Room for Rent Scammer - [email protected]

--- On Thu, 25/3/10, sandra lawrence <[email protected]> wrote:

Dear
Thanks for your response. I can make reservation for the said period of time.
However owing to my past unpleasant experience of inviting intending tenant to view my flat without confirming if they are actually able to pay their rent at the right time has caused me a great discomfort and as such do not want to experience it anymore, because i have to travel all the way from Scotland to take interested candidate round my flat. I do hope you understand my point of view.
In view of the previous occurrences, I do not want to collect any money from you as i have not taken you round my flat and signed your contract with my lawyer, but my lawyer have strongly advised me to confirm that you can pay your rent as at when due, so before we can proceed for the viewing, I will like to confirm if you can afford my rent. All you need to do now is to make transfer of a 2 weeks rent and security deposit of £400 to your friend or partner within the UK through Western Union Money Transfer The reason for using western union money transfer is that it is faster and my lawyer can easily confirm the transfer almost immediately he receives the scanned copy of the transfer receipt or the details of the transfer

Once you are done with the transfer, get back to me with the scanned copy of the transfer receipt as i forward it to my lawyer to confirm if the transfer is valid or not and available for pick-up by your friend or partner.Once my lawyer confirms the transaction valid, i will then ask you to tell your friend to pick up the money for you, then we can immediately proceed for the viewing. I shall refund the cost of transfer to you when we meet for the viewing. After the viewing, if you like my flat, you can proceed to signing the contract and then pay your rent and security deposit to me directly.
Kindly proceed with the transfer and get back to me as soon as possible.
Do not hesitate to ask anymore question.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Lawrence
07024062532

Follow up e-mail

From: sandra lawrence <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Reply to your ad: A spacious and fully finished apartment for rent in Leeds
To: Michelle
Date: Friday, 26 March, 2010, 20:07

Thanks for your reply. I wouldn't want you to get me wrong as i didn't
ask you to send the deposit to me directly, the idea of making a
confirmation of your financial ability is not only my idea, my lawyer
and i decided to use that process and i can't violate the procedure.

However, i didn't want to collect any money from you as long as you
have not sign a contract neither have i taken you round my flat. All
i request of you is to transfer the deposit to your friend or relative
within the UK through western union , once you've done that, you get
back to me with a scan copy of the transfer receipt so that i can

forward it to my lawyer to confirm if the transfer

After the confirmation might have been made by my lawyer, i will ask
you to tell your friend to pick up the money and schedule a convenient
day and time for the viewing. I promise to return the cost of the
transfer without any deduction.


Kindly let me know your opinion as soon as possible and if you are not
comfortable with my lawyer procedure, i suggest that you look for
another flat in other to avoid time wasting.

Regards
Mr/Mrs Lawrence

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.