Rental Scammer - [email protected]

From: Paula Salinger <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 11:11
Subject: RE: Immoweb - Intérêt sur une annonce à louer
To: Con Warner


Hello,

My name is Paula Salinger and I received your email of interest for the rental of my apartment located in Boulevard de Waterloo 96, 1000 Brussels. The apartment have 2 bedrooms, 1 living room, 1 kitchen and 1 bathroom.
I am a research engineer for a pharmaceutical company and I bought the apartment while working on a 2 year contract in Belgium as an alternative to renting. I am the only owner of the apartment, the apartment is paid in full and with no legal problems. The apartment is not inhabited since I am no longer living in Belgium. You could be my second tenants.
My intention is to rent the apartment to nice, clean people and in order to do that I would like to know a little something about you, like how many persons do you intend to live in my apartment, do you have a steady income ,etc
In addition to everything else here is a little something about the apartment and myself so we can get to know each other.
The apartment is the one in the pictures from the advertisment. I have the option of sending all my furniture into storage if you want to bring your own (no extra costs)
The rent for 1 month is 500 euro (for the entire apartment) including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking, air conditioning, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, private washing machine). Security deposit is also 500 euro, and you get it back, when you decide to leave the apartment (you will have to give me at least 30 days notice). You can rent the flat for any period of time (open end contract).
About myself, I am 39 years old and I am a research engineer for pharmaceutical products, currently living in London, my home town .
You can move in the apartment in the same day when you receive the keys. The only problem is that I`m already in London but I hope that we shall find a solution.

Thank you for your interest and looking forward to a future collaboration and friendship.

Best 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.

I got scammed by whoever this person is.
Got a fancy e-mail from eBay with an invoice number.

Did anyone else get scammed?

My e-mail is <removed>.

Mod edit: Removed poster's personal email address for safety.

From: <[email protected]>:

eBay sent this message to <removed>
Your name is included to show this message originated from eBay.
Congratulations, rental procedure initiated!

Dear <removed>
The Landlord Paula Salinger, started this transaction through eBay Escrow Account. We have verified all the details of this transaction, and concluded that this is a safe transaction. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely. We inform you that this transaction is covered by eBay Protection Program.

* Description of Goods:
Apartment and Interphone/Digiphone Keys, Viewing Permit, Rental Contract
* Invoice #:
1221768710515
* Declared Value:
Eur 950.00
* Shipping:
UPS overnight - 24 hours delivery
* Payment:
Pending
* Inspection:
Guaranteed by eBay Escrow Account

Delivery Information:

<removed>

eBay Payment Instructions:

Complete your eBay transaction in 4 easy steps:
-The Tenant and the Landlord agree on the terms of the transaction and on the renting price. The Landlord will contact eBay with the details of the transaction: eBay accepts the transaction and will offer Purchase Protection to the Tenant (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from either the Tenant or the Landlord).
-The Tenant sends the payment to our eBay agent via Bank Transfer as stated in the payment invoice. After the payment is verified by us, we will notify the Landlord to start the shipping procedure.
-The Tenant receives the Apartment Keys and Rental Contract and has 14 days to inspect it. If it is complete and as described, the Tenant should accept the Apartment. If he refuses the Apartment, the Tenant must ship it back to the Landlord within three business days.
-After the inspection period is over, the Tenant must contact eBay with the result of the inspection. If the Tenant refuses the Apartment, the refund will be sent to the Tenant after the tracking number for the returned shipment is verified.


Payment must be sent by Bank Transfer !
eBay covers this transaction if the payment is handled through Bank Transfer. We will offer you the same protection like you are paying with PayPal directly.


NOTE: The funds will not be released under any circumstances. We will hold the payment until you will send us your confirmation that you have inspected and you agree to keep the Apartment. When we will have your confirmation we will release the funds to the Landlord.


Send the payment by Bank Transfer (Priority Service) using the following eBay Representative account Details :



Account Name : Casimiro Horta Louro
Bank Name : TSB BANK
Bank Address : 27 Victoria Road, Ruislip HA4 9AB, United Kingdom
Account Number : 34122260
Sort code : 30-59-59
IBAN : GB23 LOYD 3059 5934 1222 60
BIC / SWIFT : LOYDGB21Y71

NOTE: Normally a bank transfer takes 4 days, until will be available into our agent bank account. To expedite the process, we suggest you ask your administrator for a bank account to bank transfer by using the option urgent. For a faster transaction you can make the deposit online from your bank account. Once the payment was sent, Email us the receipt from your bank.



Conditions to be meet before you may ask for a refund:

Here are the situations suitable for a refund request:
1. If the package doesn't arrive and/or the Landlord stops communications after the payment was received
2. If the Apartment has different specifications than the ones you agreed on
3. If your package arrives in a much longer period than the one you agreed on (more than 7 days from the payment clearance day)
For cases 2. and 3. you have to send back the package to the Landlord prior to ask for your refund.
Thank you for using eBay!

Bank account reported.

By the name of the Account Holder is that possible to press charges?

I found a similar scam on the same website for apartment rental. Different names but different method.
Should I post it here?