[hollybablooza]

My flatmate and I advertised a room available in our flat in Glasgow and received the following response from the e-mail address sarah.moak@yahoo.co.uk.

"In search of a room or an apartment ,i came across the posted rent advert & ll like to know if its still available .I am in London as at now where i just finished my professional programme and relocating.

I am a friendly and easy going person who like to acquaint with people from diverse races ,background and origin. my hobbies include music, movies, computers, poetry and giving an helping hand to whoever that needs it. My interest is not limited in anyway and i love trying out new things .I will like to know the location of the room/apartment ,with more details about the actual amount to be paid.

kindly email me again with the below details so we can proceed and have some things done concerning the Rent.
1} RENT FEE\MO ?
2} MOVE-IN DEPOSIT ?
3} ADDRESS OF THE PLACE FOR RENT ?
4) WILL YOU TAKE A CERTIFIED CASHIER'S CHEQUE FOR MOVE-IN DEPOSIT ?
5} HOW LONG RENT LEASE DO YOU REQUIRE?
6) DO YOU HAVE PICTURES ?
7 ) HOW FAR IS THE STORES , BUS-STOP & TRAIN STATION FROM THE PLACE ?
RENT START DATE ?

I will be expecting to read answers to the above questions asap ..

Best Regards,
Sarah."


My flatmate then replied with some details and answers to the questions, to then be sent this reply:

"I received your response concerning my rent search and sorry for the late response.I was born on the 01/05/1983 and attended Algonquin College of Applied Arts & Technology Ottawa, Ontario: Graduated in 2001 (GPA: 3.5) and thereafter proceeded to the University of Ottawa , Ottawa, Ontario ; A.A., Advertising, Pensacola , Ontario, 05/2002-05/2006, (GPA: 3.25 ).I just finished my 6 months professional course in Strategic Alliances from the University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario, Canada where i am now. I live with my parents here in london for now .My home/parents address here is :

87 CARTIER RD , LONDON ON N5V 1G4 , CANADA.

Also it might be of your interest to know that a certified bank check drawn on a UK bank will be issued to you in an excess amount , in which the excess funds will be sent to back to me or my travel agent after you might have deducted your original amount will be sent to me via Money Gram transfer. The excess amount is meant for my traveling allowance , flight ticketing and other expenses.

kindly get back to me with the under listed information so that the payment can be issued out Asap .

NAME ON CHECK:
FULL CONTACT ADDRESS:
HOME PHONE NUMBER:
MOBILE PHONE NUMBER:
SUM TOTAL OF THE FIRST MONTH RENT FEE AND SECURITY DEPOSIT :

Also, i will be moving into the apartment on the 1st week the rent fee start counting and i will be very honored if you could furnish me with the required details so that we can proceed on payment.

I also want to add that i do not smoke nor drink but can live with one because my dad does. I do not own a pet either but i am used to them. My brother does own a cat and a dog.

I am not dirty , i read a lot , go clubbing on weekends , go to cinemas and i love cooking .I am appreciative and tolerating .I am friendly and gentle .I am so nice that i was nicknamed NICE. Anyway ,you ll get to know more about me later and also , do not forget to tell me more about your self.

UNDERNEATH THE ABOVE DETAILS NEEDED , PLS ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE IN AGREEMENT TO SEND BACK THE EXCESS MONEY THROUGH MONEY GRAM TRANSFER TO MY ME AND MY traveling AGENT AS YOU WILL BE INSTRUCTED AFTER RECEIVING AND CASHING THE CHEQUE. "


Sorry, I know that was rather long-winded, just thought I'd post a heads up!

[the_tidy_kiwi]

Thanks for letting us know. We really appreciate it!

[cokeyfish]

Iv had the same person contacting with sarah.moak@yahoo.com.. i thought something was fishy after that second email ( exactly the same as yours - word for word - which sounded demanding which made me very unsure) but i made sure none of my details were let known to that person; even personal so called chit chat questions.. ( wasn't aware of scams at the time ) However i did search money gram transfer on the internet and found this forum which spoke about these transfers (as i was also blissfully unaware of) but only found the problems with people on the tenant side of the situation being conned.. not the landlord..

so it went all the way to getting the cheque and banking it - only to be debited on the same day which i followed up with the bank and told me it was fraud - no suprise for me. I'm glad this forum is addressing this subject as it can help people so much!