Rental Scammer - [email protected]

From: Caroline S Howard <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2013 03:49:23 +0000
Subject: Apt at Astoria-Queens for $660
To: Michelle Banks


I received your response to our ad stating your interest on our
property located at 30-44 29th Street, Astoria NY 11102. Interior:
1000 sq. ft. (approx.) Neighborhood: Astoria.

The apartment is owned by me and my husband, Mr. and Mrs Howard. We
are a little selective in leasing out our apartment. Our priority is
taking a responsible, careful, understanding and reasonable tenant
that will take good care of the property due to the amount we are
renting.

The above virtues are very important as we intend to leave you in full
charge of the apartment while we are away. My husband and I just
relocated to the UK recently due to business. We are Management
Consultants and have a contract here that would last for 6 yrs. Thus
the minimum period which we intend to lease out the apartment is 3
months starting from this February while the maximum is 6 years. Hence
you are guaranteed to stay in the apartment for 6yrs or less,
whichever is convenient for you. The apartment is in excellent
condition as you can see from the pictures attached herein.

Note that only a serious and responsible applicant will be considered.
It is therefore your responsibility to prove to us that you are the
perfect tenant for us.

I do apologize if I sound too strict but due to the fact that we are
giving out the apartment at a most affordable rate i.e. $660 month
rate (Utilities included are electricity, internet, water and heat).
This reduced cost is far below the apartment's worth and is intended
to serve as a constant reminder of your responsibility to take good
care of the apartment for us if given the opportunity. We are one of
the few who believe New York housing should not be so high in cost of
rentals. Besides, we only need someone to occupy the apartment and
take care of it. If we had a close family friend or relative in NY, we
would simply give it out to them to help us take care of it.

It is also important that you send us all necessary details we need to
know about yourself which will convince us that you are perfect
tenant. These details should include your full names, current address,
your present occupation, marital status, if you like pets and why you
want to take the apartment. More details will be communicated to you
as soon as we get your response.

Regards

Caroline

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.

from: Caroline S Howard <[email protected]>
to: Michelle Bnks
date: 10 February 2013 22:54
subject: Regarding apartment
mailed-by: hotmail.co.uk

Hello Michelle

Personally, I will like to give you the apartment but I will have to further discuss the issue with my husband. You are not the first person approaching us for the place so I do appreciate a high level of seriousness because our schedule is very tight. We would like to conclude with the leasing process to focus on our regular business activities as soon as possible. It is because of our business we had to relocate to the UK in the first place.

There maybe a little problem but I will try to work things out with my husband. He bought the apartment because he normally does business in New York but we just want to lease it for the period we will be out of the states. This will be at least 6 years or more. My husband was considering selling off the property but changed his mind because we still have other long term plans for the place. We would like to know the exact duration you want to sign up for the apartment. We wish to start leasing starting from this February.

Like I told you before that this is not about the money, which is why our price is very reasonable. The apartment had just been renovated with security access system installed. We just need someone to take good care of the apartment while we are away. I am very concerned about the state of my kitchen and bathroom. Some of the furniture had been moved to the store room under lock and key. This could be placed back if you like but I will also discuss that with my husband.

We intend to start collection of the rental fee of your duration after you have seen the place. We would probably use my husband's Chase account to facilitate the transaction. However, there is nobody there that will show you the place unless we make arrangement to send you the keys along with copies of the house documents, security access code, tenancy agreement and other lease signing papers.

I will try to talk to my husband today about sending you the keys and documents but you will need to scan us some form of your id or reference before we do that, preferably send us your work id, driver's license or state's id to verify your identification.

Alternatively, you can scan your letter of employment or admission letter as reference. The insured cost of shipping is also about £129 pounds. More so, after viewing the apartment, if you do not like it, you will also be responsible for sending us back our keys and documents.

If you are okay with this arrangement, get back to us with your feedback. You can reach my husband on this number +447031975676.

Regards,

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Caroline S Howard <[email protected]>
to: Michelle Banks
date: 12 February 2013 16:58
subject: Shipment & delivery

I presume my photos give a sufficient impression of the apartment and I guess you have made up your mind on what you want, so I will like to just see the outcome of this so I can conclude with you at once. My husband had accepted you to occupy the apartment upon confirmation of your details and we will go ahead in sending you your keys along with the security codes to access the apartment. These are the items we will be sending to you along with instructions.

I may place other people requesting for the same apartment on hold because my husband had told me that I should give your request more consideration and conclude with you first.

We have already bought a house here in England so you can have the apartment for a very long period if it suits you. We will give you at least 1 year notice if there is any change but I am sure it is not going to happen in the next 5 to 6 years. We expect you to state the payment plan that may suit you.

I also suggest you send the cost of the delivery which is about $225 or £129 equivalent via Money gram money transfer or RIA in my husband's personal assistant's name and confirm the details to me via email. We would have preferred you to make payment on delivery but we have to take a comprehensive insurance to cover the parcel due to its sensitivity which sums up to $190. This is why you were asked to send us the cost of delivery.

The actual cost of shipping the parcel cost $35 dollars with FedEx but my husband have decided to take a local comprehensive insurance on the package due to the sensitivity of the documents which cost $190 dollars. This is because he bought the property over $650,000 dollars so he has to take all necessary precautions.

Name: Susan
Surname: Bartlett
Street Address: 8 Leabank Square
City: London
State, Zip Code: E9 5LP,UK

Lastly, after viewing the apartment, if you happen to change your mind on taking it, you will be responsible for the cost of returning all the keys and documents also via courier. We will send all the items as soon as we re-confirm your mailing address and the cost of delivery.

Regards,

With Phone Number

On Thursday, March 20, 2014 7:59 PM, Caroline S Howard <[email protected]> wrote:

Personally, I will like to give you the apartment but I will have to further discuss the issue with my husband. You are not the first person approaching us for the place so I do appreciate a high level of seriousness because our schedule is very tight. We would like to conclude with the leasing process to focus on our regular activities as soon as possible. It is because of our retirement we moved down to London in the first place.

There maybe a little problem but I will try to work things out with my husband. we just want to lease it for the period we will be out of the states. This will be at least 8-10 years or more. My husband was considering selling off the property but changed his mind because we still have other plans. We would like to know the exact duration you want to sign up for the apartment. We wish to start leasing starting from this March/April.

Like I said earlier, this is not about the money, which is why the rent is reasonable. The apartment had just been renovated with security access system installed. We need someone to take good care of the apartment while we are away for the period of time. I am very concerned about the state of the kitchen and bathroom. Some of the furniture had been moved to the store room under lock and key. This could be placed back if you like but I will also have to discuss it with my husband.

We intend to start collection of the rental fee of your duration after you have personally inspect the apartment. We would probably use my husband's Chase account to facilitate the transaction. However, there is no one that will show you the apartment unless we make arrangement to send you the keys along with the security access code, tenancy agreement and other lease signing papers especially a sign authorisation letter from my husband to the building management.

I will try to talk to my husband today about sending you the keys and documents but you will need to send us scan copy of your id or reference before we do that, preferably send us your work id, driver's license or state's id to verify your identification.

The insured cost of shipping is also about £105 pounds. More so, after viewing the apartment, if you do not like it, you will also be responsible for sending us back our keys and documents.

If you are okay with this arrangement, get back to us with your feedback. You can reach my husband on this number +447024065820


Regards,

Caroline