[queenandking]

THERE ARE LOADS MORE THAN THE ONES YOU JUST MENTIONED...I HAVE BEEN WRITING WITH THEM JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY AS I AM QUITE ENTERTAINED BY THEIR STUPIDITY. HERE ARE FEW OF THE EXAMPLES:

simeontob@gmail.com;
Hello,i have a one bed room flat well furnished and couple with a Garden
> for rest furnished and have tv, washer, in the rear its located at London
> South West - London Victoria - SW1 2BB email me for more details and
> Pictures..

Hello
Thanks for the prompt reply yes the apartment is still available you
can come for viewing anytime as i am free to show you the property
anytime you want and more so i will need to know how serious you are
in renting the house cos i have been fooled alot by people who
pretended to be serious at first. I have waisted alot of money on
boarding train from London to come over here to show people the flat
but not for them to show up, so i have contacted my lawyer about this
and he said that i should get to know how serious you are and if you
have the funds for the security deposit and if you have it then he
will be needing an evidence from you to show it.My asking Price is
£700pcm and the security Deposit is £750 which would be refundable
after Rent if no Damages is Caused to the Property.When is your best
time for Viewing and please do make sure you very serious in renting
the Apartment

----- THE NEXT ONE:

jean_boutier@yahoo.com HE SENT US ENERGY BILLS PASSPORT SCANS VARIOUS PICTURES OF THE FLAT THAT LOOKED LIKE THEY HAD BEEN COPIED FROM ANOTHER PAGE, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN HAD A LAWYER INVOLVED, WITH A NUMBER PRETENDING TO BE ENGLISH BUT WAS A DIVERTED NUMBER TO A FOREIGN NUMBER, EMAIL SIGNATURE CHANGED ALONG THE WAY(WAS FIRST JIMMYBONESLBC2003@YAHOO.COM)) AND A PASSPORT WAS ATTACHED, ON THE PASSPORT WAS A PICTURE OF A MALE WITH GREY HAIR BUT WITH A D.O.B SAYING 29 FEBRUARY 1985, SO A 22 YEAR OLD MALE WITH GREY HAIR, THIS IS PROBABLY SOME ONE ELSE PASSPORT WHO HAS PREVIOUSLY SCANNED THEIR PASSPORT INFORMATION AND EMAILED IT TO THEM, SO THEY HAVE FORGED IT AND ARE NOW SENDING IT ON TO OTHERS. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION WHEN YOU GET THIS SORT OF INFORMATION.

i want you to get this straight..i have had a lot bad experience about this that i will leave cambridge for london to show people apartment but eventually i will end up wasting my time cos they are not capable of renting the flat. i dont know why people do joke with things like this. first..i will have to leave my work for that as you know that am gonna loose alot at work. beside my salary is calculated on number of hours spend at work. you can see am gonna leave certainity for uncertainity. just for me to be sure that you are capable of renting the place...so far you are coming with your girl...this is what you will do..get the first month rent plus security deposit sent to you girl via western union.i mean using your girl as the receiver of the payment..A receipt will be issued to you at the western union and there are some information on the receipt which you will have to provide to your girl before she can retrieve the money at western union.
The thing is that,as soon as you make the transfer,you will have to scan the receipt and have it sent to me.This will be as proof for me and also i will call western union to confirm if you truly made the payment and i will provide them with the information on the receipt such as senders name,receivers name,MTCN and amount sent before they can confirm for me that you truly made the payment....As soon as i confirm that the payment is there...then i will leave cambrigde for london to show you the apartment. after veiwing the apartment if you are okay with what you see then you ur girl will both go to western union to cash the money and get it hand over to me.then i believe you can sign all neccessary paper and i will also give you the keys and issue a receipt for the payment..i have attached the energy bill of the apt

jean

------------THE THIRD ONE -----JUST TOOOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!!!
mrs.jachouston@hotmail.co.uk
Goodday,i have a One bedroom flat located Cromwell Road London SW7 5BT.It has a large living room and kitchen coupled with a garden for rest in the rear.The flat is offered furnished. Please email if you are Interested for more Details and Pictures.
Thanks.


--------------------THE FOURTH ONE----- FUNNY HOW THEY ARE ALL ON YAHOO!!!
erikflat4rent@yahoo.com


------------------------------THE FIFTH ONE
researchglobe256@yahoo.co.uk - THEY ALWAYS SEND LENGTHY MAILS OR TRY AND BE REALLY FRIENDLY WITH YOU - SHE SENT SEVERAL PICTURES AND ONE WITH HERSELF ON IT ASWELL, WHICH ALREADY YOU SHOULD WONDER WHY WOULD ANY PROFESSIONAL PERSON DO THAT ITS REGARDING A FLAT NOT THE NEXT TOP MODEL..HAHA.....ALSO THE PICTURES ATTACHED WASN'T MATCHING THERE WAS PICTURES OF TWO DIFFERENT KITCHENS, IN WHICH HER EXPLANATION WAS(FURTHER DOWN THE PAGE)

Really appreciate your words in assuring to pay me if you like the Flat.I understand you quite okay.However,i do not want to stand on peoples promise of paying me cash or cheque when we meet again because i have met with time wasters.
I was discussing with my colleague about the idea on how i will be so sure that i will not be coming down to London on a futile exercise and she advised that we can work out something via Western Union Transfer.
She made me to understand that she has used it a couple of times for renting out her flat if she is not around .She said that western union can actually hold the money as an evidence and surety that her tenant will pay her at least for the first month and deposit.She explained that you can visit any Western union outlet and transfer the money IN YOUR FIANCEE NAME as the SENDER and RECEIVER will be in YOUR NAME.-You will use his/her name as the SENDER and AFTER viewing and you are okay with the flat/room,we both can go back to withdraw your money from western union close to my flat as she said she has done transactions this way before.

I do not want you to have the feeling that i am asking for money BEFORE you see what you are renting because i know that payment is meant to be done AFTER you have seen the Flat and okay with it.-The reason why you have to be receiver is basically to give you the confidence that your money is still in your name and to make sure that your money is still safe since it is still in you name as the receiver as you are the only one who can collect it with a valid ID,maybe with a passport or drivers license.
So in order for me to also be on a good side,you can go ahead and make the transfer since you have the money ready,let me know immediately you do the transfer so that i can know how to squeeze out time to come and meet you.But i will have to rely on your honesty and truth that you have actually make the payment before i leave here to come down to London to see you.What evidence will you give me so that I can be sure that you have made the payment? I was made to understand that you can SCAN THE RECEIPT to me to see.
I was also made to understand that western union 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,ok?After doing the transfer,then i will have to leave here and be with you in London to meet you immediately.

Please,understand that i am NOT asking you to pay me BEFORE you view the flat as payment is done AFTER viewing.
I only want to be sure that i am not going to waste my time this time around and i think that with this condition,both of us can be sure we are not wasting our times.Let me know if you are okay with this so that we can proceed.Thanks so much while i will be waiting to read from you and i am looking forward to meet you and be great friends eventually.

I will get the contract ready for you to sign if you like to take the flat after viewing and the keys will be handed over to you immediately after contract.



PS:I am sorry for the lengthy mail.I only want to explain myself better



Clara


--EXPLANATION OF KITCHEN PICTURES - HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE...WHAT 1 BEDROOM HOUSE HAS TWO KITCHENS:o..YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN BY ENTERTAINING:)

Yes there is a Small kitchen close to the livingroom basically meant for the dinning area and the other is the full kitchen seperate and thats why i told you that its a very Large Flat.


THESE ARE GENUINE LANDLORDS:

Hi,

My name is Nathaniel and I'm currently living in a self-contained studio flat in Willesden Green/Cricklewood. I'm moving to a new flat this weekend and I'm trying to find someone who would like to move into my current one. My gumtree add for this flat is as follows:

- Mezzanine double bed with drawers.
- Ground floor with single bed (optional)
- Double sofa and TV
- Kitchen area all cookery and appliances included.
- Separate bathroom
- Lots of storage space
- Washing and drying facilities
- Free internet
- Flexibility with tenancy agreement in terms of short term/mid term/long stay.
- Very close to both Cricklewood high road bus stops within 2 min walk
-10 min walk to Willesden Green and Kilburn tube stations providing great transport to the city center via the Jubilee Line

Would suit a couple or sharers. Please note this is a mezzanine studio apartment not a one bedroom flat.

£180pw

All bills included in price, except electricity top up meter.

Please contact Nathaniel for immediate viewing or further details.
nathaniel.seekins@gmail.com, +44 (0)79 7285 2108

Available Sat. 16 Feb. 2008



Please let me know if you would be interested in a viewing. It's a really nice flat which my girlfriend and I have been renting but my daily commute over to Stratford has proven to be way too long so we're moving over there.

Thanks,

Nathaniel Seekins


Hi
I have a lovely one double bedroom flat with garden,in Harrow (Kenton),less than 5min walk from Kenton Station(Bakerloo line),and ten minutes to Northwick park station((Metro line),about 30mins to central London.
Its newly decorated,nice Kitchen/diner,etc.
Rent is £690pcm excl of bills.If interested e-mail me.


----------------------SEE THE DIFFERENCE!...PLEASE PEOPLE BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FunkyT]

Thanks for warning Gumtree users about possible scams

You can also report this through the links in the email reply we send you, or via our 'Stay Safe' pages.

[whatever1]

why doesn't gumtree, a company owned by ebay, which makes millions...
why do they not pass on scams like this to the local UK police? Why does gumtree just sit around giving cut and paste warnings but not forward these scams onto police straight away?

The local police want US to go to the police station, take time out of OUR day, waste OUR time and then say you were not 'actually' a victim because no crime has taken place.

The MPS service is there to PREVENT and DETECT crime. This means scams that are attempted are well duh...attempted fraud! The MPS then wants you to report via their website but their website says they dont take fraud reports...so it's very hard to report. Gumtree should have a system in place to forward reports straight away to the local police so they know what is happening. Also Gumtree should contact yahoo/hotmail. gmail and have those fraud accounts closed. Scammers even use 1 email address to get make the first contact then switch to another.

Gumtree is negligent and lazy. They are allowing these scams to take place by not taking any action after its reported to them. They could also have a system where they place fake ads to monitor who replies etc.
Gumtree doesn't care about us being conned.

It's up to us it seems...another big company making money out of us and doing nothing to protect us.

[Sanne]

The local police are not going to do anything because the majority of the scammers are not even in the UK.

[gums]

police cant do nothing your right sanne most of them are out the country

[hugheskevi]

For the first time I have started to notice Gumtree adverts on the London Underground. If they have advertised before, I have never noticed it.

I do wonder about this - it is one thing that a free to use service has lots of scammers with very little action by mods to tackle it...after all, you get what you pay for. Not ideal, but understandable.

But if Gumtree is going more profession with marketing and advertising, surely they have to take more action to tackle scams and protect users? Whilst you can never eliminate scams, you surely have to take more action against the current flooding of scams that is on Gumtree if you are actively marketing your product?

[Sanne]

All gumtree can do is remove the posts that are reported to them. How are they to know which posts are legit and which are scams? They could block certain IP addresses, but the scammers would just use another computer if they were unable to post again - or use a programme that hides their IP address.

And many of the scammers are people who contact someone posting a Flat Wanted ad, so unfortunately gumtree has no way of controlling this.

[hugheskevi]

There are always ways to mitigate if not eliminate risk.

As an example, a compulsory and fairly lengthy registration system before allowing posting and replying. This increases the overhead on people changing addresses, etc.

Then there are more e-bay like measures, of recommending members. Far from fool-proof, but again a mitigation.

Or displaying on replies how long a member has been registered with Gumtree along with an active policy of deleting the accounts of scammers. Those that have accounts of more than 6 months are going to be far less likely to be scammers than those with new accounts.

Or other verifications, such as having to give credit card details when registering with Gumtree to ensure all registrations are from UK based people.

Not that I necessarily think any of the above should happen (there are obvious draw-backs to all and none are foolproof) but the more business orientated an organisation becomes, the more it needs to ensure that adequate risks and mitigations are in place.

[montyzuma]

good points hugh but....

people dont want compulsory and lenghty they want quick
how long is a good one

uk based nope gumtree is world wide

again gumtree is for free face to face in your local commuity
one thing hat has been mentioned is a nominal charge ie 20p 50 p

which the scammers wouldnt pay gets away from the free though