College Apartment Girl in UK Scam

I'm a victim, lost $2k to someone who says he lives in London and has a daughter, and they want to rent a room in my apartment for the girl who's coming over to the USA to study.

The first encounter occurred when a notice of my apartment was put up at Berklee College of Music's Housing Bulletin Board. Sarah Scott posed as:

From: sarah scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, 1 November, 2009 6:46 PM
To: undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music


I am looking for an apartment to stay or probably share with roommate. I am female,non-smoker, clean and don't have pets. I would prefer to share or have my personal apartment with female.

Thanks.

I replied, she started pushing, pushing to secure the place immediately, ending all her emails in that manner. After a few emails, she said:

from sarah scott <[email protected]>
to Mabel (email removed)
date Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 1:47 PM
subject Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music: Roommate Speaking!
mailed-by yahoo.com
signed-by yahoo.com

hide details Nov 18

Thanks for the details but my Dad said he can only make the payment by sending you a certified check. Please let me know if this will be okay for you and get back to me with your name and address so as to forward the payment to you immediately.
Thanks.

I replied, and it was the father, Martin Scott from then on. He sent me a check of a two-month deposit and a first month rental. And I got the cheque and checked it in.

Here's where the story gets interesting:

1) The father writes back and says that he made a mistake and his agent sent ALL his money to me, including money for a travel agent in Georgia.

I thank you for your email and am happy that you finally got the payment.The payment was sent to you from my client and he made mistake of forwarding the whole amount to you. He should have sent to you a month's rent and security deposit and have the remaining sent back to my Travel agent so as to book for Sarah's flight and some other traveling expenses that will be incurred.

Thanks for the mail and your honest transparency, the funds you got was to secure the unit for my Daughter and i hope you are aware she will be taking unit for a period of 12 months or more ?
I will need part of the funds to get her flight booked as am on a business trip now to secure my goods in transit and will not be able to make her flight bookings please deduct the first month's rent and the security deposit from the payment you received and send the balance via money gram money transfer to my travel agent so She will be able to get her a flight booked. She manages all our travel and tours through out the states,She needs the money to get Sarah's flight booked and pay for other travel expenses that will be incurred.


Pls send money via money gram money transfer to:

Name: Dorothy Beasley
Address:1260 Spring St NW
City: Atlanta
State: GA
Zipcode: 30309

Note that a transfer fee will be deducted from the funds you are sending

I will appreciate you help her out by putting her through as soon as she arrives in the States so she can get a bank account opened that way i will be able to send the remaining rent fee to her all at once when i get back from my trip ,so she can pay you on the first or each month or all at once pending on how you want the fee.


Please send the funds to the information above and email me the actual amount sent and the REFERENCE number and the actual amount sent.
As soon as i get the details i will forward you her flight itinerary so you can be aware of her arrival date and time .

Thanks a whole lot for your offer of accommodation i really do appreciate.


Martins.

A DEPENDABLE NAME IN ELECTRONICS WORLD

I found the address on Google Maps, but USPS said they wouldn't post. Fine, I'd send a check via UPS. UPS said that no one was there, and the check was never collected. Hmm.

I also note that his English was terrible. The girl's english was terrible too. And they're UK citizens?

2) Father writes back, angry at us sending a cheque when all he gave us was an address. He wanted Western Union. He wanted money remittance. My money manager (mother, who was behind this whole rental stuff) asks for his number and calls him.

It was nice speaking to you on phone and i want to tell you that you have a ver sweet and wonderful voice. I can deduct from your voice that you are a very beautiful lady. My daughter called me and she said she can take care of the ticket herself and as i have emailed you that am on a trip to purchse my goods in transit and i will not be able to handle this. Please just have the money sent to Sarah herself in the UK through her information below by western union money transfer:


Name: Sarah Scott
Address: No 1 William street
Old luton,Luton.
LU2 7RE.
UK.

Please let me have the MTCN money transfer control number and the actual amount you sent so that Sarah will be able to pick it up.
Thanks a whole lot, you are a real mother.

Really, really fishy.

3) Mum runs a remittance of $2K through Western Union to said address. The money got collected really quickly.

4) The cheque bounces back, because the account was closed. It was our money in his hands.

5) We determine there and then that we (mum and me) have been scammed. Father emails back to us, asking us why we have been silent.

Now, for all the details:

All his emails as the father and the young girl are put into a PDF, downloadable/previewable here:
Removed link and posted edited emails below - Ralph
Scammer's 2 emails:
[email protected] (posing as a young girl in Essex, UK, seeking to travel to the US to study)

[email protected] (posing as a father of a young girl coming to college, ready to pay rent)

Names are: Sarah Scott, and Martin Scott. At 1 point in the emails, Sarah becomes Darah (spelling error? Or he doesn't care?) and he addresses himself as Martins.

Telephone Numbers: Yep, +44-702-407-2834 (which I found out is the same one that her father is also using and he can tell me things like he has to speak to his daughter in the night... - cheated Mum)

Addresses:

Name: Sarah Scott
Address: No 1 William street
Old luton,Luton.
LU2 7RE.
UK.


Please be careful! I think colleges and universities should do some publication about this kind of tale to its students, to remind them to watch out for that roommate girl coming from Essex with cash to spare.

-yourstruly

Hi Yourstruley

Welcome to Scamwarners,

I am sorry to hear you have been scammed.

I will post the emails here to make them easier to be picked up by google searches and to keep your information more secure

If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask

Arrival details of Sarah
from Martin Scott <[email protected]>
sender-time Sent at 5:45 AM (UTC). Current time there: 11:43 AM. !
to
date Wed, Dec 2, 2009 at 5:45 AM
subject Arrival details of Sarah
mailed-by hotmail.com
Dec 2
Hello Mei,
I thank you for your email and am happy that you finally got the payment.The payment was
sent to you from my client and he made mistake of forwarding the whole amount to you. He
should have sent to you a month's rent and security deposit and have the remaining sent back
to my Travel agent so as to book for Sarah's flight and some other traveling expenses that will
be incurred.
Thanks for the mail and your honest transparency, the funds you got was to secure the unit
for my Daughter and i hope you are aware she will be taking unit for a period of 12 months or
more ?
I will need part of the funds to get her flight booked as am on a business trip now to secure my
goods in transit and will not be able to make her flight bookings please deduct the first month's
rent and the security deposit from the payment you received and send the balance via money
gram money transfer to my travel agent so She will be able to get her a flight booked. She
manages all our travel and tours through out the states,She needs the money to get Sarah's
flight booked and pay for other travel expenses that will be incurred.
Pls send money via money gram money transfer to:
Name: Dorothy Beasley
Address:1260 Spring St NW
City: Atlanta
State: GA
Zipcode: 30309
Note that a transfer fee will be deducted from the funds you are sending
I will appreciate you help her out by putting her through as soon as she arrives in the States so
she can get a bank account opened that way i will be able to send the remaining rent fee to her
all at once when i get back from my trip ,so she can pay you on the first or each month or all at
once pending on how you want the fee.
Please send the funds to the information above and email me the actual amount sent and the
REFERENCE number and the actual amount sent.
As soon as i get the details i will forward you her flight itinerary so you can be aware of her
arrival date and time .
Thanks a whole lot for your offer of accommodation i really do appreciate.
Martins.
A DEPENDABLE NAME IN ELECTRONICS WORLD

From: Martin Scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, 3 December, 2009 7:39 AM
To: (email removed)
Subject: RE: Sarah's Arrival
Hello Ma,
Thank you ffor your email, please let me have the details as soon as the made the transfer. I
want to know if there will be any chance for Mei to pick Darah from the Airport?
Martins.
A DEPENDABLE NAME IN ELECTRONICS WORLD

From: Martin Scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent:
To: Removed
Subject: Payment was delivered by fedex with tracking number: 869591925321
Hello Removed,
I want to let you know that the payment had been delivered before now by fedex courier
service not ups. Below is the delivery summarry and please get back to me as soon as possible.
Your Tracking Information
Status: DELIVERED
Last Scan: 11/25/2009 09:33 Delivered BOSTON, MA US
BOSTON, MA US
Delivered To: Shipping/Receiving
Delivery Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Delivery Time: 9:33 AM
Delivery Location: BOSTON, MA US
Signed By: R.SAUNDERS
Carrier: FedEx
Service: Priority Envelope
FedEx Tracking Number: 869591925321
I await your immediate response.
Martins.
A DEPENDABLE NAME IN ELECTRONICS WORLD

From: Martin Scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent:
To: (email removed)
Subject: RE: Payment was delivered by fedex with tracking number: 869591925321
Please update me and i want you to get the check deposit to your bank and get back to me with
the exact date that the money on it will be available so that i can get you the information where
to wired the remaining funds and you shall compensate you so get back to me today

Martin Scott
[email protected]
12/09/2009 04:09 PM
To (email removed)
cc (email removed)
Subject Please send cash via money gram money transfer
Please respond to
[email protected]

Hello Removed,
I just read the mail you sent me and now understood that you have mailed check to the
travel agent. I have indicated the the fund should be sent in cash not check, please stop the
payment on the check and have cash sent to the information of the travel agent cos that is
the address She gave me and she has been handling all our traveling and tours in the States.
Please stop the payment and have cash sent to Dorothy Beasley so that she will be able to
pick up the fund wherever she is. I will appreciate it if you can please do this for me today
cos i have promised my Daughter after she lost her mum that i will do all i can to make her
happy . Please get back to me after you must have sent the fund to Dorothy via money
gram money transfer and let me have the actual amount sent and the reference number. I
know this will give you a little stress but look at what you can do to make this fund sent. The
transfer charges will be deducted from the fund you are sending.
I await your response.
God bless,
Martins.
A DEPENDABLE NAME IN ELECTRONICS WORLD

Hello Removed,
It was nice speaking to you on phone and i want to tell you that you have a ver sweet and
wonderful voice. I can deduct from your voice that you are a very beautiful lady. My
daughter called me and she said she can take care of the ticket herself and as i have
emailed you that am on a trip to purchse my goods in transit and i will not be able to
handle this. Please just have the money sent to Sarah herself in the UK through her
information below by western union money transfer:
Name: Sarah Scott
Address: No 1 William street
Old luton,Luton.
LU2 7RE.
UK.
Please let me have the MTCN money transfer control number and the actual amount you
sent so that Sarah will be able to pick it up.
Thanks a whole lot, you are a real mother.
Martins.
A DEPENDABLE NAME IN ELECTRONICS WORLD

From: Martin Scott mailto: [email protected]
Sent:
To: (email removed)
Subject: Greetings from Sarah's Dad.
I have been trying to reach you back so as to confirm if you have received Sarah's
information about the wester union money transfer. Please get back to me on here or phone
to confirm if you got the information.
I will love to meet you one day in order to know more about eachother cos i can't wait to
meet with you.
Regards,
Martins.
A DEPENDABLE NAME IN ELECTRONICS WORLD

from Martin Scott
[email protected]
sendertime
Sent
reply-to [email protected]
to
(email
removed)
date
subject RE: Arrival details of Sarah
mailedby
hotmail.com
hide details
Hello,
It's been some days now and i have not heard from you, I hope there is no problem?
Please let me read from you so as to know the status of the payment with you.
Regards,
Martins.
~~

Sarah Scott:
From: sarah scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent:
To: undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music
I am looking for an apartment to stay or probably share with roommate. I am female,nonsmoker,
clean and don't have pets. I would prefer to share or have my personal apartment
with female.
Thanks.
~~
( I asked: I'd also like to know a bit more about you - What food you like, what music you
like, what instrument you play, so on and so forth. If you are a pianist, I'm actually scouting
around now for a piano for the apartment. If not, it'd still be handy for ear-training.)
~~
from sarah scott <[email protected]>
to
(email
removed)
date
subject Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music:
Roommate Speaking!
mailedby
yahoo.com
signedby
yahoo.com

Thanks for the mail,am 21years coming over to study.I love reading and going out with
friends but not at nights.I neither smoke nor drink and note that am coming with no pets
and my parent will be responsible for the rent. Please let me know how i can proceed in
securing the place. I am very good in playing piano and i will be very happy to meet with
you and please let me know how i can secure the place immediately.
Thanks.
~~
(I asked: Nice! I don't smoke either - it's icky stuff. And I don't drink too. Are you coming to
study at Berklee in the Spring semester? You'll have one of the two bedrooms in the
apartment, the one with the nicer view. We're getting the rental price sorted out, trying to
make it student-friendly. What major do you plan to pursue here in Berklee?)
~~
from sarah scott <[email protected]>
to (email removed)
date
subject
Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music: Roommate
Speaking!

yahoo.com
signedby
yahoo.com
Thanks for the email, am happy to read from you. Please let me know how i can secure the
place before my arrival cos i will be coming over by the end of this month.
Thanks.
~~
from sarah scott <[email protected]>
to (email removed)
date
subject Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music: Roommate
Speaking!
mailedby
yahoo.com
signedby
yahoo.com

Thank you, i will be very happy to have your final asking rent and your mailing details so as
to forward it to my Dad for the issuance of the payment.
Thanks.
~~
from sarah scott <[email protected]>
to
(email
removed)
date
subject Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music:
Roommate Speaking!
mailedby
yahoo.com
signedby
yahoo.com

Thanks for the details but my Dad said he can only make the payment by sending you a
certified check. Please let me know if this will be okay for you and get back to me with your
name and address so as to forward the payment to you immediately.
Thanks.
~~
What Sarah said to my mum:
From: sarah scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent:
To:
Subject: Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music
Thanks,please email me the pictures of the place and how i can secure the place
immediately cos am presently at Essex in the UK.
Thanks.
~~
From: sarah scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent:
To:
Subject: Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music
Thanks for the pictures and am interested in securing the place.Please let me have your
name and address so as to forward the deposit to you in order to secure the place.
Thanks.
+44 702 407 2834.
~~
From: sarah scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent:
To:
Subject: Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music
Thanks for the mail,i got your details and i will have it forwarded to my dad for the issuance
of the payment.I will also let you know as soon as he mails the payment to you.
Thanks.
~~
From: sarah scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent:
To:
Subject: Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music
Am okay with the terms and i will like the lease to start by december.
~~
From: sarah scott [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent:
To: Removed
Subject: Re: Rental Inquiry in Berklee College of Music
Thanks for the email, you will definitely get the payment before my arrival. I will email Mabel
about my flight details as soon as my Dad is through with it so that she will know my arrival
date and time.
Thanks.
~~

I received this email response to an ad posted electronically at the University of Puget Sound in Washington State. Similar phone number and scam. I'll be interested to see if I get a response back!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----- Original Message -----

From: "Angela Kendrick" <[email protected]>
To: undisclosed recipients: ;
Sent: Saturday, February 6, 2010 6:18:54 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Room Inquiry
My name is Angela, I'm a 21-year-old and I am coming to University of Puget Sound and i will be taking classes and need to live closer to that area. I am currently in Manchester in the UK. I would prefer my own room and absolutely want something with a washer and dryer already in place! I also need internet for school, but could probably stand to live without cable tv. I would be down for furnished or not, it doesn't really matter. I would prefer month-to-month lease or a year lease if available and I'd have to work something out with a deposit. I am really involved in church, so another Christian would be great! I don't have a preference for male or female roommates. Email me on here or text me +44 702 407 2834.

Quotes added - Michelle

By the way, those phone numbers without the country code are the same area code as Las Vegas, Nevada!

Welcome to scamwarners j4est

Thank you for posing those details.

For your information - numbers with a +44 70 prefix are "follow me anywhere numbers".

Although on the face of it they look like UK numbers, they can divert to almost anywhere in the world.

Well, I guess the obvious question is---if I accept his/her phony check but never attempt to cash it, and never send any money for the supposed "overpayment", is there a better chance of apprehension as they continue to call/email? I reported this contact to the Washington State Attorney General's office, but was informed that they are severely back-logged---sounds like they don't have the motivation nor the manpower to follow up on these types of scams. I have also notified the university. Anything else I can do?

Hi J4est

if I accept his/her phony check

To do this you will need to give the scammer your real address, that is not a good idea, remember, these are criminals, would you normally tell a criminal where you live while trying to get them caught?

but never attempt to cash it, and never send any money for the supposed "overpayment",

If you have already given your address and the cheque does arrive this is the first step.

is there a better chance of apprehension as they continue to call/email?

Unfortunately there is little chance of apprehension regardless of how much information you gather, there have been cases many times where we could give you the real name and address of scammers yet still there is little that can be done.

I reported this contact to the Washington State Attorney General's office, but was informed that they are severely back-logged---sounds like they don't have the motivation nor the manpower to follow up on these types of scams.

No surprise there, in this case, the person who actually sent the email is most likely another victim known as a "mule" mules are usually unaware that what they are doing is highly illegal and they will often end up in a jail as a result of this scam.

I have also notified the university. Anything else I can do?

yes;
Tell as many people as you can about scams, the more people who are aware the less people there will be to get scammed.
Provide any additional information or emails in regards to this scam, many potential victims will do some searching if suspicious and the more there is posted teh better chance they will have of finding it.

Thank you to all who posted about this scam! It saved me from making a huge mistake! I posted an ad on my school's website about a room I had to sublet, and received a response from "Angela Kendrick" at [email protected]. Below is the first email I got from her, if "Angela" is in fact his or her name:

"I'm looking for a place to share or one-bedroom living situation starting by next month and also for the 2010-11 school year (possibly longer). I am a very serious and responsible student. I am open to any options available, though I prefer somewhere quiet and safe. I do not party and I like to keep to myself. Please contact me at +44 702 407 2834 with information.

Thanks.."

Then I asked when she would be able to look at the place and meet me. This was her response:

"Thanks for the email,i would have loved to see the place before leasing but am far at Spitalfields in the UK.Please let me have the pictures and how i can secure the place immediately.
Thanks."

I thought it was odd that she was SO EAGER to close the deal without knowing anything about me and without asking me anything about the place at all. Then I emailed back and asked her to tell me a little about herself since we couldn't meet in person and I gave her some details about myself, like what I study at school and what my plans for the future are. I also asked her what day she needed to move in by, since my current roommate was moving out in the middle of the month. Her reply:

"Thanks for the mail,am 21years coming over to study.I love reading and going out with friends but not at nights.I neither smoke nor drink and note that am coming with no pets and my parent will be responsible for the rent. Thanks for the link to the pictures and am interested in securing the place.Please let me have your name and address so as to forward the deposit to you in order to secure the place.
Thanks."

Once again, very pushy about closing the deal. Hmm. She didn't reply to the question about what date she needed to move in -- which I would have thought would be a pretty important point, especially if you're moving all the way from the UK. Also I noticed how she didn't mention anything about what she was coming to study for, which is something I talked about when I told her about myself. Then I googled her name, not even thinking it could be a scam but just thinking maybe I could find a facebook page or something to learn a little more about her, and ended up finding this website. That's when I realized how dumb this person is! They didn't even bother to look into what kind of school I go to in order to make a convincing lie about their major. No wonder she didn't mention anything about it in her reply.

This all happened over the course of a couple days, so this scammer is still at it, people! I reported it to my school so hopefully this person won't be able to get to anyone from here.

Hi Kmac

Welcome to Scamwarners.

Good on you for realising the scam and for letting other know about it, well done.

if you have any questions, please ask

I received another from "Sandra Pack" (sandypack1@ yahoo.com) on April 26th, 11:29 PM Canadian time inquiring about a posting at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, with a phone number similar to the other "follow-me'anywhere" phones:

"I'm looking for a place to share or one-bedroom living situation starting by next month and also for the 2010-11 school year (possibly longer). I am a very serious and responsible student. I am open to any options available, though I prefer somewhere quiet and safe. I do not party and I like to keep to myself. Please contact me at +44 702 407 2834 with information.
Thanks.."

I'm glad to see you caught on to this one early. Note that yours is exactly the same as the script above, with only the name changed. Scammers do copy each others' scripts from time to time, so the shared script does not necessarily mean much, but when you add the coincidence of the same phone number, you are likely looking at one scammer.

Thank you guys for all this information! It saved me from getting scammed. As you may know, it is very stressful trying to get out of a lease and the last thing you want to do is lose more money. How dare these scammers take advantage of people at such a sensitive time! I posted the apartment on UC Davis's Community Housing listing, which posts your e-mail address as is (not encrypted o_O)

from Cynthia Molnar <[email protected]>
to
date Wed, Apr 21, 2010 at 5:53 AM
subject Am Interested In Your Rental listing At University Of California DAVIS Community Housing off-campus housing listings
mailed-by gmail.com
signed-by gmail.com
hide details Apr 21
Hello,
I am interested in your rental listing,Please let me know your fixed rent per month,Also let me know the neighborhood and the utilities included in the place A little about my personalty. I am 23 year old,single and nice,I'll love to live with clean,caring and responsible people and also kindly provide me with the following informations; Is the unit you have available for rent fully furnished and finished?Would I be responsible for paying the utilities? When will the unit be available?will you sign a year lease?Do I need to pay any deposits? How secured is the area? Please,give me a reply to let me know if you will be of further assistance to me.

Hello,
Thanks for the mail, and more so i appreciate your gesture.i will be coming over by 1st of May and will like to secure the room before coming over. so plz kindly get back to me with the Final asking price,pics and the term of lease.i am from UK,23yrs and the only child of my parents,i have a degree in computer science and i will like to get masters....i read a lot which makes me stays indoors most time,i don't smoke or drink cos of my religious background...that is all i can tell you for now and what ever you wanna know you could please ask me in your next mail to me.

Sincerely
God Bless you
Thanks

Hello
Thanks for the mail and the detailed information,So kindly get back to me with your full Name,phone numbers and the postal address, cos i can get it forward to my dad cos he is responsible for the payment and please let me know the actual amount for the deposit.

Hope to read from you on the information needed asap for the deposit to be issue out to you.
God bless you
Thanks

At this point, unfortunately I did provide the address (I don't live there anymore) and my phone number
I also said that they could issue the check to the Apartment Complex, but see below:

Hello,
Thanks for the consideration,i will forward your address to my dad so he can make the payment for the deposit cos he is responsible for the payment as soon as possible for me to secure the place and i concerning the sending of the payment pls i prefer to send the payment directly to you seen am dealing with you directly.
Thanks and God bless you
Thanks

Yes am ok with that and i will be securing the place from May 1st, and concerning the lease i will fill that when arriving to the state in person and before moving in.thanks and God bless you

On May 1st, I waited around like a dummy, but surprise surprise no one showed. So I e-mailed her saying that I waited. Her response:

pls i will be arriving by Mid of May?

So I said "Oh I thought you said you'd be arriving May 1st..."

Yes i will be arriving by May 1st?

Me: Today is May 3rd... Did you mean June 1st?

yes June 1st?

I didn't respond after that.
Several days pass and I get this e-mail

from Cynthia Molnar <[email protected]>
to
date Mon, May 17, 2010 at 12:03 AM
subject Hi..
mailed-by gmail.com
signed-by gmail.com
hide details May 17 (10 days ago)
I want you to be patient cos the payment for the deposit will be arriving at your door steps,my dad just informed me that he had sent via a courier service and as soon as you get the payment please let me know .
Cynthia

Meanwhile, Cynthia's "Dad" had been e-mailing me.

from Martins Vowerk <[email protected]>
to
date Mon, May 3, 2010 at 2:51 AM
subject Cynthia,s Dad......The Girl Inquiry For The Room/Apt?
mailed-by yahoo.com
signed-by yahoo.com
hide details May 3
Hello (my name),

How are you today? Am sorry i would have contacted you before now but am on a trip now to purchase my goods in transit and i did not have time to use internet. i want to let you know that your address had been forwarded to me by my daughter regarding her rent's deposit and the payment had been sent to you, You will be getting the payment any moment from now,please do get back to me as soon as you receive the payment so as to confirm the receipt.

Also i will like you to confirm the address again..

(My old address was here)

I await your response.

Martins.

Hello,
Thanks for the mail and i want you to know that i am a business Man that travel around the world to secure my goods and concerning the paying of the rent I will appreciate you help her out by putting her through as soon as she arrives in the states so she can get a bank account opened
that way i will be able to send the remaining rent fee to her all at once when i get back from my trip ,so she can pay you on the first or each month or all at once pending on how you want the fee.

Martins

That was the last e-mail I responded to.

Decided to send me the same exact e-mail again???

Alright thanks for the update and i want you to know that i am a business man that travel around the world to secure my goods in transit and concerning and concerning the remaining rent i want you know that I will appreciate you help her out by putting

her through as soon as she arrives in the states so she can get a bank account opened
that way i will be able to send the remaining rent fee to her all at once when i get back
from my trip ,so she can pay you on the first or each month or all at once pending on
how you want the fee,

Martins

The following e-mails continued to come:

Hello,
How are you doing and hope every thing is fine,pls am so sorry for the late response and i want you to know that i will be mailing you the tracking # of the delivery of the payment to you as soon as possible,

And thanks for the holding on the room/apt for my daughter, God bless you,

Martins

Hello (removed) ,

How are you doing today, I am very happy to inform you that the payment for Cynthia,s Room/Apt will be delivered to you and here is the Tracking Number from USPS.COM (tracking number removed) Please go to USPS.COM website and check the status so you can see things for yourself and so you can be sure of when payment will be delivered to you..... But there was a little problem which i guess we can handle with understanding... I instructed my agent client to send out the money to you but there was a mistake in the issuance of the check....I told him to send you the exact first deposit/first month rent and also told him to send some money to Cynthia,s travel agent in another check but he claimed he did not get the information clearly so he made all the money out to you but i guess it is a small thing we can work out.

Now the deal is on and we will get through it.what will happen is that ,once you get the check and cash it, deduct the rent and any deposit needed for Cynthia,s move in...After that You will deduct extra $100 for yourself which will serve as compensation cause i guess am taking you through stress for helping me out in solving this little problem client caused..

Then you will have the balance forwarded to Cynthia,s travel agent who will work on her paper so she can be in the state as soon as possible via WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER...I just want to get everything set for her since i may not even be around at her move in date....I guess i told you am a business man and i travel a lot due to the nature of my work.

So as soon as you have the cash and have deducted all necessary charges ....You will go to any WESTERN UNION outlet with CASH balance and Cynthia,s travel agent information then you will transfer the money to the travel agent using the information below


Name : Renae Addison

Address : 5321 Wired Road

City : St.George,

State :SC

Zip Code : 29477



As soon as you have the money sent to her you will need to get back to me with the WESTERN UNION details such as..

1...MTCN # (money transfer control number) Its always on the receipt that will be given to you at WESTERN UNION outlet

2...Total amount sent after deducting WESTERN UNION charges

3.....Senders name and address as it is written on the receipt given to you at WESTERN UNION...

Thanks a lot for your understanding and i will be waiting to hear from you again as soon as you read this message...

Take care and have a blessed day.

Martins Vowerk

Hello (removed),

How are you doing and hope every thing is fine pls i will like you to know that the payment for the room/apt of my daughter will be arriving to your door step any moment from now and kindly track the website and see things for your self..

Tracking # (removed) by http://WWW.USPS.COM to confirm asap,

Anyone have any advice on what to do next?? I want to report this to some authority, but I don't know if anyone will do anything about it!

In addition to my previous post, I also received these suspicious inquiries, which i didn't pursue after my 1st experience!

from Sandra Pack <[email protected]>
to
date Mon, May 3, 2010 at 6:34 PM
subject Rental Inquiry at University of California,Davis
mailed-by yahoo.com
signed-by yahoo.com
hide details May 3
I'm looking for a place to share or one-bedroom living situation starting by May and also for the 2010-11 school year (possibly longer). I am a very serious and responsible student. I am open to any options available, though I prefer somewhere quiet and safe. I do not party and I like to keep to myself. Please contact me at [email protected] with information.


Thanks..

from Lizzy Jones <[email protected]>
reply-to [email protected]
to [email protected]
date Thu, May 6, 2010 at 8:13 AM
subject Inquiry
signed-by yahoo.co.uk
hide details May 6
Hello,
My name is Lizzy, am 25 years old. I am a very tolerant person, down to earth and open minded. I am looking for accomodation, I want to find out whether your rental is still available. Please get back to me with the features and any other extra details i might need to know and also i need to know the deposit (exact amount) that i will be paying before i arrive, I look forward to hearing from you ASAP.

Lizzy

From these, I learned to look for a couple things:
1) if their e-mail address is pretty close to their first and last name followed by some generic numbers: suspicious. also, beware of yahoo and gmail addresses - this is pretty tough because there's lots of people out there who have them (including myself!)
2) they talk about themselves and personal interests, unnecessarily and don't ask specific questions about the unit their inquiring about
3) currently live overseas and are offering to pay BEFORE they arrive...