Rental Scammer - [email protected]

From: Abraham Peter <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 11:11
Subject: Re: - $750 / 2br - 19210 Misty Meadow Ter, Germantown, MD 20874 (Germantown)
To: Con Warner


Thanks for your swift response regarding my property, the home is currently vacant and it is available for move in. I am Abraham Peter the owner of the property, my wife & I got transfer too Stockton,California few weeks ago and we are looking to rent our home ASAP.

The rent includes all utilities like washer, dryer, gas, electricity, Dishwasher,water, Electric Stove, Fridge are included in the rental fee. We would be staying here in California for a long time and this is why we are actually renting our Home. I am not after the money for the rent but looking for a trustworthy/responsible person too occupy our home. The keys/documents are right here with us but feel free to go view the exterior and once accepted as our new tenant the keys would be sent to you via FEDEX courier service.

If you interested in moving in immediately or ASAP kindly fill out the application below and also feel free to reach us on (949)-734-1780 serious rental only.

FIRST MONTH RENT
PLUS DEPOSIT OF $600 NEEDED FOR MOVING IN.
PETS OK

RENTAL APPLICATION FORM
Full Name:
Desire date of Occupancy:
Desire Length of Occupancy:
Occupation:
Cell Phone ( )
Home Phone ( )
Current Address:
Apt#:
City:
State:
Zip:
Reasons for Leaving:
Current Rent Payment:
Are you married:
How many people will be living in the house:
Do you have a pet:
Do you have a car:
Current Employer:
If a student:
Name of School:

Once I have all this information I will let you know what the next step to take toward renting our home. Looking forward to hear from you ASAP so I can have the required details in my file In case of issuing receipts and contacting you.


I look forward to hearing from you.
Abraham Peter.
CELL # (949)-734-1780.

This person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union, MoneyGram or bank transfer with a promise that you can have the keys to a property that does not belong to him.

Sounds safe. It's not!

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.

I just got hit with the same e-mail from a "Rosa Taylor". I didn't know it was a scam, and sent in $600 via WU, but b/c I didn't have the amount to send it instantly, I had to put it on a 3-day transfer. After I looked into it after an e-mail sent to me announcing a death in the family the wife had, it was told to send the money again via moneygram to Nigeria with an area code I knew didn't exist. So, in time, I got my money re-routed back to me via WU and got a refund. I have various voicemails and missed calls about the money, and i'm about to get it traced and bust these guys...

Welcome Marsmagma,

I'm glad you were able to retrieve your money. Please do post the email address and any other phone numbers used by the scammer.

As far as getting the scammer busted--odd are it's not going to happen, unfortunately. The scammer is almost certainly not even in the US. He is sitting in another country, most likely somewhere in Africa or Malaysia, using a VOIP phone number designed to make it look like he is in the US. Your local authorities have no jurisdiction over him, and unless there are hundreds of thousands of dollars involved, the federal authorities won't pursue the case due to the cost and complexity.

US authorities might pursue a local mule if he has one in the US. Unfortunately, there is a good chance that the mule is not a knowing accomplice, but instead fell for a job or a romance scam, and believes he/she is receiving and forwarding money for a legitimate reason. Either way, the mule will not be able to provide sufficient evidence on the scammer himself.

hey, got an email from this person too. Mine is identical but the name is under Jonathan Meeks. Email is [email protected]. I'd put up the CL ad but I'm pretty sure it's about to be taken down. Crazy.