Possible Scam

I was looking for an apartment in Antwerp for a family in my church and came across an advertisement on a site called 'immoweb.be'. It's normally a legit site to look for such. I saw a unique opportunity for the family which was a quite modern apartment for 420 euros per month. After corresponding this are the mails I received from the renter ( scammer? )

'Hi,

Thank you for your interest. As you can see I have available the apartment located in: Lange Nieuwstraat 16, 2000 Antwerpen - Belgium, with 2 bedrooms, 1 living room, 1 kitchen and 1 bathroom. I purchased this nice apartment 4 years ago when i moved to Belgium with my work (i am a construction engineer), but my company finished his projects in Belgium and now i am back in my country, United Kingdom and i live in Bristol. I renovated and bought new furniture, all appliance are new and i was thinking to reselling it, but due to the market blockage and the international crisis, it is impossible for me to sell it right now, so I've decided to rent it. Before we go any further I would like to know a little something about you, like how many persons you intend to live in the apartment, and for how long. I would be happy to rent it to somebody who likes keeping it clean and tidy. I can rent you the flat for 5 years, and, if after the 5 years you would like to stay more, then we can renew the contract. I can also rent it for short periods (1-2 months minimum). The rent for 1 month is 420 EUR including all utilities (cold/hot water, electricity, wireless Internet, digital TV, 1 parking spot ,air conditioning, dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine). You can use my furniture, or you can use your own. I have the option of sending all my furniture into storage if you want to bring your own (no extra costs). You can move in the apt in the same day when you receive the keys. The only problem is that I `m the only person who have the keys but I hope that we will find a compromise. Thank you for your interest and I will look forward to hearing from you soon.

Good luck,

Dennis Karlsson

( and then I explained the situation above about the family and asked how the transaction could go with him in the UK and wanting to see the apartment with him there as well , face to face , this was the reply I got )

Hello ,

Thank you for your reply but the matter is that I'm in United Kingdom already. Like I have inform you before, the price you shall pay on the first month of rent will be 420 EUR + 420 EUR security deposit (840 EUR), with no extra taxes to pay. I must have one month rent plus security deposit from you. The money, I want to receive it monthly to my bank account, so I hope it will be no problem for you to wire the money to my bank account. The apartment is ready for you, you will need only to receive the keys and the contract to check it, and see if you like it. Obviously we need a way to complete this deal, that will allow us to make sure we receive what we are after. In order of that I have found a way for us to complete the deal safely and fast, and in this way you will receive the Keys in less than 2 days, if you move fast as well. The solution is provided by a rental company called Powis Rentals which is similar to FedEx or UPS, which will handle both payment and delivery of the Keys.
I have found a procedure that will allow you receive the keys of it and through this way you will see it and decide if you will stay in the apt or not before I receive my payment. To start this transaction, I need your full name, address, city, postal code and telephone number. I will also need to know the rental period and the day you want to move in so I can put it in the contract. I will pay for the services of the agency, so there will be no extra costs for you. Also, in case you have another apartment right now, and you cannot move out immediately, we can make the deal as I explained it now, and consider it only an inspection and reservation.

I am waiting for your quick response, because there are several others interested in the apartment, and I need to know if I can count on a deal with you.


Thanks
( I then agreed that there will be a deal and that I'm waiting for him to send the keys and the documents aswell, then this showed up the same day )

Thank you for choosing Powis Rentals IMB, the safest, most convenient and flexible way for on-line shipping and rental services. We are sure that our service will satisfy your needs.



Transaction Details

Transaction ID:
0QA08476F7
Item Price:
€ 840.00 Euro
Total:
€ 840.00 Euro
Order Description:
Apartament keys and rental contract.
Tracking Number:************
You can check your tracking number by accessing the following link http://powisimbltd.com/tracking.html.



Sender information:
Name: Dennis Karlsson
Address: 233 Wells Road, BS4 2DF Bristol
Country : United Kingdom

(then recipient, but I'll leave that out, but yes I gave my address :s )
Apartment Keys and rental contract verified and signed by the Sender. Owner of the apartment in : Lange Nieuwstraat 16, 2000 Antwerpen - Belgium. All the papers are double checked.


-Insured Value Amount (first month rent) + Security Deposit : € 840 EURO.
- If you decide to hold the apartment, then you will have to authorize us to release the funds to the sender, and the transaction will be completed. If you will not be satisfied with the apartment, you will be able to send the keys and contract back through the same service with no costs and inform us to return the funds to you.

Payment Information:

Payment must be sent in the next 72H using Bank Wire Transfer or direct deposit to our payment agent bank account.

Important: If you can't make the payment in 72H after receiving this e-mail, please contact us and ask if the bank account where you must deposit the money is still available for your transaction.

When the payment is made, email us or or send a Fax at 0044-207-504-8019 with the transfer receipt from your bank.


Powis Rentals IMB bank account details :

Account Name : Powis Rentals IMB
Account Number: 03991601
IBAN: GB04-BARC-2071-7503-9916-01
Sortcode: 207175
Swift/BIC: BARCGB22
Bank Name : Barclays
Bank Address : 99 Hatton Garden, London EC1N 8YS, United Kingdom

Our services are available only to those who can act in their full capacity, as intended and desired by EU Law (Civil Code art. 2),
that is the capacity to conclude contracts and sales.

http://powisimbltd.com

Powis Rentals IMB is the solution for your problems. Powis Rentals IMB specialises in providing Letting and Management Services for high quality residential houses and flats.

Powis Rentals IMB All rights reserved. © 2012

( Looked up Powis Rentals for reviews of that service and didn't find any, and that got me thinking of a scam going on)

Please what do you think??

Unsurprisingly the link is to a fake website Actually the address is a genuine reputable estate agent called Savilles and nothing to do with the scam. Also they lack basic spelling skills.
For the bots .
Adress
1 High Street SW19 5DX London UNITED KINGDOM
Email
[email protected]
PHONE 0044-207-097-3947
FAX 0044-207-504-8019

Account number sent to Allen for closure.

I noticed small text mistakes here and a Google search points to some almost identical sites that appear to be fakes too. I won't point the mistakes out here because you can see them if you read carefully.

* Length of the agreement
* Rent amount
* Amount of additional costs (heating, water, electricity, etc.)
* Term of notice
* Amount of deposit
* Iin the case of furnished rooms, an inventory of all items (checked in the presence of our agent whether all the items are in good order. If damaged, you will have a documented in writing with all damages , so that you don't have to pay for the damage when you move out)
* The general house rules (which also define the repairs that the landlord is responsible for and those which you have to pay for).

http://foxtons-imb.co.uk/our_service.html Virtually identical to OP site above. Same confirmed scam site

Adress
9 Lee Road
Blackheath, London SE3 9RQ UNITED KINGDOM

The above is a residential property containing flats
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/property-histor ... q/17350546

Email [email protected]
PHONE 0044-203-286-3485
FAX 0044-208-043-2705

*** The webiste http://www.zoopla.co.uk is a legitmate listing service. The indvidual listing above is a fake.
It is common for scammers to use a legitimate service in their scams to add credibility.
http://affitti-agency.com/index.html This is a scam site again
Different design and same text
About us has the same error too.

AFFITTI Agency is a member of ARLA (the Association of Residential Letting Agents, and our highly experienced staff is ARLA qualified

00390662207578, or email on: [email protected]

http://www.trulia-realestate.com/index0b30.html?id=2

* CALL US: +44-207-8068-084
* FAX US: +44 (0)203 004 1374
* E-mail US: trulia-real-estate@consultant.com

There are some other serious errors on these sites that persist on all.

The following websites are in the process of being reported for fraud.

http://powisimbltd.com
http://foxtons-imb.co.uk
http://affitti-agency.com
http://www.trulia-realestate.com

http://powisimbltd.com
http://foxtons-imb.co.uk
These have gone. By now the bank account will have been locked down if it actually existed. Wild oats have been sown into the scammers activities and they have work to occupy them with no prospect of results.

Thank you all so much, your vigilance and help will also, hopefully, help others scammed by the same method.
Looking for another place for them now with watchful eyes.

Kind regards,
Mandy

Hi!

I got the same e-mail.. What did you do? Had you already paid?

I know I'm not gonna pay, but just wondering what you did?

Thanks!

Moura, Did you get a recent email giving a different website to the removed ones? If so we need to know this or these so they can be deleted. If you have different email addresses to above these will help too. Thanks .

Please help. I had the same mails and everything. And I have paid them. Today I was in the apartment and nobody showed up.
Foxtons Rentals IMB [email protected] This was the contact and the land owner(!) was [email protected]

Thank you for choosing FOXTONS RENTALS IMB, the safest, most convenient and flexible way for on-line shipping and rental services. We are sure that our service will satisfy your needs.



Transaction Details

Transaction ID:
5RD59984S4
Item Price:
7,080.00 SEK
Total:
7,080.00 SEK
Order Description:
Apartament keys and rental contract.
Tracking Number: 5RD59984S4

You can check your tracking number by accessing the following link http://foxtonsimb.co.uk/tracking.html.



Sender information:
Name: Mikael Reiz
Address: 233 Wells Road, BS4 2DF Bristol
Country : United Kingdom



Receiver information:

............................


Apartment Keys and rental contract verified and signed by the Sender. Owner of the apartment in : Sperlingsgatan 10B, 212 22 Malmö - Sweden. All the papers are double checked.


-Insured Value Amount (first month rent) + Security Deposit : 7,080 SEK.
- If you decide to hold the apartment, then you will have to authorize us to release the funds to the sender, and the transaction will be completed. If you will not be satisfied with the apartment, you will be able to send the keys and contract back through the same service with no costs and inform us to return the funds to you.

Payment Information:

Payment must be sent in the next 72H using Bank Wire Transfer or direct deposit to our payment agent bank account.

Important: If you can't make the payment in 72H after receiving this e-mail, please contact us and ask if the bank account where you must deposit the money is still available for your transaction.

When the payment is made, email us or or send a Fax at 0044-207-504-8019 with the transfer receipt from your bank.


Foxtons Rentals IMB bank account details :

Account Name : Foxtons Rentals
Account Number: 33195163
IBAN: GB78-BARC-2053-04-3319-5163
Sort Code: 205304
Swift/BIC: BARCGB22
Bank Name : Barclays
Bank Address: 278 Hoe street, Walthamstow E17 9QE, United Kingdom

Our services are available only to those who can act in their full capacity, as intended and desired by EU Law (Civil Code art. 2),
that is the capacity to conclude contracts and sales.

http://foxtonsimb.co.uk

FOXTONS RENTALS IMB is the solution for your problems. FOXTONS RENTALS IMB specialises in providing Letting and Management Services for high quality residential houses and flats.

FOXTONS RENTALS IMB. All rights reserved.© 2012


NOW I dont know what to do!!!!

Welcome to ScamWarners unfortunate, sadly, you have been scammed and your money is gone. It might help you to contact the fraud squad at the police. They may be able to collect enough information to go after these people.

http://foxtonsimb.co.uk/contact_us.html
It would be difficult to contact these people because 1 High Street Wimbledon does not exist. There is a 1a and have a 1b but they are residential flats. I have pointed Alan towards this bank account and see if it is for closure or exists. If there is money in it which is unlikely it may be possible to get something back but it is a small chance.

233 Wells Road, BS4 2DF is a Doctors surgery and there is nobody of that name there.
In hind sight it is easy to do location checks in Google maps and if you had, you would have had second thoughts. On balance answering adverts on the Internet is not a good idea. There are large and reputable (OK we have all heard the estate agents jokes ) agents in most cities. You can do a search for them and if you see one, search for specific information about their activity, and contact directly. That cuts out the fakes and frauds.

EU Law (Civil Code art. 2),
that is the capacity to conclude contracts and sales.

This is an invention of scammers. There is no EU Civil Code (and no Article 2). It is talked about, but that is as far as it has got.

Domain name:
foxtonsimb.co.uk

Registrant:
Byet Domains

Registrant type:
Unknown

Registrant's address:
27 Old Gloucester Street
London
London
London
London
WC1N 3XX
United Kingdom

Registrar:
PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com [Tag = PDR-IN]
URL: http://www.publicdomainregistry.com

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 31-Oct-2012
Expiry date: 31-Oct-2013
Last updated: 31-Oct-2012

Registration status:
Registered until expiry date.

Name servers:
ns1.byethost22.org
ns2.byethost22.org

Disclaimer
WHOIS lookup made at 09:18:04 01-Dec-2012

www.foxtonsimb.co.uk is in the process of being reported fro fraud.

Important: If you can't make the payment in 72H after receiving this e-mail, please contact us and ask if the bank account where you must deposit the money is still available for your transaction.

Of course the scammer is used to losing bank accounts because of fraud, so don't mention what has been done and he can spend his time sorting out the mess while the bank tells its victim customers what has happened.
One hopes!

Thanks for the info.