[deputy2404]

Followingon from yesterday's post - I'm releived to say my instincts were right.I received this email today:

Hello Steph,

You see I have wasted alot of money and time to come show people the apartment and end up not to go for the apartment.I will not ask for your bank details or references because they could easily be forged.I am not saying you are but I am talking from experience.Steph I dont know if you can agree by my terms but I will really be happy if you do.atleast its gonna show you are interested in the house.There is parking space and all you could find in a complete home.

This is the proof I need Steph..with this I will be rest assured you can afford the apartment.You will need to go to money gram office and send the money to anybodies name you trust example your son,wife or friend.All I want to see is the evidence such as the receipt or teller.You will need to scan it and send it to my email address.As soon as i see it.I will be rest assured that you are serious about it.Then I will come and show you and complete the processes you need to so that you can move in as soon as you wish.

Please Steph dont find this difficult or tasking but its just the only way i can believe you really want the home.Remember I am not asking for any bank or any other financial reference because its not safe online.

Thanks for understanding and co operation.I wait to see the proof in the next email i will receive from you.Here is my phone number 07024011932

Daniel

I hope someone else seesthis and doesn't get duped, as it seems so easy to fooled when you're desperate for somewhere nice to live!

[kiwigoddess]

hi all!

this is my first post on the forums. i put up a post today asking for accommodation and i did wonder if i'd get any scam posts, so i came here and read through some threads first.

thank god i did!

you lot have already saved me from steve travolta who is STILL about to go to italy you'll be pleased to hear and i'm keeping tabs on the others who've got in touch to see if they pan out the same way.

i was thinking it would be useful if we could have a thread that listed people/scammers we come up against, rather than trawling through a thread to find the names?

[deputy2404]

In a new post I have listed some of the email addresses that have been used to ask me to do a money transfer - please check them out and feel free to add any which you may have received, hopefully this will prevent anyone else being duped.

[johnny08]

ANYONE ASKING FOR MONEY TO BE SENT VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM IS A FRAUDSTER. POLICE, WESTERN UNION AND MONEYGRAM DONT DO ANYTHING TO HELP OR EVEN REMOTELY TRY TO TRACK DOWN THESE PEOPLE. THEY ALSO CLAIM TO BE LIVING OUT OF LONDON AND WILL HAVE A STORY SAYING THEY HAVE BEEN SCREWED BEFORE. BE SAFE.

These are the following details of a scam on gumtree at the moment.
Didnt know how to contact gumtree to get them to remove it.

RE: Your Gumtree.com ad #21712693: A modern One double bed flat in
West Kensington and Barons Court‏


A modern One double bed flat in West Kensington and Barons Court (£700 pcm) Reply to: Click here to email the poster Date: Saturday 22nd March
Date available: 30/03
A modern One double bed flat situated at Castletown Road, West Kensington, London W14 within a period building in sought after area, close to West Kensington and Barons Court tube stations (Piccadilly and District lines). The property benefits from bright living room, open plan fitted kitchen, tiled shower room.

Kate Flamini (bolapanchi20007@yahoo.co.uk)

Peterson johnson (petershop01@hotmail.com) Also scam from experience phone number: 07031949195.

[lilaccrystal2002]

these people are working all over different web sites as my daughter and myself was nearly caught out on applying for a gorgous apartment in camden from the tapthat web site,
firstly we thought it was too cheap at 560 pcm and included all bills, it was also furnished to high spec then the cheeky swine excuse my french asked for the money gram reciept after i confronted him about the two emails he had sent me which he had totaly contradicted himself and said one thing in one email and totally changed what was said in the second, so i thought i would test this so called landlord who was jamacian by the way, i ask for the ownership proof to be faxed to me by way of the land registery and said i would only
deal through paypal of which of course that was not good enough and as you may have guessed was not sent proof of ownership.
We did inform the police and are now going to take it to watchdog and also the crime programme he goes under the name of fowler johnson his email fowlershop01@live.com and his phone number is 07024097355 i just hope these disgusting leeches get what they deserve as most honest people work hard for there money and do not need scum bags like these to steal it from them lesley.

[Brfullr]

[leoniethomson]

claire_thomson@englandmail.com

[leoniethomson]

donmackdonmack@yahoo.com

[Karolina1984]

Hi,

I have posted an add "LOOKING FOR PROPERTY" and two people got back to me asking for money transfer! one woman claiming she s lost husband and is in manchaster and other Kenneth from Bristol with another sob story asking for transfer! I said to them to Jog on the scum bags!

I was thinking to contact Money Gram and Westernn Union managment about this as this just cant not carry on like this?!!!!? has anyone tried to contact those firms?

[Karolina1984]

kenneth.dolby@googlemail.com

mrs.rebecca1100@googlemail.com

[DaniGirl1000]

Hey, watch out for a scammer by the name of Anna Louise Sebastian who claims to be a "British Citizen" with a flat in Mayfair of £70 (Sorry but if you're a scammer you need to do your homework on house prices). She claimed that she would need me to pay a £400 refundable deposit to her "lawyer" before viewing the apartment and I would receive a receipt and be able to get my money back after viewing the flat.


How stupid do you have to be to fall for that though? Arguably though, if I had just moved to London from outside of the town or another a country I'd probably fall for it.

[DaniGirl1000]

E-mails are

anna_louise77@hotmail.com
or
anna_louise77@yahoo.co.uk

[marisette227]

Hello,

[b]Your Gumtree Cardiff ad #20445089: looking for a flat to share
Thanks for the reply.[/b]
I just got a new job in Edinburgh and i have a 2 bedroom flat(rents i have paid till September 2009) and i would love to sublet a room in the flat cos i wouldn't want the flat been empty as am not always around except on occasions and some weekends.

My flat is very comfortable fully furnished located on 12 Cathays Terrace, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4HZ

With washing machine, fridge, freezer, microwave, Gas central heating, telephone, TV points and internet access(broadband),off street parking, rear garden with barbecue, cooking utensils and bedding supplied, Storage, Large kitchen. A cleaner comes daily to clean the flat.

The room would be rented out for £350 per month(all bills and tax inclusive) and a refundable deposit of £400 is also required. In case you not seeking immediate accommodation, Kindly email back and i would have it reserved for you.
Attached below are pics of my flat.

Hope to read from you soon.
Hello,
Thanks for the reply. I would be willing to come around on Thursday evening to arrange the viewing and also have you sign the rental agreement, if you can come up with a proof to show that you are serious about renting a flat, you do have the money of the refundable deposit with you and my coming down wont be a waste of my time and effort. Cos i have had series of instances like this in the past whereby i come around and its either the flat seekers aren't serious about renting a flat or they don't have the money of the rents with them.Hello Mary,

Thanks for the reply.

There is internet access in my flat, The area is perfect and the neighbors around are the best. Am very sure you would love it in my flat.

All i ask from you as a proof is for you to make the payment of the refundable deposit via western union in any of your friends, relatives or colleagues name and get back to me with the scanned receipt for confirmation and with that i would come around to arrange the viewing and also have you sign the rental agreement.

When i arrive and after viewing, we(you, I and the person whose name you used in making the transfer) would have to go together to any nearest western union outlet close to my flat to get the money and after which you would then pay me. I would be willing to pay you back the transfer fee if you feel my flat isn't exactly what you looking for or have it deducted from the rental fee as a sign of seriousness on my part.

N.B
Money can only be received from western union by the receiver which name the money was sent. so there is no how i can have access to the money, and that why i said when i arrive and after viewing we will all go together to collect the money from any nearest western union outlet and then you will pay me.

Hope to read from you soon and am very sure you would enjoy your stay in my flat.

Regards
jim

Regards,
Hey,

This is the situation,

Am having problems in getting enough fund in purchasing the train ticket.

I would appreciate if you could send the money directly to me down here in Edinburgh and with that i would have it purchase and come down straight away.

Its all up to you.

Regards,

Jim
helen??????


but the stupid guy was foolish enough to ask me to send him the bond money for the train ticket!!! luckilly the western union chic thot that the transaction was stupid as the friend i was sending to lived in the next street so she refused to serve me!!!
phew!!! that was a lucky escape!!

[fate]

Hi M...,

Thanks for your mail. The apartment is still vacant. I have just moved to manchester to work with a Media outfit as a Studio Manager.

The Apartment Located in calidonia road king,s cross angel islington N1, is a fully furnished
- One Huge Bedroom for double Bed
- Huge living room,
- One bathroom and toilet,Kitchen with modern fittings
- Dish washer/Dryer
- Washing Machine
- Cable TV
- Wired Internet connection
- Parking space available
- Clapham Common Station within walking distance
- £650 per month. All Bills inclusive. Refundable deposit £650 refundable deposit.

Viewing is not a problem but i'll like to know what your intentions are.

Tell me a bit about yourself as im willing to rent the flat to you but i like to know if you are capable to fund the rent before coming over to sort the viewing. And also to know if you would be able to take good care of my Flat like your own.

Hope to get your response soon.

Best Regards,
Maria

<maria_madaleen@yahoo.com

[fate]

Hi ,

thanks for your mail,I told you i was going to speak to my lawyer about it and infact i just got off the phone with him. He gave an advise and i think that is the best option for us...so what i will like you to do is that you should go to any western union money transfer outlet close to you to send the first month rent and the refundable deposit, in your name to your partner's name in your present address or your Partner to send the money to you in your present address.

Scan and send the transfer receipt via email for confirmation if the money is available for any of you to pick up. we will both go and pick up the money together then you pay me up after signing the lease anc contract. Whatever cost you incurred would be returned back to you at the meeting even if you dont like the flat which i'm sure you would. You will not be loosing anything after all.

If you can get the western union done today after work or tomorrow then we can meet for viewing on Monday or tursday in the evening from 4pm.

Hope to read again from you soon.

Best Regards

same person

[fate]

I found two of similar this week than just be careful , i was going to send that but with hidden address, name of the second person and confirmation number, but all the time a had this feeling that something is wrong, and after I found this forum
thanx
but how i am gonna find a flat now?!?!?!?!??!
good luck

[MimiG]

Hope this doesn't make me sound prejudice and please don't all attack me for this, but I'm very reluctant in responding to accommodation postings with a lot of spelling or gramatical errors.

From reading these threads, it sounds as though some of these scammers are operating their "business" from overseas.

[Neemo101]

Hi guys - I also recieved these emails regarding a house in Westminster for the absurdly priced £700per month. They wanted a Western Union transfer. Because I'm a bit of a snoop I also looked at "Alanna Ridge" on Facebook, and found an "Alanna Ridgen" with no photo in London. It seemed seriously dodgy - I mean, just read the email!

STAY AWAY FROM THESE CON ARTISTS!


Hello xxx,
I'm sick of scheduling viewing all the time.Most people i'm Taking for a view are not serious not ready to pay the deposit and this pisses me a lot's you know the deposit is for any damage in the house and refunded back anyway you want it to be refunded back to you and they only want to pay for the house rent. They are time wasters. a couple were here yesterday from france and just got to London and haven't got a job in London so for you to be able to schedule a viewing you have to show me you are capable of paying for the deposit and 1 month rent to show you've got cash at hand and wont be a time waster and have shown your good faith in renting the flat for as along as you want so i will ringed you up tommorow to come for the viewing and after the viewing we all go and you pick up the money and pay me after you have viewed finish. this i will know you have cash with you and will call you immediately to confirm for you to come and view your flat today.I hope you understand. Despite my tight schedule i find time out of no time and still people waste my time.would that be okay for you?So when you get back and e-mail the the info and also your present phone number so i can call you to fixed the appointment as soon as you pay the deposit AND THE 1 MONTH RENT e-mail the detail to me for confirmation so i can quickly called you to scheduled an appointment with you and you come and see your flat and i promise you will love and enjoy my flat and my lawyer and the landlord association of PRAED STREET has stated to me that i should always know my wanna be tenant capability first before inviting him /her for a viewing,so i'll implore you to try and show me that you are capable by ,paying the deposit and the rent due, with your name as sender and your same name as receiver or if you wanna use your relatives name as receiver or you send it and use Amirah name as the reciever only in London,suit your self,all i wanted from you is the payment details or the scanned copy receipt given to your after the transfer ,so that i can show it to the association or my lawyer instead,that you have paid the deposit and a month rent through western union and you're capable of being my flatmate as you've got cash at hand to start renting the flat and wont be a time waster and i'll ring you up for the viewing,and tell you to meet me up at the PADDINGTON tube station,then after viewing you can go pick up your money and give it to me in cash by hand.i would be responsible for the transfer charges western union will be charging you for the transfer,so you can always be honest to state to me in your mail when sending me the transfer payment details the exact amount you used for the transfer so i'll give you that immediately you come into the flst for the viewing .then after viewing you can go pick up the transferred money for me in cash,i really wanted you to be on the most safer side ,so that no one can have the access to your money ,that was why i don't want you to use my information to make the transfer ,because you will still be the one to pick up your money after viewing,well i'll love to tell you this and understand this ,the association also tell me to be responsible for the transfer charges ,which is gonna be required for the transferring of deposit and a month rent by wanna be tenant,and which i have accepted i'll always give that to you immediately i invited you for the viewing,,so after viewing you can go pick up the transferred money,but before that,i'll give you what ever amount you used for the transfer,i mean the western union transfer charges,hope to hear from you soon, well i know you will love the flat as well 'cuz it's exactly as it is in the pictures,
Alanna
P.S You can call my Boyfriend on this number 07031914005,he knows much about the flat so he can explain to you how you make the transfer to yourself i mean you name as Receiver and Your same name as Sender or by having a friend be the sender and you the receiver or you the receiver or your friend receiver,because after the viewing you will go pick up your money your self,because you name is already there as the receivers name,hope you call my Lawyer..
But all i wanna see on the transfer receipt scanned copy is the addition of the rent and deposit ,rent of .£700 + deposit of £850 which will be refunded back to you on the fifth day of move in date.
Total £1550
Yours sincerely
Alanna


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2008 03:08:25 -0700
From: otunyajo@yahoo.com
Subject: TO PROCEED AND SCHEDULED A VIEWING FOR YOU................
To:

Hello xxx,
Thanks for your prompt reply in the flat,well Sure you can come for the viewing on today or tomorrow ,but i'm sorry i could not provide you my contact phone number,well it was due to my past experience,my mobile phone got stolen by two Ladies,you cant even magine,they came to my flat for viewing and i never knew ,their impression was to come and steal not to view,they stole my jewelries,rings,and other valuables including my mobile phone,so ever since then,i have report the case to the landlord and landladies housing association in Praed Street(WESTMINSTER Centre,and they are really eagle watching after my flat for me now,i'm very happy about that despite i'm even trying to secure my flat,so my lawyer said,hence forth,anyone who is willing to come and view the flat should always,show their capability, in the flat and also show that they really have the rent and deposit payment with them,well you can reply me as soon as possible to know what kind of refe rences we will be wanting to see from you,as we proceed on with the viewing and other things ,once again thanks for your interest in my flat, Please i will like to ask you some question below and i will be glad if you can answer me with sincerity.
1) Do you have the rent and deposit with you presently?
2) Do you really want to rent a flat?
3) Do you have any responsible farmily or friend`s in London?
4) Are you renting it alone or with someone?
5) Which country are you from?
6) Can i have look at your ID?
7) How long are you willing to stay in the flat..?
hope to hear from you soon, Await your reply.
Rent is (£700) pcm for the whole flat and all bills are inclusive
with the rent!
Deposit is (£850) which will be refunded back to you on the seveth day
of your final move in date!! Reply back now!!!
Miss Alanna Ridge

[autumnnn]

Please beware of a person going by the name of Denis Hart (hardenis@yahoo.co.uk). I unfortunately fell victim to his scam when I tried to get a holiday apartment in London.

I was stupid enough to wire him 2 weeks rent and 100GBP (total 600GBP) into his Barclays account.

He even sent me a scan of his passport but as soon as I saw it, I knew it was a scam. He had photoshopped the name and did a very sloppy job of it too.

I won't bore you with all the details but please be careful and don't make the same mistake I made. Barclays wouldn't help me but I reported him to the police.

This was an advert for a place in Marylebone on Portman Street for 300/week.

[devoncoaster]

I have had enough of these timewasting fraudsters who are hell-bent on ripping us off and ruining the Gumtree 'experience'.

I wrote the following to one of these:



Regarding your emails and reply to my Gumtree advert.

I am having your emails traced.

On my advert on Gumtree I wrote:

“All Spam and fake Landlords replying with premium rate (70 and 070) telephone numbers will be reported to Gumtree”

I have sent the contents and details of everything you have sent me, including your request regarding money and pictures of your alleged property to the operators of Googlemail, Western Union, the support team at Gumtree and other bodies here in the UK including the Housing Ombudsman.

I am a disabled person genuinely looking for a property rent. Since placing adverts on Gumtree I have inundated with bogus replies from people like you from all over the world claiming to own property to rent in London to ordinary people like me.

People like you are wasting time, creating a very poor impression of genuine private landlords and making a mockery of websites like Gumtree.

You lie about your identity.

You lie about your alleged ownership of property.

You send pictures alleging to represent your premises.

You send details that have no bearing whatsoever.

You make requests that are outrageous (“You will go to the nearest WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER around you, Send to your Friend send the sum 1100pounds in western union”).

You make references to your alleged lawyer that are clearly fictitious (“It's in the policy my Lawyer has told me and i wish to abide by it”).

Your alleged property details are preposterous in the extreme (“I have a 2 bedroom property is located in 63 Church Rd, London, SW19 5SB, United Kingdom and it is 500 pounds per month including all bills(utility bills, council tax, water, gas,e.t.c)while the security deposit is 600 pounds”)

I am not sure what can be done about people like you – but I will give it a damn good try to have you and other ridiculous spammers like you taken off line so the rest of us looking for property won’t have to troll through the mass of lies and deception that you generate.

[KDFS]

[KDFS]

[maigpl2]

Perhaps there is a hope
http://www.ltwesternunion.com/

some people got their money back.

we need to make it loud, radio, newspapers, tv

[good_girl]

Put a listing on re title and up till now have had AT LEAST THREE SCAMMERS though none got to the point of asking for money upfront.
I checked postcodes stated. One was of local POLICE STATION, one was ASDA CAR PARK and im not quite sure where the other one was but showed pictures of a 'cottage style' house where it should have been a built up area. Two of the three also listed 070 numbers to call which I know from experience are altho not premium rate numbers (eg 1.50 per minute) are expensive, perhaps 50ppm.
Needless to say its not solved my problem but it has brought to me the number of 'rotten sods' there are out there.

PEOPLE PLEASE BE AWARE OF THESE TELEPHONE NUMBERS :

ANYTHING THAT STARTS EITHER : 070 or +44070 is going to cost you. Something in the back of my mind reminds me of a scam run recently that your phone credit is reduced by approximately 15GBP when you call a similar number.

[good_girl]

2scott34lb@gmail.com
contact No. +44 7031933127 * NOTE * this number is given by another scammer listed below.
"Scott Brutter"

paris_paris89h@yahoo.com
+447031871445

l22will02@gmail.com
contact No. +44 7031933127 * NOTE * this number is given by another scammer listed above.
"Lauren Willson"

mk.dnld@googlemail.com
"Mike Donald"

All the scammers I have had mail from have either got a Yahoo or Googlemail email address which can be obtained by 'anyone' irrespective of whereabouts so they could be 'anywhere'. Like stated in a previous posting I have a feeling these scammers are working from abroad !!

EMAIL ADDRESSES like blueyonder and I think NTL must have proof of address so ones like this can be trusted more.

Hope these names or numbers help someone out. DONT CALL OR GIVE MONEY TO ANY OF THESE PEOPLE !!