Room for Rent and other rental scams
by daleonavi Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:59 am
I have seen this reported a few times on this site, but using different email addresses. 'Michael Simmons of England' is back on Craig's List, now in Denver. Note that he will even email you a photo of 'himself', which I assume is one he poached from someone else online.

Craig's List Ad:
room/share wanted
Date: 2013-01-31, 3:44PM
Firstly, may i know when the room will be ready to move in so i can make proper preparations prior to my arrival ?

My name is Michael and I am originally from England. I am 30 years old. I am looking to rent up to six months or a year. My max in spending is between $650 -$800 with utilities.

I am Clean and enjoy simple pleasures of life. Down time is a must in my life; enjoy reading, cooking, parks, swimming. I do not smoke or do drugs, but i drink occasionally. I am clean and respectful. Age, sex and orientation do not bother me. I Just want a good room mate. I'm into healthy and simple living.

I look forward to hearing from you.

'Michael's' Responses - Regardless of Your Email:
Thank you for getting back to me. Could you tell me more about the area because I won't be able to check it out in person? How close is it to banks, grocery stores, shopping malls and the library? I have also attached my picture and I would love to see a picture of you too. This will give both of us an ideal picture of ourselves so we won't have any difficulty identifying ourselves when we finally meet. I am OK with the total move in costs and I am ready to pay and secure it right away prior to my arrival. I just want to have your word that the room will be secured for me once I have made payments.

About me : I am a Pathologist by profession and working for European Public Health Alliance. As a microbiologist/Researcher, I do more of humanitarian work which is out of my real profession. Moreover, I just finished a project in Netherlands about treatment of water and to educate communities on intensive health-care. The project was initiated by UNICEF in conjunction with EPHA; I led the troop to actualize the conclusion of the project. My next appointment is in the United States. This is a great opportunity for me to visit the US for the first time. The duration of my stay is for 12 months. I might be working in Schools, Laboratories and Hospitals.

I get lot of acknowledgment about me being friendly, I love kids, I'm laid back, I don't keep late night, I am not conservative politically, but I respect people's points of view. I am pretty quiet and neat, but not obsessively so. I'm responsible and will pull my weight around the apartment and pay bills on time. I like to cook, and it would be great to have people to cook with or eat with, but it's definitely not a requirement in a roommate. Most importantly I am respectful of others privacy, time, and personal items.

Kindly reply back to me so we can proceed and finalize arrangements and have it secured before I arrive. Let me know if I can give you any more info that would be helpful in making your decision. I would appreciate if you can tell me about yourself too.


Respectfully,
Michael
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Thank you for the photo, at least we know what we look like now. I googled on the area and its a very nice location. I love it and i cant wait to move in. You sound like a very good person and It would be a pleasure to meet you soon. from all what you have written about yourself, I believe we would get along just fine because paying my rent and bills would never be a problem. I enjoy many things from cards, dominoes, board games, shooting pool, bowling, haunted houses to just hanging out. Although its been a long time since I've done some of those. Concerning the payment, my supervisor will be responsible for the payment. Let me know if you accept a US check, so that I can contact my supervisor that the room is ready. I am looking to move in between February 16th-18th, so i hope this wouldn't be a problem ?

I will need the following information to facilitate out the rental payment to you so that my supervisor can process it and send it to you as soon as possible :

FULL NAME:
MAILING ADDRESS (no P.O.Box please):
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
CELL PHONE:
HOME PHONE:

I would like to bring it to your notice that I am planning on having my car delivered to the house before I arrive. I am making arrangement with the car dealer to deliver the car before my arrival after the rent and security deposit has been paid. I will ask you for a favor here. Can I rely on you to take delivery of the car on my behalf? I will instruct the car dealer to contact you and schedule a delivery date and time that will be convenient for you.

I hope to read from you soon and thank you for your time.

Michael
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My Final Response to 'Michael':
Hello 'Michael' -

Please note that you did not reply as to my questions in my previous email. In addition, you say to have Googled the area where I live, however I never told you the actual location or address.

Aside from the fact that your 'supervisor' would NOT need all of my personal information to issue a check, as I would deal with Western Union only in this situation, you have used the EXACT same text in emails to me as you have used in the past under a different email address. The past correspondence with other parties have been reported as a SCAM.

IF you are a real person, I would advise you to be more personal with your replies and to agree to 'meet' via Skype to ensure this is not a scam. Moreover, do your research to see how things really work.

Think about how your actions affect other people. You waste their efforts and time with false commitments. Think about how this will effect your life and how this sort of energy will come back to you in some form.

I am adding this string and email address to the scams already reported.

Good bye.
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