by Con Warner
Wed Jan 29, 2014 1:15 pm
From: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2014 11:11
To: Con Warner
Subject: Fwd: 1 BR apartment - Rue du Lombard
Hi,
Thank you for your interest. As you can see I have available the apartment located in: Rue Du Lombard 47, 1000 Bruxelles - Belgium, with 1 bedroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen and 1 bathroom. I purchased this nice apartment 5 years ago when i moved to Belgium with my work (i am a construction engineer), but my company finished his projects in Belgium and now i am back in my country, United Kingdom. I renovated and bought new furniture, all appliance are new and i was thinking to reselling it, but due to the market blockage and the international crisis, it is impossible for me to sell it right now, so I've decided to rent it. 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. I would be happy to rent it to somebody who likes keeping it clean and tidy. I can rent you the flat for 5 years, and, if after the 5 years you would like to stay more, then we can renew the contract. I can also rent it for short periods (1 month minimum). The rent for 1 month is 400 EUR including all utilities (electricity, wireless Internet, digital TV, 1 parking spot). You can use my furniture, or you can use your own. I have the option of sending all my furniture into storage if you want to bring your own (no extra costs). You can move in the apt in the same day when you receive the keys. The only problem is that I `m the only person who have the keys but I hope that we will find a compromise. Thank you for your interest and I will look forward to hearing from you soon.
Regards,
This person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union, MoneyGram, pre-paid credit card or bank transfer with a promise that you can have the keys to a property that does not belong to him.
Sounds safe. It's not!
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.
