Room for Rent Scammer - [email protected]

Subject: Re: Reply to your ad: A well-equipped kitchen, With Two Bedroom Fully Furnished Flat (B)
From: [email protected]
To: Michelle

Good to read from you on your interest on my apartment, which i am leasing out for rent

The apartment is still very much available for rent. Just to give you a little low down about the apartment. My Late father resided in the apartment, whom i inherited the apartment from as being his only child. I am a British citizen by birth. I am residing in Spain, with my fiance whom i am about getting married to in less than three months from now. And also working at the Hospital Universitario La Paz here in Madrid ..

The flat is up for a total of 600£ per month. Which i also think is fair enough considering the location. I just need someone with an open heart, love and clean to occupy the apartment and put all my worries off concerning the maintenance of the apartment for now.

The flat comprises of two bedroom. Excellent condition inside. Good sized lounge, with a sofa, DVD player, stereo, and washing machine. Can sleep a max of 4, and ideal for family and friends. The kitchen is fully equipped with all necessary cooking utensils.These are some of the measurement of the apartment.The living area is 14'3" X 19'10" and the kitchen area is 10'2" X 6'9". Bedroom 1 is 12'6" X 13'8" inc ensuite, bedroom 2 is 6'10" X 15'7". And there is a good sized bathroom

Just to let you know, the keys are right here with me. But there wouldn't be any problem with that. As it can be posted to you, after all necessary agreement has be reached and signed into lease. Also i will like you to know that the rent charges is not really an issue here , but your absolute maintenance of the apartment, because it is good to keep the property in good condition, just for the memories of my father. Who committed so much putting those facilities in place, so i wouldn't want an violation of my property if finally rented by you.

The Apartment is situated at Flat 22, Percival Mansions, Percival Terrace, Brighton, East Sussex BN2, United Kingdom. Just on the main road on the seaside and it is very close to the town and marina. And please note, Monthly Rental is only inclusive of Water Supply, Town Gas, electricity and council tax. I would be settling the bills at my end. As you would be starting the lease with a clean slate, as there are no outstanding bills.

The minimum lease term is 2 months, and a maximum of 2 years with a possibility of extension.

You can contact me on my British no which i am using over here in Madrid.
+447035936524

Kind Regards,
Victoria

Follow up mail

From Victoria Earl < [email protected] >
sender time Sent at 20:06 (GMT-08:00). Current time there: 01:24. ?
to Michelle
date 6 March 2010
subject Re: Reply to your ad: A well-equipped kitchen, With Two Bedroom Fully Furnished Flat (B)
mailed-by gmail.com
Signed by gmail.com


Hello Michelle,

Thanks for your time and quick response.

Actually, i can understand your point regarding the inspection and meeting. But unfortunately, that would definitely not be possible for now. As the keys are right here with me. So if you don't mind. I would suggest, you visit the building and location to determine your interest. As i do know your worries and reservations at this point. Although, non of this is entirely my fault, and not intensional. As i was suppose to lock up the flat since there is no one presently living there after the death of my Father. And moreover, i never had any intension of renting out the flat. It was my fiance who recently advise i should lease out the flat. Just for someone to occupy the place, and take up the maintenance. And often send feed backs regarding the state of the flat. So as to put off my worries.

Let me know what to you feel. So we could start up with the screening exercies for the first stage of the lease agreement. As for the keys, i am willing to post that to you as soon as we both reach a comfortable and satisfactory agreement.


Cheers,
Victoria

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.

I was recently looking for an apartment in Berlin and received almost the exact same e-mail. While I did not follow through long enough for the "landlord" to request a money order, they did acquire my name, address, and information for personal references. I was simply playing naive, giving the original craigslist posting the benefit of the doubt because it was such a great deal (400 Euro for a one bedroom apartment smack in the middle of town?) In retrospect, the information given was both too vague and too descriptive. Here's the e-mail in black, with some of my personal hints in blue.

Hello
Good to recieve your response on your interest on my apartment, which i am leasing out.
The apartment is still very much available for rent. Just to give you a little clew about the apartment. My Late father resided in the apartment, whom i inherited the apartment from being his only child. I am presently residing in madrid due to my new job offer as an Air Hostess to Ryanair here in spian also i am about to get married to my fiance in less than three months from now.I was initially confused by the fact that the e-mail address indicated a male's name, while the person claimed to be an air hostess. I overlooked this thinking there was a simple explanation.

The flat is up for a total to €400 per month including council tax and bills. I just need someone with an open heart, love and clean to occupy the apartment and put off all my worries concerning the maintenance of the apartment for now.
The flat comprises of 1bedroom. Excellent condition inside. Good sized lounge, with a sofa, DVD player, stereo, and washing machine etc. Can sleep a max of 3, and ideal for family and friends. The kitchen is fully equipped with all necessary cooking utensils.These are some of the measurement of the apartment.The living area is 14'3" X 19'10" and the kitchen area is 10'2" X 6'9". Bedroom 1 is 12'6" X 13'8" inc ensuite, and there is a good sized bathroom Guest WC 5'0" x 2'10" ( 1.52m x 0.86m.Kitchen 13'0" x 11'0" ( 3.96m x 3.35m )

Just to let you know, the keys are right here with me. But there wouldn't be any problem with that, as it can be posted to you after all necessary agreement has be reached and signed into lease as advised by my lawyer over here in madrid[color=#0000FF]While the mention of a lawyer does seem to help legitimize this agreement, it is in itself a bit strange to bring this formality up in a first e-mail[/color]. Also i will like you to know that the rent charges is not the major issue but your absolute maintenance of the apartment, because it is good to keep the property in good condition, just for the memories of my father,Who committed so much putting those facilities in place, so i wouldn't want violation of my property if finally rented by you.

The Apartment is situated at Dircksenstraße ,10179 Berlin, There is no street address, but there is a postal code? This is when it started to seem suspicious, because I was unable to pin-point an exact location on google maps. Moreover, why would someone include a postal code in a rental add?Germany Allocated parking., And plese, only the main utility bills (Gas, Water, Electricity and internet contection) are included on the rent. I will be settling the bills at my end So you will be starting the lease with a clean slate, as there are no outstanding bills.

Thank You

The final reason I became suspicious was after trying to track the e-mail address I had to an actual person, which was unsuccessful. I read on another forum that copy pasting contents of the e-mails you've received to google is a good way to do a mini-background check. And that lead me here! My scammer used the e-mail address: [email protected]

Good catch, Zuzka. That is a classic example of this type of scam, I'm glad you recognized the warning signs and avoided becoming a victim.