Rental scammer - [email protected]

I also received this scam when I responded to an advert for an apartment to rent. Thomas Hofmann claims to also own a flat in the Sea point area. He then claimed that I would have to pay the rental and deposit money to a facilitation company that would deliver the flat keys. I emailed this company to ask if this is a service they offer and their one word response: "Scam". All emails below for interest sake...

On 21 Feb 2013, at 5:45 PM, Thomas Hofmann <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello,



I am Thomas Hofmann and I just received an email of interest in my apartment located in 51A Milton Road, Cape Town 8060,Western Cape,Atlantic Seaboard,South Africa . I am an austrian researcher working for a pharmaceutical company and this apartment was bought while working here in South Africa on a 5 year contract, as I thought it would be a better investment than renting. I am the only owner of the apartment, it is paid in full and it has no legal problems . The apartment has not been inhabited since I am no longer living in 1A Milton Road, Cape Town 8060,Western Cape,Atlantic Seaboard,South Africa
I wish to rent my apartment to some nice and responsible people and in order to do that I have to know a some details about you, like how many persons are you planning to live in the apartment, for how long, if you have a steady income, etc. I must tell you from the beginning that I do not have a problem if you are a student and I am very fond of pets and willing to accept them in the apartment(I am the proud owner of an English bulldog). You should also know that I appreciate sincerity very much.
In addition to everything else here is a little something about the apartment and myself so we can get to know each other.
The apartment is the one in the pictures from the advertisement.I have the option of sending all my furniture into storage if you want to bring your own (no extra costs)
The rent for 1 month is 5000 ZAR (for the entire apartment) including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable). You can rent the flat for any period of time (open end contract) but not less than 3 months.
About myself, I am 30 years and as I told you I am a researcher in pharmaceutical products.
You can move in the apartment in the same day when you receive the keys. The only issue is that I am already in United Kingdom but I hope that together we are going to find a solution.


I appreciate your interest in my property and I am looking forward to a future collaboration and friendship.


Best regards,
Thomas Hofmann


The next email stated:

Hello ,


Thanks for your reply,
That sounds great !
You seem to be a very nice person and I can assure you we will not have any problems .Like I have inform you before, the price you shall pay for 1 month of rent will be 5000 R and i want aslo one month guarantee deposit 5000 R ( the guarantee deposit 5000 R you will receive back when you leave the apartment ), with no extra taxes to pay. The money, I want to revive it monthly to my bank account, so I hope it will be no problem for you to wire the money .

Of course you will have to see the apartment before discussing further details . I am willing to send you the keys so you can visit it and see it suits your needs.The delivery for the keys and viewing permit (signed by me), will be made with WorldWide Moving to make sure that we can trust each other.
I will explain the procedure if you are interested so please email me as soon as you read this message because I really need to take care of this matter.

Where after the real reason for the scam became clearer:

Hello ,


First of all , I want to tell you that if you are ready to proceed with this transaction I will need to inform you the steps about how this service works
You will have 2 days to inspect the apartment before your final decision to rent . I will pay the shipping costs.


This is how they work :



1) I will make the delivery papers at WorldWide Moving. The shipping company its called : WorldWide Moving (www.worldwidemoving.co.uk)
After that I will send you a copy of my passport .



2) After I will make the papers for delivery they will require for your payment confirmation of the first month and the guarantee deposit(5000 ZAR + 5000 ZAR = 10000 ZAR ) to the company .WorldWide Moving will send you a delivery notification to let you know they have the Keys and the papers in their custody .
Also WorldWide Moving will give you further instructions about the money deposit .



3) After the payment is confirmed the delivery process will start and when you will receive the keys, you will have 2 days inspection period before your final decision to rent .



4) If all is in order, you will instruct WorldWide Moving to give me the money. Further rents will be sent directly to my bank account.



5) If you refuse to rent the apt , WorldWide Moving will give you a full refund (10000 ZAR ) and you will give them back the keys and the contract.



If you are interested to rent the apt please send me your information, so i can make the deal:




Name:..................
Address: ...............
City: .....................
Postal Code: ...............
Country: ...................
Phone number:...............



Thanks

Had another guy with EXACT same things for a flat in Vienna, Austria lol. It felt really fishy and I suspected it was a scam so I wanted to look it up. Good thing I found this thread which completely helped me realize its a scam. The guy had the exact same messages as your scammer did lol. Oh but he used the google translate to make a German version of it, but here is everything.

Hallo,


Ich bin Paul Light and kurzem erhielt ich eine E-Mail von Interesse in meiner Wohnung. Ich bin ein englischer Forscher, der für ein pharmazeutisches Unternehmen und diese Wohnung gekauft wurde während der Arbeit hier in Austria auf einer 5-Jahres-Vertrag, wie ich, es wäre eine bessere Investition als die Anmietung dachte. Ich bin der einzige Eigentümer der Wohnung, ist es in voller Höhe gezahlt und es hat keine rechtlichen Probleme. Die Wohnung ist nicht bewohnt, seit ich nicht mehr in Austria lebe.
Ich möchte meine Wohnung auf ein paar schöne und verantwortungsvolle Menschen zu mieten und um das zu tun, dass ich ein paar Details über Sie, wie wie viele Personen Sie planen, in der Wohnung leben, für wie lange, wenn Sie einen stetigen Know haben Einkommen, etc. ich muss Ihnen von Anfang an sagen, dass ich nicht ein Problem, wenn Sie ein Student sind und ich bin sehr gern Haustiere und bereit sind, sie in der Wohnung zu akzeptieren (Ich bin der stolze Besitzer einer englischen Bulldogge). Sie sollten auch wissen, dass ich aufrichtig schätze es sehr.
Neben allem anderen ist hier ein bisschen etwas über die Wohnung und mich so können wir uns gegenseitig kennen.
Die Wohnung ist ein in den Bildern aus dem advertisement.I haben die Möglichkeit, auf den Versand sämtlicher meine Möbel eingelagert, wenn Sie Ihre eigenen (keine zusätzlichen Kosten) bringen wollen
Die Miete für 1 Monat beträgt 440 EUR (für die ganze Wohnung) inklusive aller Nebenkosten (Wasser, Strom, Internet, Kabel). Sie können die Wohnung für einen beliebigen Zeitraum (open end Vertrag), aber nicht weniger als 3 Monate zu mieten.
Über mich, ich bin 42 Jahre und als ich sagte, ich bin ein Forscher in pharmazeutischen Produkten, lebt derzeit in London, meiner Heimatstadt.
Sie können in der Wohnung am selben Tag verschieben, wenn Sie die Schlüssel erhalten. Das einzige Problem ist, dass ich bereits in Großbritannien bin, aber ich hoffe, dass wir gemeinsam gehen, um eine Lösung zu finden.


Ich schätze Ihr Interesse an meinem Eigentum und ich freue mich auf eine zukünftige Zusammenarbeit und Freundschaft.


Best regards,
Paul Light


Hello,


I am Paul Light and I just received an email of interest in my apartment. I am an English researcher working for a pharmaceutical company and this apartment was bought while working here in Austria on a 5 year contract, as I thought it would be a better investment than renting. I am the only owner of the apartment, it is paid in full and it has no legal problems . The apartment has not been inhabited since I am no longer living in Austria.
I wish to rent my apartment to some nice and responsible people and in order to do that I have to know a some details about you, like how many persons are you planning to live in the apartment, for how long, if you have a steady income, etc. I must tell you from the beginning that I do not have a problem if you are a student and I am very fond of pets and willing to accept them in the apartment(I am the proud owner of an English bulldog). You should also know that I appreciate sincerity very much.
In addition to everything else here is a little something about the apartment and myself so we can get to know each other.
The apartment is the one in the pictures from the advertisement.I have the option of sending all my furniture into storage if you want to bring your own (no extra costs)
The rent for 1 month is 440 Eur (for the entire apartment) including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable). You can rent the flat for any period of time (open end contract) but not less than 3 months.
About myself, I am 42 years and as I told you I am a researcher in pharmaceutical products, currently living in London, my home town .
You can move in the apartment in the same day when you receive the keys. The only issue is that I am already in United Kingdom but I hope that together we are going to find a solution.


I appreciate your interest in my property and I am looking forward to a future collaboration and friendship.


Best regards ,
Paul Light



At that point I thought what an awesome deal, me and my roomie were really excited about it and wanting to get the flat pretty bad. After I sent some info about me and after I asked for pictures and detailed information about the flat as the address, size of the rooms, how furnished it is and so on he sent me this.



Thanks for your reply,

That sounds great !
You seem to be a very nice person and I can assure you we will not have any problems .Like I have inform you before, the price you shall pay for 1 month of rent will be 440 Eur and i want also one month guarantee deposit 440 Eur ( the guarantee deposit 440 Eur you will receive back when you leave the apartment ), with no extra taxes to pay. The money, I want to revive it monthly to my bank account, so I hope it will be no problem for you to wire the money .

Of course you will have to see the apartment before discussing further details . I am willing to send you the keys so you can visit it and see it suits your needs.The delivery for the keys and viewing permit (signed by me), will be made with WorldWide Moving to make sure that we can trust each other.
I will explain the procedure if you are interested so please email me as soon as you read this message because I really need to take care of this matter.



Regards
Paul Light

After that I thanked him for the flat and sent him my details as to where he can send the key, like my street, name, street number everything, and even though I sent him the details he asked for them one more time in the next email.


Hello ,

First of all , I want to tell you that if you are ready to proceed with this transaction I will need to inform you the steps about how this service works
You will have 2 days to inspect the apartment before your final decision to rent . I will pay the shipping costs.

This is how they work :

1) I will make the delivery papers at WorldWide Moving. The shipping company its called : WorldWide Moving (www.worldwidemoving.co.uk)
After that I will send you a copy of my passport .

2) After I will make the papers for delivery they will require for your payment confirmation of the first month and the guarantee deposit(440 Eur + 440 Eur= 880 Eur) to the company .WorldWide Moving will send you a delivery notification to let you know they have the Keys and the papers in their custody .
Also WorldWide Moving will give you further instructions about the money deposit .

3) After the payment is confirmed the delivery process will start and when you will receive the keys, you will have 2 days inspection period before your final decision to rent .

4) If all is in order, you will instruct WorldWide Moving to give me the money. Further rents will be sent directly to my bank account.

5) If you refuse to rent the apt , WorldWide Moving will give you a full refund (880 Eur) and you will give them back the keys and the contract.

If you are interested to rent the apt please send me your information, so i can make the deal:



Name:..................
Address: ...............
City: .....................
Postal Code: ...............
Country: ...................
Phone number:...............

Thanks


So I just replied and requested the pictures again because I realized he has been ignoring me about them. So he did what? he ignored me again and sent me this:


Hello,

I've just contacted World Wide Moving.
Did you received the confirmation from them? Please check all your email folders .
I have sent you a copy of my passport . I paid the shipping fees.
World Wide Moving is waiting for you to transfer the 880 Eur to their agent in order for them to begin the delivery at your address. When you will be able to transfer the money to them ? I must inform World Wide Moving. As soon as you confirm the payment to World Wide Moving they will start the shipping of the keys .

And in the junk folder I had this badly made pay slip from some company world wide moving ltd which had nothing to do with the real worldwide moving company that I contacted beforehand.

Thanks Kim.