by Con Warner
Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:07 am
From: Oliviero Russo <[email protected]>
Date: January 4, 2014 at 11:11
To: Con Warner
Subject: Re: 2BR/1BA Duplex
Thanks for your kind interest ,
My name is Oliviero Russo, the owner of the apartment .I bought this apartment for my daughters during their studies in US, but now they come back home in Italy permanently, so I'm renting the place, even for long and short period.
The apartment has 2 Bedrooms ,1 Bathroom (cold/hot water, electricity, wireless broadband Internet, digital TV, 1 parking spots for 2 cars, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine) .The neighborhood is very well served with public transportation,park playground, shops,supermarkets ,you can easily get things needed.
The rent is $2,250 per month, security deposit is $1,250 and you get it back at the end of contract or when you decide to leave the apartment.
Before we go any further I would like to know a little something about you, like how many persons you intend to live in the apartment, and for how long.
Thank you
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.
