Is this a rental scam? - [email protected].

Hi, so I'm looking for a flatshare in Dublin, Ireland and I contacted a landlord via easyroommate. This is the reply I got:

Good morning to you!

I am sorry it has taken a while before I replied or sent this message, I have so many people interested, hence so many emails to reply in a day and it is quite stressful considering the fact that I have a job that stresses me already. heheheheee. Know it or not, we have started on an interesting journey. We might eventually turn out to be flatmates and maybe not but please I would really appreciate if you would be straightforward with me and be ready and serious and not be a timewaster. I stay in a three bedroom apartment owned by my parents and I am looking at renting either one or two of the rooms, one of the rooms is occupied by me. My name is Marie, born in Sheffield in the United Kingdom and I'll be 23 this November. I just started work as a trainee medical examiner with the United Nations and I have been privileged to travel to some countries with my group and my team to assist people in some countries. Have you had any experiences in a shared apartment? Tell me more about yourself so I can get to know you better? but first, let me also tell you more about my apartment and the rooms I have for rent. I am looking at renting the place out very soon to someone, so, a clear and proper introduction and reply would really be nice.

About my apartment and the rooms, the rooms are quite big and spacious and they both have a small fridge in the room, you would also be entitled to unlimited access to use the Kitchen and a bigger freezer in the kitchen. All the rooms are fully furnished and comes with a Television set with Cable TV available. Phone cord, Internet WIFI (Wireless), A big double bed, private bath and toilet in each rooms, Car parking space and Laundry room for washing also available for use.

Rent is 400euro and it also contains the cost of the utilities; that means you are not required, after paying for your rent, to make any additional payments in the running of the apartment. You will also pay for a security deposit of 600euro. This security deposit is just a caution fee and will be returned to you when you want to move out of the apartment, okay? You are allowed to bring in visitors and guests and if they want to sleep over, you will need to tell me first okay?

My House Address: 11 Clare St, Dublin 2; and it is just 5 minutes walk from the Transit. Shops and restaurants are close by too.

So, tell me more about yourself and also GOOGLE the location of my house and let me know if the location suits you and if this is okay for you in terms of distance from your work or school or closeness to the city center.

Looking forward to hearing from you so that I can send you the pictures of my apartment and the room and we can proceed to the tenement agreement contract and also getting keys for you to move in,

Thanks,

Marie

I sent a short reply and got this barely 24 hours after the first email:

Thanks for your mail. It is alright. I am pleased to meet you. The rent is monthly and not weekly. Okay,so, we may proceed as I am very comfortable sharing my apartment and also renting the room to you. You may stop searching for another room now because I have decided to accept you as my flatmate. Let me know, how many rooms do you want to rent? You know I have two for rent, right? I am very excited because I did not think I would find someone so soon, but it is alright, Good things are bound to happen when people are straighforward. I have been renting my room for a while now and I am very much used to it and I have never had any problem. This is the final stage because after you send your contract preparation details, we can proceed to the contract signing and eventually, payment confirmation and keys and rent receipt sending.

For us to proceed, there are simple and easy steps. Next is for us to proceed to the rent agreement document, now for the rent contract to be prepared, my family lawyer has asked that you send in the following details:

- Your full name
- Your Move in Date and Move out Date (How long you want the contract to last)
- Scanned ID or Passport for identification
- Your address where you want me to send the keys and the rent receipt and the documents to you after you have made payment.

As soon as I get these details, I will send it to my lawyer and he shall begin the preparation of the rent agreement document. We can chat; Add me on skype so we can chat, my skype ID is: doublemarphy

I am glad we have reach this and am sure we would make good flatmates. I have attached the pictures of my apartment and also the room you will be staying in so you can have a clearer view of it, I will be waiting to receive the contract details my lawyer asked so that we can proceed to contract preparation, payment and sending of keys,

Cheers,

Marie

I'm a bit lost, because as much as I find some parts of the emails very strange, there is mention of a lawyer.
For example, the first email says that "so many people are interested" and a day later I get another message saying "I've accepted you as my flatmate" so "stop looking for a room"...
Also, those of you who maybe live in Dublin or who know the city will know that 400 euros a month in that location is, if not unheard of, very rare, especially with bills included.

I did chat on Skype with the person and she/he was very insistant on conluding very fast and would only agree to a viewing after concluding.

I was also sent pictures of the room that seemed to match with the description. The adress exists and I know for a fact that there are business there, but I have no way of knowing if there are apartments in that building.

The email address that was used to send theses messages is [email protected].

Please tell me if this is a scam or if I can move forward with the paperwork.

It is a scam and this is the proof.

so that we can proceed to contract preparation, payment and sending of keys

Your address where you want me to send the keys and the rent receipt and the documents to you after you have made payment.

No legitimate landlord will send/ship the keys to someone they have never met face to face.

The other red flags. Rent is below current market value for the area.
Pushing to complete the transaction fast.
Will not allow a preview of the rental.

Ok, thanks a million!

Hey DonJoe,
I received exactly the same emails and I was wondering too if that was truth... :/

i received the same e mail!!! but i paid 600 euros. i asked her to send to me her passport before the payement and she sent it.So i thought everything was ok. what can I do now?

Please post the passport, along with suitable search terms. Most likely either it's the passport of another victim, or it has alterations that make it look obviously fake, if you know what to look for. Then the next potential victim can google the passport and recognize the scam.

how can i post images?

Follow the link below in my signature for instructions on images.