Room for Rent and other rental scams
by Michelle Wed Apr 07, 2010 3:18 pm
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 15:30:06 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: is this flat still available?
To: Michelle

Hello,

My name is Joana Marques and i am from Sweden.
Thanks for showing interest in the apartment,the apartment is still very much available.
I had an aunt in London and after her death she left me her apartment from London a few years ago.
Till last mounth the apartment was rent by some stutdents from Germany and now they left and the apartment is available again for rent again.
The property has huge bedrooms for double beds,huge living room,one bathroom and toilet,kitchen with dish washer/dryer and modern fittings,washing machine,cable tv,wired internet connection,parking space available(included in the rent price).
If you are really interested i advise you arrange for reservation and viewing of the apartment at your earliest convenient time but i could came to London only in the weekend.
The rent is 175 per week(bills and parking included) and the refundable security deposit is 700GBP and the flat is near the tube station,few min walks.
If you want i will send you more pictures of the flat and the lease to make your decision.
My question is how many persons will stay in the apartment,you will stay alone or you will have a flatmate?

I will wait for your reply,



Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 01:43:10 -0700
From: [email protected]
Subject: flat offer
To: Michelle

Hello,

Good to read again from you and for expressing your genuine interest in renting my flat.
Flat is fully furnished and as i said bills and parking spot are included and price is 700 per month for the whole flat not per person.
The location of the flat is 4 Sloane Court East , Chelsea ( LONDON ).
We could arrange a view of the flat only in the weekend because i work in the week days.
I could buy a fly ticket for the first saturday and i will be in London to meet you first saturday or sunday.
Before i came to London to meet you i wanna to be sure you are a fair person because 2 weeks ago a person from Liverpool told me he is really interested and he asked me to meet him in London to sign the rent contract and when i went there nobody showed up to rent my place and i lost time and money for nothing,everything was a stupid joke and i do not want that to happen again.
So,before i came i want to be sure you have the money and you will be in London .
Also,note that i do not required any money in advance,money will be paid in person after we sign the contract.
I have attached you the photos and the lease.

Thanks and Best Regards,


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.
Advertisement

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: ClaudeBot and 11 guests