Rental Scammer - [email protected]

I had the exact email for a property in Singapore from a Darrell Dean, his email is [email protected]. Thanks for this thread that enable to verify that this is a scam.

His email as below:

Hello,

I just read your message regarding my apartment.
Sorry if my answer comes quite late, but your email arrived in my spam folder, and I couldn't see it until now.
I bought this apartment for my daughter during her studies in Singapore, but now she's back home permanently, so I'm renting the place for unlimited time.
The flat is fully furnished and renovated, exactly like in the photos.
You can use my furniture, or you can also use your own if you prefer. If you decide to use yours, you will have access to a large and well ventilated cellar, where you can store my furniture.
Also, very important, the utilities (cold/hot water, electricity, wireless broadband Internet, digital TV, 2 parking spots in garage, air conditioning, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine, etc.) are included in the price of SG$ 2000/month. The deposit is also SG$ 2000, and you get it back, when you decide to leave the apartment (you will have to give me at least 30 days notice). As for me, you can rest assured that I will never ask you to leave the apartment.
Before we go any further I would like to know how many persons you intend to share the flat with, and for how long.
Now, a little bit about myself: My name is Darrell Dean and I'm a 60 years old graphic designer from London, planning to retire in the next 2 years.
I have a lovely wife, Christine and my daughter, Melanie. I am very proud to say that soon I'm going to be a grandfather :).
Another member of our family is a six year old Labrador Retriever which we all love, so, since I'm a pet owner myself, I will have no problem if you want to keep a pet in the house.
The only inconvenience is that my job doesn't allow me to leave London even for one single day. We just hired some new staff and I'm in charge of their training, so my schedule is pretty hectic right now.
But this won't affect the rental at all. I can make arrangements to rent the apartment from London (on my expense of course).

Looking forward to hear from you soon.

All the best from Britain

Aft I replied to hv more info, he sent me this:

Thanks for your reply,
Like I have inform you before, the price you shall pay for 1 month of rent will be SG$ 2000 and i want aslo one month guarantee deposit SG$ 2000 ( the guarantee deposit SG$ 2000 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 TNT 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.

When I asked for how we proceed from here, he replied:
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 TNT .


2) After I will make the papers for delivery they will require for your payment confirmation of the first month and the guarantee deposit(SG$ 2000 + SG$ 2000= SG$ 4000) to the company .TNT will send you a delivery notification to let you know they have the Keys and the papers in their custody .
Also TNT 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 TNT to give me the money. Further rents will be sent directly to my bank account.


5) If you refuse to rent the apt , TNT will give you a full refund (SG$ 4000) 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:...............

Split post and added quotes - CW

This person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union or MoneyGram to an escrow company with a promise that he will send the keys through a courier company.

Sounds safe. It's not!
The emails claiming to be from the company are fake.

At other times, he will ask for proof that you are able to pay the deposit and rent due to a string of time wasters.
This proof is in the form of a Western Union or MoneyGram payment to a lawyer,a friend or family member.

In either case, if payment is made and you give this person the details, they will collect the money.
You will not hear from them again.

All the details such as names, addresses, pictures etc. that the scammer uses in order to back up his story, are stolen from elsewhere.

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 Craigslist, Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment 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.