Room for Rent Scammer - [email protected]

From: jenas Brown < [email protected] >
Date: Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 1:27 AM
Subject: RE: Reply to your ad: Beautiful and Amazing one bed room flat in bristol all bills included with the rent
To: Michelle

Thanks for the interest you have in my flat. My flat is still available for rent and here are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit.

Rent : £ 100.00 pw
Minimum Stay : 2 weeks Security Deposit: £ 500.00 (Returnable at the end of a week stay in my flat)
Utility bills inclusive ( water, gas, council tax, TV license and wireless Internet) Utility Cost : £ 0.00 pcm

However, At this stage that you want to rent my flat, i need to know some few question about you. Can you take care of my flat as it is? How many months do you intend to rent and pay for? Do you have references in bristol? Kindly let me know when you will be able to come for the viewing of the flat.I will be looking forward reading back from you and i will like to know where you are coming from to stay in my flat.

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.

I got the exact same email today ! ! !

"Thanks for your interest my flat.my flat is located at Queens Road,Clifton,BRISTOL,BS81QQ,England
Viewing is possible asap if you can meet up with my solicitors requirements..."

Good thing I searched the web for this guy. 100 pounds per week for a one bed flat in Clifton, including secure parking is too good to be true.
I also came across this

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7648092.stm

Welcome to Scamwarners Zub

I am pleased that this site was of some help to you.

This is how the scam works:-

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". He will ask you to send him the transfer details so that his (fake) lawyer can check that the details are correct.

A variation is that you will need to wire him a deposit before you actually see the property.

In any case: This is a scammer you are writing to. He does not own the accommodation. He is only after your money.

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.

This is a common scam that has caused many people to lose their money. This crook is trying this scam on many people at the same time, and is hoping you won't know that this is a scam until he has your money.