; sucker and Bad tenant please dont reply to this AD you are not allowed in this property.
Available immediately
Best Regards

From: ben steve <[email protected]>
Date: 2013/2/18
Subject: RE: Request for your Offer at Starflats.co.uk
To: Michelle Banks

Mind you i did not ask you for any sum of money to be send to me before seeing my property...i just want you to make the transaction to yourself in order to have the proof to show local area council that you are capable to pay my rent regularly and to issue the reservation paperwork in your name to come along with when you are coming to view the flat,However,i didn't want to collect any money from you as long as you have not sign a contract neither have i taken you round my flat, and with this procedure its reliable that you are a confirm tenant willing to rent my flat and like i told you i will refund the transfer fees back to you if that could be the problem.
All i need from you is a prove that you can be able to pay my rent when you get to the flat and to prove to council of housing as well, i would have advice you to get back to me with other prove ability such as pay slip or Bank Statement but they cant verify such prove at council of housing,note that your reservation deposit you transfer to your name and the prove of western union we be use as your deposit and as ability that you can be able to pay my rent and take good care of my property when you move to the flat and to forward the prove payment details to council of housing so that they can prepare your reservation receipt in which you we need to bring along with you and approve the viewing as well.cos i ll need to send you the approval via e-mail which you we need to bring along with you when coming to viewing the flat.
All i really care about is decent and honest tenant who can take very care of my flat for me.
And remember you don't need to pay me any deposit at all your western union prove has cover and stand as your deposit.. that is the reason why i ask you to transfer the reservation deposit to your own real name so that you can be the receiver of the money after the viewing you can go and pick your money at the western union outlet and pay it to me hand to hand.
i just need to be careful not to rent out my property to sucker or bad tenant,and note that western union transfer fees will be refund back to you if that would be a problem,after the viewing you can go and pick the money and pay me my rent out of your reservation 500pounds.
Hope to read from you soon so that you can be the one to have the rent.
Thanks

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 a Money Transfer Service 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 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 ! These 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 or other Money Transfer Services 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.

hi i was looking for a flat got one now but i got an email like this from him and after a bit of messaging i knew what he was up to. He sent a copy his passport haha iv still got this and i want to put it on here but dont know how to??? dont get sucked in by this scum bag

Welcome to ScamWarners MICKYW2013, it is great you didn't fall for the scam. Instructions for posting photos are in my signature line below. Please be certain to deface the photos so other scammers cannot use the information in future scams.

Thank you.

I just received this post too and will definitely be reporting this.


On 4 Jun 2013, at 13:34, ben steve <[email protected]> wrote:



I wouldn't want you to get me wrong,the idea of making a confirmation of your financial ability is not my personal idea,i don't need any deposit from you or pay me any money at all before move in, all i need from you is ability and to show that you are capable to have the flat and take very good care of the flat for me,the process has to be done due to some bad tenant that find it hard to pay there monthly rent after move in,that is the reason why you need to process the procedure to show and prove of capable to have the rent and to take very good care of the property,and i would have advice you to prove of bank statement or payslip but is not allowed as a major prove that is the reason why i ask you to make the transfer to your real name not me via Money Gram because i ll need to present the prove to housing body who are incharge landlord and tenant due to what has happened in the pass and to have the approval and issue your reservation receipt in which you we bring along with you when coming to viewing the flat, due to some bad tenant that came and steal in the building, a lot of this has happened that is the reason why you will need to prove of ability to show that you have interest in the flat and capable as well not for other things.
I will not collect any deposit from you not until i take you round my flat and you are satisfied with it, i just need to confirm your financial ability before they can issue your reservation receipt to arrange the viewing with you,i ll be very happy if you can take very good care of the flat for me ,and never worry about the transfer fees i ll refund it back to you if that would be a problem.
Hope to read from you soon so that i can know may be i should hold the flat for you or not.
Thanks