[loves007]

carldebois@yahoo.com

and some email chat with him:

Hello,
Due to previous predicament that I have gone through in the past trying to rent the property to some students, I have got to realize so many people are not really in need of an apartment all they do is secure a place in advance, My last experience in trying to rent the property to a particular lady had got me to predicate on these, she made me believe she was willing and ready to get the apartment she even went to the extend of showing me her statement of account, which made me took her for the viewing but after taking her for the viewing, she saw the apartment and got to love it and never wanted to loose it, so she kept pleading i retain it for her because she is not financially composed at the moment, which I did but end up disastrously.
So basically for me to be sure of you been willing and ready to get the apartment I will employ you walk into any Money Gram outlet and send the total bill cash 1100 punds(one month rent and one month refundable deposit) to your partner's name(NOT to ME),or your partner should send it to you with location of Glasgow, All I need is for you to get back to me with the receipt issued to you after making the transaction so I can confirm it! When we will meet in person to sign the papers we will go together to Money Gram and you or your partner will cash the money and pay me in hand! I just need to see that you do have the money available and you do have serious intentions in renting the flat! If the Money Gram agent will ask you about the receiver you should tell him that is your cousin because the transfer fees will be cheaper! Anyway I will pay for it either you take the flat or not! I will book the flight for the weekend as soon as I have your positive answer because I can come only in weekends!
I do apologize for that but as I told you last time when I arrived to Glasgow to show the flat to a person everything was a stupid joke and I hope you understand me because I don `t want to waste my time and money on plane tickets..
Regards, Carl Debois

DONT DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[loves007]

Here is a scam flat that was on S1Homes

http://www.s1rental.com/renting/search/2009071717312951.shtml

It looks to good to be true and IT IS. Do not contact this person or do anything he asks you to about money! DO NOT SEND MONEY!!!

He will ask you to send Money gram to your friend or someone you know then you send him the receipt THERE IS ENOUGH INFO ON THE RECEIPT FOR HOM TO TAKE THE MONEY OUT!

Money gram, flat, scam

This scam is the same but for lots of other flats on lots of websites!!!

[Jenny21]

[color=darkblue]oh my god I am nearly a victim of Scam.
I have read an interesting advertisement on Gumtree, a extremely beautiful flat in Kensington Court Road and I really want to rent it for £1000 per month, it is really a cheap price for that flat and I immediately connect to the "owner" of the flat through email. And this is the content of our email:

samuelatkins45@gmail.com


Hi, my name is Samuel Atkins

The rent is £1000 per month and includes all bills and council tax. I am the owner of the flat and it's still available for rent. I need a serious tenants who really needs a place to live and can take good care of it. I will sign a tenancy agreement for minimum 3 month, up to 3 years, with the possibility of extension afterwards. The flat has a fully fitted kitchen, clean and tidy rooms,it's fully furnished with home utilities like: Vacuum Cleaner, Toaster, microwave, dryer, iron, washing machine, refrigerator, dishwasher, power shower, heater, TV License, Internet connection active, and the most important, parking place. Everything is new in the flat because it was repainted and refurnished last year. I will require an advance payment for a month and another £1000 as a refundable security deposit.I live in Dublin now and I am trying to rent the flat in the meantime.Please reply ONLY if you need to rent the flat! Thank you!


Then I replied and this is his instruction of sending my money through MoneyGram:

[color=#444444][color=darkblue]I would like to meet you,get to know you and show you the flat because this is not the first time I am trying to rent my home and I am a little bit worried. The problem is that I've been disappointed twice after scheduling viewings, because the tenants couldn't pay the rent in advance and asked me to lower the rent. Please don't be offended! I am not doubting your capabilities to pay the rent, I only want to be sure I will not travel to London for nothing. I need an assurance that you are committed to rent my flat and not only to view it, that's why I want to set up a transaction trough MoneyGram.
I am not asking you to pay the rent before you will see the flat and you will not be constrained to rent the flat if we start a transaction trough MoneyGram I only request a credit check trough MoneyGram so I can be sure you have the funds available. I am sure you will love my flat if you will get to see it.


If we decide to proceed you will have to set up a transaction trough MoneyGram,like I have said.You will have to transfer 2 months rent,meaning 2000 £ from a MoneyGram office to a relative of yours or anyone that you trust with this amount of money(a friend of yours maybe),and send me the scanned receipt containing the full reference number of the transaction,along with your full name.You can also receive yourself the money from someone else in or outside the UK with the condition that you are located in London.Either way it's fine by me as long as the receiver is in London.I will check online on MoneyGram's website to see if the money is in the receiver's account and once it proves to be in order,I will come back to UK and show you the flat,maybe even sign the contract.When you will go to the MoneyGram Office to wire the money sometimes they ask you why are you doing that and if you tell them you want make the payment for renting a flat,when the receiver picks up the money he must pay another fees and if you don't want to pay anything else you must tell the MoneyGram clerk that you will send the money to a relative who needs the money (i think you don`t want to pay more money for this and surely I don't want to pay anything more either).I will reserve the apartment to the first one that provides me with the receipt showing he has money available in MoneyGram account.

THE MONEYGRAM TRANSFER FEE,I WILL PAY IT TO YOU BACK IN CASH WHEN WE MEET TO SHOW YOU THE FLAT.As soon as I have the confirmation from MoneyGram that the money is available on the receiver's name,I will stop the transactions with all the other customers and start making arrangements to come back to London.

You must understand correctly the situation.You don't need to send me any money,only prove that you have the money until the day you want to see the apartment and keep it for yourself;this is my warranty.PLEASE REPLY ONLY IF YOU AGREE WITH MY TERMS. [/color]

and this:

Dear sir,

Thank you for your answer,and I hope that you won't be disappointed with my flat.Of course it looks just like in the pictures,it's my wife's occupation and she spent a lot of money to make it look this way.Now,I told you that I have a nasty problem with my cell phone.It crashed and I am have an ugly financial situation right now until next Monday so I am not able to get a new one.Anyway,I will call you somehow as soon as I arrive in London,to establish a meeting point.When you go to Money Gram,tell the clerk if she asks you that the transfer is made from you to a relative of yours so I won't have to pay you back more that necessary.I already told you that I will return the transfer fees.The transfers between relatives are cheaper(around 70-75 pounds I think).I will wait for your scanned receipt tomorrow and in the meantime I have attached you a scanned tenancy agreement to see what is our agreement about.

Kind regards and[/color] thank you again[/color]

I decided to do the transaction tomorrow (monday morning) but luckily, my friend gives me this link of Scam on Gumtree and immediately I changed my mind.
Thank you so much to show this damn thing!

[Jenny21]

[color=darkblue]oh my god I am nearly a victim of Scam.
I have read an interesting advertisement on Gumtree, a extremely beautiful flat in Kensington Court Road and I really want to rent it for £1000 per month, it is really a cheap price for that flat and I immediately connect to the "owner" of the flat through email. And this is the content of our email:

samuelatkins45@gmail.com


Hi, my name is Samuel Atkins

The rent is £1000 per month and includes all bills and council tax. I am the owner of the flat and it's still available for rent. I need a serious tenants who really needs a place to live and can take good care of it. I will sign a tenancy agreement for minimum 3 month, up to 3 years, with the possibility of extension afterwards. The flat has a fully fitted kitchen, clean and tidy rooms,it's fully furnished with home utilities like: Vacuum Cleaner, Toaster, microwave, dryer, iron, washing machine, refrigerator, dishwasher, power shower, heater, TV License, Internet connection active, and the most important, parking place. Everything is new in the flat because it was repainted and refurnished last year. I will require an advance payment for a month and another £1000 as a refundable security deposit.I live in Dublin now and I am trying to rent the flat in the meantime.Please reply ONLY if you need to rent the flat! Thank you!


Then I replied and this is his instruction of sending my money through MoneyGram:

[color=#444444][color=darkblue]I would like to meet you,get to know you and show you the flat because this is not the first time I am trying to rent my home and I am a little bit worried. The problem is that I've been disappointed twice after scheduling viewings, because the tenants couldn't pay the rent in advance and asked me to lower the rent. Please don't be offended! I am not doubting your capabilities to pay the rent, I only want to be sure I will not travel to London for nothing. I need an assurance that you are committed to rent my flat and not only to view it, that's why I want to set up a transaction trough MoneyGram.
I am not asking you to pay the rent before you will see the flat and you will not be constrained to rent the flat if we start a transaction trough MoneyGram I only request a credit check trough MoneyGram so I can be sure you have the funds available. I am sure you will love my flat if you will get to see it.


If we decide to proceed you will have to set up a transaction trough MoneyGram,like I have said.You will have to transfer 2 months rent,meaning 2000 £ from a MoneyGram office to a relative of yours or anyone that you trust with this amount of money(a friend of yours maybe),and send me the scanned receipt containing the full reference number of the transaction,along with your full name.You can also receive yourself the money from someone else in or outside the UK with the condition that you are located in London.Either way it's fine by me as long as the receiver is in London.I will check online on MoneyGram's website to see if the money is in the receiver's account and once it proves to be in order,I will come back to UK and show you the flat,maybe even sign the contract.When you will go to the MoneyGram Office to wire the money sometimes they ask you why are you doing that and if you tell them you want make the payment for renting a flat,when the receiver picks up the money he must pay another fees and if you don't want to pay anything else you must tell the MoneyGram clerk that you will send the money to a relative who needs the money (i think you don`t want to pay more money for this and surely I don't want to pay anything more either).I will reserve the apartment to the first one that provides me with the receipt showing he has money available in MoneyGram account.

THE MONEYGRAM TRANSFER FEE,I WILL PAY IT TO YOU BACK IN CASH WHEN WE MEET TO SHOW YOU THE FLAT.As soon as I have the confirmation from MoneyGram that the money is available on the receiver's name,I will stop the transactions with all the other customers and start making arrangements to come back to London.

You must understand correctly the situation.You don't need to send me any money,only prove that you have the money until the day you want to see the apartment and keep it for yourself;this is my warranty.PLEASE REPLY ONLY IF YOU AGREE WITH MY TERMS. [/color]

and this:

Dear sir,

Thank you for your answer,and I hope that you won't be disappointed with my flat.Of course it looks just like in the pictures,it's my wife's occupation and she spent a lot of money to make it look this way.Now,I told you that I have a nasty problem with my cell phone.It crashed and I am have an ugly financial situation right now until next Monday so I am not able to get a new one.Anyway,I will call you somehow as soon as I arrive in London,to establish a meeting point.When you go to Money Gram,tell the clerk if she asks you that the transfer is made from you to a relative of yours so I won't have to pay you back more that necessary.I already told you that I will return the transfer fees.The transfers between relatives are cheaper(around 70-75 pounds I think).I will wait for your scanned receipt tomorrow and in the meantime I have attached you a scanned tenancy agreement to see what is our agreement about.

Kind regards and[/color] thank you again[/color]

I decided to do the transaction tomorrow (monday morning) but luckily, my friend gives me this link of Scam on Gumtree and immediately I changed my mind.
Thank you so much to show this damn thing!

[tomnelson]

Nearly scammed by sealymatthew29@yahoo.co.uk offering a flat in Norwich for £280 a month. Good job there are forums like these to help prevent it, though gumtree should have a part of their website as a comprehensive file of all the scams that have been perpetrated on their site so others can be warned.

Here's the initial e-mail:
from: sealymatthew29@yahoo.co.uk
Thank you for having interest in my Flat. I am out of the country for my new job, i will be away for six to seven years, i want a clean and responsible tenant to take care of the flat...Lots of time wasters are on here looking for free flat , hope you are serious ? below is

the description of the flat and if that suit you get back to me.

AND THE FINAL ONE:

Hello ,
If you have a month rent fee and the deposit,right there with you , well, you can use that as a proof to me by making a deposit to any of your family or partner and show me a receipt as proof and confirmation before i can go get my flight ticket . I traveled three time last week to show the flat to some couples but they don't have the funds at hand to pay and turn out telling me stories that they will pay me when they got a good job..I don't want to risk or waste my time coming down anymore if i don't have a proof from who ever is interested in my flat before getting my ticket to fly down..I am sorry for any inconveniences but you just have to reason with me. I just don't feel comfortable asking for payment upfront before viewing my flat because its is not normal and does sound illegal .So i prefer having a proof you have funds and will proceed from there. Go to any Post Office close to you and ask for Money Gram Units and do as instructed below to any of your family or partner and get back to me with a confirmation.

THIS WHAT TO DO BELOW....

Sender name: YOUR NAME
Senders address: Your complete address

Receiver's Name: Your family ,Fiancee name or partner
Receiver's address:

I was also made to understand that Money Gram takes some charges for the transfer and i am telling you that i will return back to you the full transfer charges whether you decide to rent the flat or not when we meet.
Hope to read back from you.
Thanks




Property descriptions

THE RENT IS : ( £280 pcm) Deposit of £150



TYPE:
1 bedroom Flat
Features: Flat, Floor #, Parking available,
No parking cost, 1 Bedrooms, 1 Bathrooms
Neighbourhood: N/A Home amenities: Alarm system, Cable ready,Washer/Dryer,Dishwasher,Microwave, Kitchen access,Storage.
House amenities: Furnished, Air conditioning, Private entrance, Private bath, Phone jack, TV, Cable jack, Closet..
Utilities include: electricity, gas, cable, phone, internet wiffi,air condition,wardrobe and so on.

I will also need you to get back to me with the below required details if it suits me :-

Maximum stay:.................
Flatmate Description:.................
Personal info:.........................
Address:..........................
Household info:.................
Age:....................
Smoker:...............
Pet:...................
Phone number.........................

I will be expecting to read back from you if you really have interest.
Hope to read back from you soon.
God Bless you

[montyzuma]

glad you found it although doing

forums like these to help prevent it, though gumtree should have a part of their website as a comprehensive file of all the scams forums like these to help prevent it,


you would end up with it being a full time job which most people ignored anyway

[KLM126]

Thank you for everyone that's posted about this!

I was thinking it sounded a bit to good to be true -

E-mail from Henry Karen - henrykaren01@yahoo.co.uk just noticed the e-mail address changed to henry.karen011@yahoo.co.uk

Thank you for having interest in my Flat. I am out of the country for my new job, i will be away for six to seven years, i want a clean and responsible tenant to take care of the flat...Lots of time wasters are on here looking for free flat , hope you are serious ? below is the description of the flat and if that suit you get back to me.

Property descriptions

THE RENT IS : ( £320 pcm) Deposit of £120
TYPE:
1 bedroom Flat
Features: Flat, Floor #, Parking available, No parking cost, 1 Bedrooms, 1 Bathrooms
Neighbourhood: N/A Home amenities: Alarm system, Cable ready,Washer/Dryer,Dishwasher,Microwave, Kitchen access,Storage.
House amenities: Furnished, Air conditioning, Private entrance, Private bath, Phone jack, TV, Cable jack, Closet..
Utilities include: electricity, gas, cable, phone, internet wiffi,air condition,wardrobe and so on.

I will also need you to get back to me with the below required details if it suits me :-

Maximum stay:.................
Flatmate Description:.................
Personal info:.........................
Address:..........................
Household info:.................
Age:....................
Smoker:...............
Pet:...................
Phone number.........................

I will be expecting to read back from you if you really have interest.
Hope to read back from you soon.
God Bless you

The next e-mail I got asked me to provide proof that I could pay due to "time wasters", I sent a screenshot of my account (with the account details blacked out) and was told this was not proof and the only way to prove it was by sending money to a friend or relative of mine and then scan the receipt.

Thought it was abit strange so thought I'd do a bit of digging on the internet and came up with this site so thank you! You've just saved me losing money!

[mon36]

Well after reading all of this i wish i never got involved with moneygram as i got stung for £1100 to days before xmas 2008 i was gutted as my mum gave me the case to buy a car i saw on auto trader and similar thing happended i sent the money to someone i know and the guy i was buying the car from who said he overseas but would come and ship the car to me and collect the money cash when he arrives. I am in the process of taking moneygram to court and the courts have granted me a case £60 was the court fee on Money onlime claims on the HMCS website. Its been nearly 8months and i am tired of writing letters to Mark the director of Moneygram and getting no where.

[hairyfaye]

I'm looking for a flat in Bristol for my mate and this seemed (and turned out) to be too good to be true. It was his Moneygram reques instead of a scanned pay slip and the fact that he was saying £300 a month including bills for a flat in a a posh part of town that made me google it.

I think it would be great if Gumtree put a notice up on the property to rent page so that people were aware of this Moneygram scam.


Me to him:
Hiya

I'm interested in this flat. Can you tell me where it is please?

Thanks

Faye


Him to me

Hello,
Thanks for your reply and am sorry for the late in reply, Actually I lived in the

house with my family and now have packed because of the Relocation of my job which was

now relocated in Italy, my Flat is still Available. But can still squeeze out time to come

around if we both agree on a perfect date and time to meet.

I want a clean and loyal person for my flat and i am not asking for an upfront payment

until you see and love the flat to your taste, but what i am requesting for is the

assurance that you are going to pay me and show me an evidence that you have the money to

pay at hand when i come around, because i have heard on several times whereby some people

said they are interested and after viewing and like the flat and love to occupy. theyturn

out to be a time waster and jobless, They will also tell me to reduce the amount for them

or will pay me later once they get a good job.For now i need your suggestion,because i cant

afford to waste my time.

TYPE:
1 bedroom apartment

INTERNET:
Yes, BroadBand Access 20M unlimited ADSL, wire and wireless THE APARTMENT COST: ( 300 GBP

Per Month) Deposit of 150 GBP.

Utilities include: electricity, gas, cable, phone, internet wiffi,air condition,wardrobe

and so on and i will like you to get back to me with the information below:

Maximum stay:
Flatmate Description
Personal info:
Address:
Household info:
Age:
Smoker:
Pet:

Room and apartment description

Features: Flat, Floor #, Parking available,
No parking cost, 1 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom
Neighbourhood: N/A Home amenities: Alarm system, Cable
ready,Washer/Dryer,Dishwasher,
Microwave, Kitchen,Storage.
House amenities: Furnished, Air conditioning, Private
entrance, Private bath, Phone jack, TV, Cable jack, Closet..


Hope you like it?Get back to me with your full name and full contact detail to prepare the

RENT APPLICATION FORM......
Regards..

Me to him
Hi Scott

I totally understand. The flat isn't for me, its for my best friend Sarah who is an Events Manager at a high profile restaurant in Bristol. She currently shares a flat with one other person but would like to have a place of her own. She doesn't have internet access at the moment and can't go on teh web at work, so she asked me to look for her.

Here are the details you requested...and some questions of my own.

Maximum stay: Sarah would like to stay for as long as possible - perhaps two years?
Flatmate Description Professional 30 year old woman
Personal info: Not sure what you want here....Sarah is a fun girl who likes to go rock climbing and do cookery. She is very lean and tidy.
Address: Sarah curently lives in Redland.
Household info: Not sure what you want here....
Age: 30
Smoker: no
Pet: no


You say you live with your family? is the flat part of their house?
Can you tell me where the flat is?
Are bills included in the £300 a month?

Thanks

Faye

him to me

4 Horfield Road Bristol BS2 8EA
Hello ,
Good to read back from you. I have the keys and documents for the contract with me here in Italy .if you really have interest, kindly get back to me and we will both arrange on time and date to view the flat before signing for a contract. I will be needing a proof to show me you have the rent fee before i could go get my flight ticket because i traveled three time last week to show the flat to some couples but they don't have the funds at hand to pay and turn out telling me stories that they will pay me when they got a good job.This is so stressful and frustrating.i don't like jobless and time wasters and I don't want to risk or waste my time coming down anymore if i don't have a proof from who ever is interested in my flat before getting my ticket to fly down..I am sorry for any inconveniences but you just have to reason with me.
Hope this is clear now?
Hope to read from you soon.
Thanks

Me to him
Hi Scott

No inconvenience and perfectly understandable. Thank you so much for the pictures, your flat is beauritiful! Could you tell me if bill payments are included in that price? I don't think they are but I want to be certain.

As I said, this flat is for my friend Sarah. Would it be okay for me to get her pay slip scanned in and sent to you? That way she could prover her income. Is there something else you would prefer?

Also, as you are in Italy, how would she pay rent to you? If she likes the flat, would it be possible for her just to arrange a standing order/ direct debit to your bank account so that the rent was paid to you automatically?

Let me know about the proof of income and I will arrange it to be sent to you.

Thanks

Faye

Him to me

yes all bills are include

Hello,
If you have 2 month rent fee right there with you , well, you can use that as a proof to me by making a deposit to any of your family or partner and show me a receipt as proof and confirmation before i can go get my flight ticket . I traveled three time last week to show the flat to some couples but they don't have the funds at hand to pay and turn out telling me stories that they will pay me when they got a good job..I don't want to risk or waste my time coming down anymore if i don't have a proof from who ever is interested in my flat before getting my ticket to fly down..I am sorry for any inconveniences but you just have to reason with me. I just don't feel comfortable asking for payment upfront before viewing my flat because its is not normal and does sound illegal .So i prefer having a proof you have funds and will proceed from there. Go to any Post Office close to you and ask for Money Gram Units and do as instructed below to any of your family or partner and get back to me with a confirmation.


THIS WHAT TO DO BELOW....

Sender name: YOUR NAME
Senders address: Your complete address

Receiver's Name: Your family ,Fiancee name or partner
Receiver's address:


I was also made to understand that Money Gram takes some charges for the transfer and i am telling you that i will return back to you the full transfer charges whether you decide to rent the flat or not when we meet...Meanwhile,I want you to get back to me with the attached copy of the receipt given to you at the Money Gram Unit before you pick back your money so that i would be able to verify it from Money Gram customer service myself to know if you truly made the transfer or not...As soon as i verify it myself,I will email you to go and pick back your money..Hope this is clear now?


Hope to read back from you.
Thanks

[montyzuma]

re gumtree should post warnings


do you mean like this


Stay Safe TipsGumtree is a local community site so we always recommend that you:

Always view the property before you pay any money
Beware of landlords claiming to be overseas
Never send money using services like Western Union or Moneygram, even to a friend to 'prove' you can pay the deposit
Beware of the Gumtree Real Estate Agency. This is a scam and is not affiliated to us

[kelly123]

This is still happening,

Just today I responded to an ad for a flat in Brixton, 500pcm...too good to be true....DEFINITLY!!!!

I received the exactly same e-mail in response from a Samuel Atkins as Jenny21 did, but from a different e-mail address.....

If it looks to good to be true....sadly it probably is......

[faizkj]

[LadyEowyn]

"Dawn McInnes" <mcinnes.dawn@yahoo.co.uk> = SCAMMER

This is just sample of what we got:
Station Ln Hornchurch, Essex RM12, UK
Hello ,
Good to read back from you.To be frank with you , i am not after the rent but need a responsible and loyal Tenant who will take good care of the flat, 50% of the rent goes to the Charities and the others go for tax and bills .I have the keys and documents for the contract with me here in Italy .if you really have interest, kindly get back to me and we will both arrange on time and date to view the flat before signing for a contract. I will be needing a proof to show me you have the rent fee before i could go get my flight ticket because i traveled three time last week to show the flat to some couples but they don't have the funds at hand to pay and turn out telling me stories that they will pay me when they got a good job.This is so stressful and frustrating.i don't like jobless and time wasters and I don't want to risk or waste my time coming down anymore if i don't have a proof from who ever is interested in my flat before getting my ticket to fly down..I am sorry for any inconveniences but you just have to reason with me.. Hope this is clear now?
Hope to read from you soon.
Thanks.

And then this repeated in several ways over and over:
Hello ,
If you have a month rent fee and the deposit,right there with you , well, you can use that as a proof to me by making a deposit to any of your family or partner and show me a receipt as proof and confirmation before i can go get my flight ticket . I traveled three time last week to show the flat to some couples but they don't have the funds at hand to pay and turn out telling me stories that they will pay me when they got a good job..I don't want to risk or waste my time coming down anymore if i don't have a proof from who ever is interested in my flat before getting my ticket to fly down..I am sorry for any inconveniences but you just have to reason with me. I just don't feel comfortable asking for payment upfront before viewing my flat because its is not normal and does sound illegal .So i prefer having a proof you have funds and will proceed from there. Go to any Post Office close to you and ask for money gram Units and do as instructed below to any of your family or partner and get back to me with a confirmation.
THIS WHAT TO DO BELOW....

Sender name: YOUR NAME
Senders address: Your complete address

Receiver's Name: Your family ,Fiancee name or partner
Receiver's address:

I was also made to understand that money gram takes some charges for the transfer and i am telling you that i will return back to you the full transfer charges whether you decide to rent the flat or not when we meet.
Hope to read back from you.

Thanks




We of course had filled in their form of details and sent a bank statement showing we had more than enough funds and a letter of acceptance for my job, so there was no risk to "Dawn"

SO BEWARE!! Several emails of the same thing (after suggesting different ways of proving things since apparently the stuff we had provided was not enough) then the final one which confirmed our fears:


Hello X,

Good to read from you and i really understand what you are trying to say here ...It will sound and look odd to make a transfer from an address to the same address ...Since the address don't really matter , i think if will be easy for you to complete the transfer this way i outlined below ....


Sender's name :- X

Sender's Address:- Your friend's address


Receiver's name:- Y

Receiver's Address:- 29 Gilcomston Park, Aberdeen. AB25 1PY


This will be easy for you to complete and as soon as you get this done and email me copy of the transfer receipt , I will call Money Gram customer service to confirm if truly a transfer was made and if truly the money is available with them ..Once i confiirmed this , i will email you so that you can go and have the money pick back and i will go and have my flight ticket to come down and meet you .Remember i stated to refund you any transfer charges so you have nothing to loose .i just need 100% assurance that you are responsible and capable .i am so sorry for the stress and hassle .Hope this is clear now?

PS Obviously my name is not X I just changed that part

[goodwood77]

HI, i came across a guy who sounded just like this, a flat that was too good to be true. Luckily i went to the post office to ask, and they said in no way do it. i have reported the ad, but i'm pretty sure it's still out there, so beware!..

"thanks for the email and your interest in the flat. I need to know some few questions about you. How many of you are coming to live in my flat? Can you take care of my flat as it is? Can you bring your identity passport when coming for viewing? How many months do you intend to rent and pay for? Do you have references in London? It is unfortunate that my past bitter experience of inviting people to come and view my flat without any form of confirmation of their financial ability and not keeping up to time as at when scheduled has brought about great loss to me. I have lost my job some months ago because of taking people who cant even afford the rent. Henceforth my lawyer and I have decided to carry out a simple test on financial ability to pay for my rent before coming for viewing. I'm a very busy person when it comes to work, I do provide market research and strategies for companies, large and small scale firms, private and public sectors and others on contract basis, am presently in Liverpool right now, but i will like to come immediately you are able to follow the procedure given by my lawyer, I would not ask you to send your bank statement as it may be used illegally sometimes, while some produce fake bank statements and pay slip, but if you are able to transfer money to your friend or partner's custody via Money Gram Post Office, which my lawyer would make confirmation if truly you've transfered the money to your friend or partner's custody, then we can arrange viewing and we can proceed. After confirmation has been made, you can tell your friend or partner to pick up the money. I will be responsible for the cost of transfer, as soon as you arrive to my flat. At least a month rent £400 and security deposit £500 total of (£900) would be required from you to transfer to your friend's custody, which will shows how reliable your finance is to rent a flat. You can make the transfer to your close friend. Your security deposit of 500£ will be return back to u after a week that u have been staying in my flat, you have to do the transfer through Money Gram Post Office, that is if you will be willing to do this. Once you have done this, you can scan the receipt to me or send the details of the receipt if you have no scanner, as I send it to my lawyer to verify, and after verification, then you can pick up your money back as we proceed to view and also refund back to you the cost of transfer. And I will also appreciate a clean and tidy fellow in my flat as it has just undergone renovation in and out. Also you will be responsible for any form of damages in the flat, if you eventually rent my flat. Also please do note that i do not accept any viewing after 8pm....here is me and my husband cell..."

the address was: ijmer@yahoo.co.uk again, a yahoo address. I think, if ANYONE asks for proof of money, say no. anything that sounds too good to be true IT IS. And, you don't have to prove your funds to anyone.

[goodwood77]

i found this:

http://www.ip2location.com/emailtracer.aspx

you can trace the location of an email..it will tell you how. the sender above is nigerian. that indicates that everything said in the email was a lie.

IF ANYONE EVER ASKS FOR ANY KIND OF MONEY TRANSFER BEFORE A CONTRACT IS SIGNED, DON'T DO IT.

stay safe!

[xanthor]

billllevine@yahoo.co.uk

i nearly fell for this one. after reading the forum, i found that i had received exactly the same emails as previous posters. the above email was the 1 ive been receiving from.

thanks

[montyzuma]

FORWARD THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE TO ABUSE@YAHOO.COM TELL THEM HE IS A SCAMMER AND THEYLL DELETE THE ACCOUNT

[jofolovesit]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lynn Anne Johnstone <annw1958@live.co.uk>
Date: October 15, 2009 10:19:29 AM BST
Subject: FLAT DETAILS WITH PICTURES

Hi,

Thanks for your interest and response to my ad.The flat is three bedroom apartment but I have only two rooms available, my tenants just moved back to their country so, the rooms are currently available.Here is little details about the flat.

Flat Location: St Chad's Place, London
Post Code: WC1X8BH

Rent: £450 pcm per room , all bills inclusive
Security deposit:£500 refundable after four weeks in the flat.

Minimum Stay: 1 Month(s)
Maximum stay:1 yr with the option of extending the contract after 12 months

Flat amenities:TV ,CD - DVD - Video,Radio,High-speed Internet with WiFi,Washing Machine ,dryer, Heating, iron and Ironing board,Gas cooker,Electric Kettle,Toaster,Dishwasher,Refrigerator, Microwave e.t.c

The pictures of the flat are hereby attached with this email.

Location:The flat is 2 min walk from King's Cross station and 5 min from Russell Square, Bloomsbury and Angel.
Great connection with the City, East End, Liverpool Street station and Holborn / Covent Garden. There is everything you need around: Tesco, a big Waitrose, restaurants and nice pubs. Perfect if you are a frequent flyer, as it's well connected with all the airports.

Kind regards,
Lynn.

[weescorps]

Please be very careful!!

Moneygram scam is still going on

I knew something wasn't quite right when I got a lovely response to my gumtree ad looking for a flat and did a bit of research myself before going ahead with this ridiculous moneygram request. It was all too good to be true but the scammer didn't bank on me knowing the area and the estate (neighbours) of the alleged property!!! And also being able to check IP Addresses to discover he wasn't in Brighton looking after sick mummy but actually in Mountain View, California!!!

He goes by the name of Paul Prince and email address is

funlowomotose@gmail.com

signs emails with Felicia and Paul - sweet!!

If you need any more info, then email me on

suzannehalliday@hotmail.com

Good luck and be very careful!!

x

[princessdanni]

I have just had a lucky escape with this scam also, only yesterday i recieved the EXACT SAME E-MAILS from kndojeff@yahoo.co.uk

Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 11:39 am Post subject: Our scammer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dawn McInnes" <mcinnes.dawn@yahoo.co.uk> = SCAMMER

This is just sample of what we got:
Station Ln Hornchurch, Essex RM12, UK
Hello ,
Good to read back from you.To be frank with you , i am not after the rent but need a responsible and loyal Tenant who will take good care of the flat, 50% of the rent goes to the Charities and the others go for tax and bills .I have the keys and documents for the contract with me here in Italy .if you really have interest, kindly get back to me and we will both arrange on time and date to view the flat before signing for a contract. I will be needing a proof to show me you have the rent fee before i could go get my flight ticket because i traveled three time last week to show the flat to some couples but they don't have the funds at hand to pay and turn out telling me stories that they will pay me when they got a good job.This is so stressful and frustrating.i don't like jobless and time wasters and I don't want to risk or waste my time coming down anymore if i don't have a proof from who ever is interested in my flat before getting my ticket to fly down..I am sorry for any inconveniences but you just have to reason with me.. Hope this is clear now?
Hope to read from you soon.
Thanks.

And then this repeated in several ways over and over:
Hello ,
If you have a month rent fee and the deposit,right there with you , well, you can use that as a proof to me by making a deposit to any of your family or partner and show me a receipt as proof and confirmation before i can go get my flight ticket . I traveled three time last week to show the flat to some couples but they don't have the funds at hand to pay and turn out telling me stories that they will pay me when they got a good job..I don't want to risk or waste my time coming down anymore if i don't have a proof from who ever is interested in my flat before getting my ticket to fly down..I am sorry for any inconveniences but you just have to reason with me. I just don't feel comfortable asking for payment upfront before viewing my flat because its is not normal and does sound illegal .So i prefer having a proof you have funds and will proceed from there. Go to any Post Office close to you and ask for money gram Units and do as instructed below to any of your family or partner and get back to me with a confirmation.
THIS WHAT TO DO BELOW....

Sender name: YOUR NAME
Senders address: Your complete address

Receiver's Name: Your family ,Fiancee name or partner
Receiver's address:

I was also made to understand that money gram takes some charges for the transfer and i am telling you that i will return back to you the full transfer charges whether you decide to rent the flat or not when we meet.
Hope to read back from you.

Thanks



Does anyone know of a way that we can report these people that we encounter?

[hayleigh_21]

I'm trying to find other people which have been victim of the same scam in order to take legal actions against moneygram.

moneygram in the website states that their sistem is 100% secure and guaranteed but people keep losing their money.

Can you please contact me if you have been victims or if someone you know have been victim and would like to take legal actions.

thank you everyone![/b][/quote]


hi ive been a vitim off this aswell please get in touch hayleigh_21@hotmail.co.uk

[hayleigh_21]

[LondonChap]

the police and bank

[montyzuma]

You might want to go after western union as well

If you have a look on here you will see some people who have lost money.

best of luck if they cleaned up their act it would give scammers a terrible blow

[hayleigh_21]

hi ive been scamed by moneygram out off 3 grand from these people is there anybody who can help me i dont really understand this website please email me on hayleigh_21@hotmail.co.uk