by Con Warner
Sun Jan 26, 2014 4:42 pm
From: Josh Conde <[email protected]>
Date: January 26, 2014 at 11:11
To: Con Warner
Subject: Re: Lead for 901 Monroe Street, Arlington, VA 22201
Hello,
The apartment located in 901 Monroe Street, Arlington VA, 22201 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 800USD/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,
Josh
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.
Scammer wrote:Hello,
Thank you for your reply. As I told you before the rent for 1 month will be 800USD 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 RentPaidOnline Safe Exchange (http://www.rentpaidonline.com), They will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package. With their RentPaidOnline 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 RentPaidOnline 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!
