Rental Scammer - [email protected]

From: Bill Winfield <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: $1000 / 2br - 1300ft&sup2; - { IRRESISTIBLE AND ELEGANT } 2 BR IN The PRESTIGIOUS TRAFALGAR (Montreal, QC, Ville-Marie, TRAFALGAR)
Date: 17 November, 2013 11:11
To: Con Warner

Hello,

Thank you for your reply. As I told you before the rent for 1 month will be 1000CAD with no extra fees and you will have full access to all the building amenities. You will pay the same price for the entire rental period. I would like to know how many people will live in the apartment and also what rental contract you prefer (a 6 months rental contract with option to renew it or 1 year rental contract with option to renew it and stay more).
The monthly payments can be wired to my Bank Account (TD Bank) or we can setup a payment method that is suitable for both of us. The apartment is in excellent condition, you only need to receive the keys and the contract so you can check the place. The apartment is perfect and I am 100% sure that you will keep it. Since I'm in London, United Kingdom obviously we need a safe way to complete this deal. The solution which can be used is to use a wolrdwide third party company called RentReporters (www.rentreporters.com), They will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package. With their RentReporters Safe Exchange service you will be able to check the apartment before I receive the payment. Please be aware that is NOT necessary for you to register with RentReporters Safe Exchange given because I'm a registered user for 4 years and I've made over 30 transactions with them. They are really professional and they have great services.
My phone number is +4420 3286 5620 (if you are calling from Canada or United States you need to dial 011-44-20-3286 5620). You can call me or e-mail any time you wish.
Let me know if you are interested so I can provide with all the steps of this transaction, everything that you need to know about this process before we get this started. I think is right for both of us.


Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!

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.

Same Scam being applied here in Milwaukee, WI:

From: Warren Sayers <[email protected]>
Date: February 23, 2014, 1:02:16 PM CST
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Lead for 130 S Water Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204

Hello,


The apartment located in 130 S Water St, Milwaukee WI, 53204 is still available. As you can see from the pictures is in excellent condition, very clean and very well kept. Is the first time I'm renting this apartment and I'm trying to find a responsible tenant to take good care of the place. The apartment has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. You can use my furniture if you want and everything from the apartment otherwise you can deposit it in the storage unit that is near the building not far away. Of course I will cover the costs for movers. The apartment rent is 1100USD/month with everything included-all the utilites (heat, hydro, water, electricy, 2 parking spots, laundry in-suite, washer and dryer also included, cable and internet- full package paid for 1 year in advance). You also have full access to all the building amenities (sauna, pool, fitness room, gym, party room, restaurants, visitor parking). Everything in the apartment is new or renovated so there is no need for repairs but just in case I will cover the costs.


Note that the apartment is a private property, already paid in full and NO mortgage on it. The surrounding area is great. Schools and groceries near-by. I'm sure you will have everything that you need there because is one of the most important areas in the city. Pets and children are allowed in the building. Now about me: I'm a structural engineer and I work for MWH Global Engineering, I'm 45 years old, married with 2 children. I worked hard to have a good career and I really respect hard earned money. The company I work for they have projects all around the world so most of my time I'm traveling. The apartment will be available for the next 6 years for sure. I want to rent the place on my own because it's a private property therefore I need to send you the keys and the papers. I'm sure we can find a way for both of us to be satisfied.




Best regards,

Warren



From: Warren Sayers <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 1:15 PM
Subject: Re: Lead for 130 S Water Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204
To:


Hello,

Thank you for your reply. As I told you before the rent for 1 month will be 1100USD with no extra fees and you will have full access to all the building amenities. You will pay the same price for the entire rental period. I would like to know how many people will live in the apartment and also what rental contract you prefer (a 6 months rental contract with option to renew it or 1 year rental contract with option to renew it and stay more).
The monthly payments can be wired to my Bank Account (TD Bank) or we can setup a payment method that is suitable for both of us. The apartment is in excellent condition, you only need to receive the keys and the contract so you can check the place. The apartment is perfect and I am 100% sure that you will keep it. Since I'm in London, United Kingdom obviously we need a safe way to complete this deal. The solution which can be used is to use a wolrdwide third party company called RentReporters (www.rentreporters.com), They will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package. With their RentReporters Safe Exchange service you will be able to check the apartment before I receive the payment. Please be aware that is NOT necessary for you to register with RentReporters Safe Exchange given because I'm a registered user for 4 years and I've made over 30 transactions with them. They are really professional and they have great services.
My phone number is +4420 3286 5620 (if you are calling from Canada or United States you need to dial 011-44-20-3286 5620). You can call me or e-mail any time you wish.
Let me know if you are interested so I can provide with all the steps of this transaction, everything that you need to know about this process before we get this started. I think is right for both of us.


Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!

This person is also posting a condo for rent at 401 N. Wabash

From: Marvin Phitwong <[email protected]> [Add to Address Book]
To: ###############
Subject: Re: New message for 401 N Wabash Ave, Chicago
Date: Mar 10, 2014 3:47 PM
Hello,

Thank you for your reply. As I told you before the rent for 1 month will be 1200USD with no extra fees and you will have full access to all the building amenities. You will pay the same price for the entire rental period. I would like to know how many people will live in the apartment and also what rental contract you prefer (a 6 months rental contract with option to renew it or 1 year rental contract with option to renew it and stay more).
The monthly payments can be wired to my Bank Account (TD Bank) or we can setup a payment method that is suitable for both of us. The apartment is in excellent condition, you only need to receive the keys and the contract so you can check the place. The apartment is perfect and I am 100% sure that you will keep it. Since I'm in London, United Kingdom obviously we need a safe way to complete this deal. The solution which can be used is to use a wolrdwide third party company called RentReporters (www.rentreporters.com), They will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package. With their RentReporters Safe Exchange service you will be able to check the apartment before I receive the payment. Please be aware that is NOT necessary for you to register with RentReporters Safe Exchange given because I'm a registered user for 4 years and I've made over 30 transactions with them. They are really professional and they have great services.
My phone number is +4420 3286 5620 (if you are calling from Canada or United States you need to dial 011-44-20-3286 5620). You can call me or e-mail any time you wish.
Let me know if you are interested so I can provide with all the steps of this transaction, everything that you need to know about this process before we get this started. I think is right for both of us.


Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!

The scammer is using the site rentreporters.com to add credibility to his scam. When it comes time to make the payment for the deposit and first months rent he wants the payment sent via Western Union.



From the fake rentreporters

[email protected]

The package is now in our custody and it is ready to be sent to your address. We have checked the package. Mr. Marvin Phitwong, has sent you 2 keys from the outside door of the building, 3 keys from the apartment door, 2 keys from storage unit, key-card access for parking, copies from the apartment documents and the rental contract. We checked all the apartment papers and rental contract with our Real Estate Professional Department. After the payment is confirmed to our company the transaction starts and you will receive the package in 2-3 days. After the inspection period you must give us the final answer. If you don`t want to rent the apartment you will receive a full refund and the package is sent back to the sender.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transaction for: Apartment keys and rental contract verified signed by the Sender.
Owner of the apartment located in: 401 North Wabash Avenue, Chicago IL, United States

Transaction Amount: 950.00$ USD;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PAYMENT INFORMATION

You must pay to our company the amount of: 950.00$ USD using Western Union (www.westernunion.com) to our payments representative:

***********************************************************************************
FIRST NAME: DAVID
LAST NAME: WERANS
ADDRESS: 34 COLEGRAVE ROAD
CITY: LONDON
ZIP CODE: E15 1ED
COUNTRY: UNITED KINGDOM
*************************************************************************************

After the payment is sent please e-mail us the transfer code ( MTCN # ) so we can check if the transfer is valid.

Important Note: For business money transfer or internet transactions, Western Union charges customers a fee between 50-80.00$ CAD (an international sales tax imposed by the state). If you would like to avoid this fee, when the Western Union agent asks you what are you sending the money for , you can tell him/her that you are sending the money to a friend. There will be no problem and the payment will be received.

After the payment is sent please e-mail us the following information:

-10 digit Money Transfer Control Number
-Sender's, full name and address
-Receiver's full name
-The total amount sent
-Scanned Receipt from Western Union (required to be sent)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FOR ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE REPLY TO THIS EMAIL MESSAGE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for using our service,
Customer service - representative #5 - Thomas Ruffers;
RentReporters
Payment solutions powered by YapStone, Inc.

Posted: http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/bra/apa/4367564613.html

Emails received:

The apartment located in 9 George St, Brampton, ON L6Y 1L9 is still available. As you can see from the pictures is in excellent condition, very clean and very well kept. Is the first time I'm renting this apartment and I'm trying to find a responsible tenant to take good care of the place. The apartment has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. You can use my furniture if you want and everything from the apartment otherwise you can deposit it in the storage unit that is near the building not far away. Of course I will cover the costs for movers. The apartment rent is 700CAD/month with everything included-all the utilites (heat, hydro, water, electricy, 2 parking spots, laundry in-suite, washer and dryer also included, cable and internet- full package paid for 1 year in advance). You also have full access to all the building amenities (sauna, pool, fitness room, gym, party room, restaurants, visitor parking). Everything in the apartment is new or renovated so there is no need for repairs but just in case I will cover the costs.

Note that the apartment is a private property, already paid in full and NO mortgage on it. The surrounding area is great. Schools and groceries near-by. I'm sure you will have everything that you need there because is one of the most important areas in the city. Pets and children are allowed in the building. Now about me: I'm a structural engineer and I work for MWH Global Engineering, I'm 45 years old, married with 2 children. I worked hard to have a good career and I really respect hard earned money. The company I work for they have projects all around the world so most of my time I'm traveling. The apartment will be available for the next 6 years for sure. I want to rent the place on my own because it's a private property therefore I need to send you the keys and the papers. I'm sure we can find a way for both of us to be satisfied.

-----

Thank you for your reply. As I told you before the rent for 1 month will be 700CAD with no extra fees and you will have full access to all the building amenities. You will pay the same price for the entire rental period. I would like to know how many people will live in the apartment and also what rental contract you prefer (a 6 months rental contract with option to renew it or 1 year rental contract with option to renew it and stay more).

The monthly payments can be wired to my Bank Account (TD Bank) or we can setup a payment method that is suitable for both of us. The apartment is in excellent condition, you only need to receive the keys and the contract so you can check the place. The apartment is perfect and I am 100% sure that you will keep it. Since I'm in London, United Kingdom obviously we need a safe way to complete this deal. The solution which can be used is to use a wolrdwide third party company called RentReporters (www.rentreporters.com), They will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package. With their RentReporters Safe Exchange service you will be able to check the apartment before I receive the payment. Please be aware that is NOT necessary for you to register with RentReporters Safe Exchange given because I'm a registered user for 4 years and I've made over 30 transactions with them. They are really professional and they have great services.

My phone number is +4420 3286 5620 (if you are calling from Canada or United States you need to dial 011-44-20-3286 5620). You can call me or e-mail any time you wish.

Let me know if you are interested so I can provide with all the steps of this transaction, everything that you need to know about this process before we get this started. I think is right for both of us.

There was ad in Craigslist regarding rental apartment. I contacted the person via e-mail, when the ad is too good to be true and then it is, something didn't feel right about it and I search online for every clue I could find in the e-mail. I got lucky in the last e-mail. I am not going to state what gave away because I am pretty sure they do read these pages as well. Here are the e-mails.

Hello,


The apartment located in 333 Clark Avenue W, Vaughan, ON L4J 7K4 is still available. As you can see from the pictures is in excellent condition, very clean and very well kept. Is the first time I'm renting this apartment and I'm trying to find a responsible tenant to take good care of the place. The apartment has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. You can use my furniture if you want and everything from the apartment otherwise you can deposit it in the storage unit that is near the building not far away. Of course I will cover the costs for movers. The apartment rent is 700CAD/month with everything included-all the utilites (heat, hydro, water, electricy, 2 parking spots, laundry in-suite, washer and dryer also included, cable and internet- full package paid for 1 year in advance). You also have full access to all the building amenities (sauna, pool, fitness room, gym, party room, restaurants, visitor parking). Everything in the apartment is new or renovated so there is no need for repairs but just in case I will cover the costs.


Note that the apartment is a private property, already paid in full and NO mortgage on it. The surrounding area is great. Schools and groceries near-by. I'm sure you will have everything that you need there because is one of the most important areas in the city. Pets and children are allowed in the building. Now about me: I'm a structural engineer and I work for MWH Global Engineering, I'm 45 years old, married with 2 children. I worked hard to have a good career and I really respect hard earned money. The company I work for they have projects all around the world so most of my time I'm traveling. The apartment will be available for the next 6 years for sure. I want to rent the place on my own because it's a private property therefore I need to send you the keys and the papers. I'm sure we can find a way for both of us to be satisfied.




Best regards,

Bryan


Hello,

Thank you for your reply. As I told you before the rent for 1 month will be 700CAD with no extra fees and you will have full access to all the building amenities. You will pay the same price for the entire rental period. I would like to know how many people will live in the apartment and also what rental contract you prefer (a 6 months rental contract with option to renew it or 1 year rental contract with option to renew it and stay more).
The monthly payments can be wired to my Bank Account (TD Bank) or we can setup a payment method that is suitable for both of us. The apartment is in excellent condition, you only need to receive the keys and the contract so you can check the place. The apartment is perfect and I am 100% sure that you will keep it. Since I'm in London, United Kingdom obviously we need a safe way to complete this deal. The solution which can be used is to use a wolrdwide third party company called RentReporters (www.rentreporters.com), They will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package. With their RentReporters Safe Exchange service you will be able to check the apartment before I receive the payment. Please be aware that is NOT necessary for you to register with RentReporters Safe Exchange given because I'm a registered user for 4 years and I've made over 30 transactions with them. They are really professional and they have great services.
My phone number is +4420 3286 5620 (if you are calling from Canada or United States you need to dial 011-44-20-3286 5620). You can call me or e-mail any time you wish.
Let me know if you are interested so I can provide with all the steps of this transaction, everything that you need to know about this process before we get this started. I think is right for both of us.


Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!




His e-mails felt like copy and paste, because I wasn't getting the answers for my questions. That got me thinking, this was the second scam that I came across while searching for apartments.