Room for Rent and other rental scams
#38833 by Michelle Sat Oct 09, 2010 5:25 pm
2010/10/9 Fallani Marco < [email protected] >
Hi,

Thanks for your prompt response to me regarding my flat and for your interest in knowing more about it. Large double bedroom 4x5 metres fully furnished with double bed, sofabed (for guests) wardrobe, chest, desk, chair, big mirror over large fireplace and is nicer than the picture suggests! The room opens up into the garden and is flooded with sun light in the morning, perfect for breakfast on the patio.

flat has one kitchens and two bathrooms & separate toilet and bath, therefore you only share the kitchen and living room.Flat is situated in a beautiful Residential Area near Restaurants, Bars and Shops. Minutes away Highbury Barn contains Grocery stores, organic store, cafes, two restaurants, French cheese shop, take-aways, shoe repairer, laundry, post office, a gift shop, a local pub, a DIY shop and bus stop. Highbury Fields Park, has a very affordable gym with a swimming pool and lots of classes.

The flat is 5 minutes walking distance to the Arsenal/Piccadilly line and 10 mins to Highbury & Islington/Victoria line. Just a few mins ride to Upper Street/Angel and all it offers. Excellent location 15 minutes on the tube from Leicester square 5 mins from Kings


The flat is well furnished and equipped with followings : standing mirror,CD - DVD - Video ,Radio , TV , High-speed Internet with WiFi,Washing Machine , Heating, iron and Ironing board , Electric Kettle,Toaster,Dishwasher,Refrigerator, Microwave and the flat comprise separate fully tiled bathroom with bath and power shower, and Off road parking space.



Rent :£400 per month, all bill inclusive
Security Deposit is £600 (refundable after one week stay in the flat)
Flat address: Highbury London,
Post Code: N5 1AE, United Kingdom


You will be sharing the flat with me and in the flat, we shall both be sharing the living room, kitchen, garden while you will be using a private toilet with bath and one separate room with double bed. I have attached the photos of the flat with this e-mail so that you can have an idea of exactly what it look like and let me know if you like the flat. At present, I live and work in Liverpool but I will be happy to travel down to London any time that suits you for the viewing, waiting for your swift response

Cheers,
Marco



Hi
Thanks for the mail and for your interest in my flat, it's my pleasure. I can come down to London any day or time for the viewing but as you can read from my previous mail that i currently live and work in Liverpool so I will need to take a day off from my office before i can come down to London for the viewing.

I have wasted lots of money and time on traveling down to London several times to show people my flat but they will fail to turn up is either they cannot afford the rent or the security deposit required but want me to come down with the aim of renegotiating. I have consulted my lawyer and we have resolved that any potential tenants should be able to prove in the following way in order to determine who is financially buoyant and that he or she can stick to appointment when scheduled and able to pay his/her rent as at when due.

So before I can come down to London to show you the flat, I will need to see a proof that you are financially buoyant, truly interested in my flat and not a time waster, I will not ask you to email me your bank statement or payment slip because i have been fooled with fake bank statement and payslip, what you are going to do is that, you will have to make the transfer of one month rent plus security deposit(£1000) via western union money transfer by using your own name as the receiver of the money while the name of someone close to you or relative will be the sender. here is how you do the transfer; you will go to any nearby western union outlet/shop very close to you with £1000 cash, when you get there, you will tell them you want to make a transfer using their service and you will be given a payment slip to fill, below is what you are going to fill on it;

Sender's name: Someone close to you or relative name
Receiver's name: Your own name
Sender's address: That person address
Receiver's address: Your own address in London
Amount to transfer: £1000

Once you fill it, you will give the form to the agent with the £1000 and he/she will give you a payment receipt and this is what you will scan and email to me for confirmation and i will call their customer care here in Liverpool to confirm and once i confirm that the money is available to be pick up by you as the receiver, I will buy my train ticket down to London immediately, email it to you so that you can know i will surely be present for the viewing and to know the time we shall be meeting for the viewing.
I will be at the tube station to pick you up, take you round the flat and after the viewing if you are ok with the flat, you will sign my tenancy agreement form, we will both look for any nearby western union outlet very close to my flat and you will collect your money out with your passport, pay me face-face, collect the payment receipt with flat key and you will move-in on your move-in date which will be stated on the agreement form while i take my leave back to Liverpool that same day. 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 that is why I said you should make the transfer to yourself so that you will be the one to receive the money and pay me in person after the viewing.

A little amount of money would be charge for the transfer but i don't want you to worry about that because my lawyer had advised me to be responsible for that for your own convenience, it will be refunded back to you immediately we meet for the viewing, so either you rent my flat or not, your money would be given back to you. I will be happy if you can email me back now so that i can know how to schedule my time in other to meet you for the viewing, i hope to read back from you as soon as possible.

Thanks
Marco


The thief will tell you that you can rent his accommodation only if you can prove that you have genuine interest. He will ask you send money by wire transfer (normally Western Union) to yourself or a member of the family to show that you have sufficient finances and that you are not a "time waster".

Another variation of this scam is that you need to send (by Western Union) money in order that the keys and other documents can be couriered to you

He will ask you to send him the transfer details.

Make no mistake ! Western Union Transfers can be picked up virtually anywhere in the world and with the minimum of identification. They are almost impossible to trace once the money has been collected. You will never get to see the accommodation or your money again.

If you are reading this because you are looking for property to rent, and you are in contact with this thief you are probably searching Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment by Western Union before viewing, then it will also be a scam. Please forward the mail to me at the address in my signature line and I will investigate and list them if necessary.

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#43708 by Tuttut Tue Jan 04, 2011 7:52 pm
Looks like he is still at it...


"Hi,

Thanks for your prompt response to me regarding my flat and for your interest in knowing more about it. my flat is still available and it's just one bedroom flat but can contain a maximum of two people at a sleep, so if you have someone who you wish to share the room with, no problem. below is more about the flat.

This is a stylish and modern one bedroomed that offers many enticing features such as direct lift access, a vast roof terrace and contemporary open-plan living space .

The flat is well furnished and equipped with followings : standing mirror,CD - DVD - Video ,Radio , TV , High-speed Internet with WiFi,Washing Machine , Heating, iron and Ironing board , Electric Kettle,Toaster,Dishwasher,Refrigerator, Microwave and the flat comprise separate fully tiled bathroom with bath and power shower, and Off road parking space.

Hoxton Square is a vibrant setting brimming with restaurants, bars, art galleries and transport links .The nearest station is Old Street (Northern Line and National Rail).

Rent :£400 per month, all bill inclusive
Security Deposit is £600 (refundable after one week stay in the flat)
Flat address: Hoxton Square, Hoxton London,
Post Code: N1 6NU, United Kingdom

About me: My name is Fallani Marco and am 27yrs old, originally from Italy but was brought up in London. The flat am renting out belong to my dad but he died four years ago and ever since then, I have been in Charge of the property because am the only male child he had. I work as an automobile engineer in London but i got promoted last week and was transferred to Italy, so at present, I live and work in Italy but it will be my happiness to travel down to London to show you the flat at your most convenient time and date because all the flat documents and key are here with me. I attach the picture of the available room, bathroom with toilet, kitchen and dinning with this mail so that you can have an idea of what the flat look like, if you are interested in renting it, you can email me back now to proceed.

Cheers,
Marco "



"Hi

there's no problem in inviting you for the viewing but as you can read from my previous mail that I currently work and live in Italy so I will need to take a day off from work in order to fly down to arrange the viewing with you and this is not a problem but I have had several cases of people we had a deal for viewing and fail to turn up is either they cannot afford the rent or the security deposit required but want me to come down with the aim of renegotiating so they just made me waste my money and time.

I have consulted my lawyer and we have resolved that any potential tenants should be able to prove in the following way in order to determine who is financially buoyant and that he or she can stick to appointment when scheduled and able to pay his/her rent as at when due. So before I can fly down to London to show you the flat, I will need to see a proof that you are financially buoyant, truly interested in my flat and not a time waster, I will not ask you to email me your bank statement or payment slip because i have been fooled with fake bank statement and payslip.

What you are going to do is that, you will have to make the transfer of one month rent plus security deposit(£1000) via western union money transfer by using your own name as the receiver of the money while the name of someone close to you or relative will be the sender. here is how you do the transfer; you will go to any nearby western union outlet/shop very close to you with £1000 cash, when you get there, you will tell them you want to make a transfer using their service and you will be given a payment slip to fill, below is what you are going to fill on it;

Sender's name: Someone close to you or relative name
Receiver's name: Your own name
Sender's address: That person address
Receiver's address: Your own address in London
Amount to transfer: £1000

Once you fill it, you will give the form to the agent with the £1000 and he/she will give you a payment receipt and this is what you will scan and email to me for confirmation and i will call their customer care here in Italy to confirm and once i confirm that the money is available to be pick up by you as the receiver, I will buy my flight ticket to London immediately, email it to you so that you can know i will surely be present for the viewing and to know the time we shall be meeting for the viewing.

I will be at the tube station to pick you up, take you round the flat and after the viewing if you are ok with the flat, you will sign my tenancy agreement form, we will both look for any nearby western union outlet very close to my flat and you will collect your money out with your passport, pay me face-face, collect the payment receipt with flat key and you will move-in on your move-in date which will be stated on the agreement form while i take my leave back to Italy that same day. 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 that is why I said you should make the transfer to yourself so that you will be the one to receive the money and pay me in person after the viewing.

Western union do require a little amount of money as transfer charges, for you to know that am not trying to inconvenient you but just want to make sure i will not be wasting my money and time if i should fly down to London to show you the flat, i will refund the transfer charges back to you immediately we meet in London for the viewing even before going to the flat.I will be happy if you can email me back now so that i can know how to schedule my time in other to meet you for the viewing, i hope to read back from you as soon as possible.

Thanks
Marco"


I have had a lot more emails from "Marco Fallani" currently operating on [email protected] email address. I also received an email from him/her today with a scanned passport picture, sent to me to prove he was genuine.

Thank god, I checked on here first!!!
#48137 by GomerPyle Tue Mar 08, 2011 2:54 am
There's one simple rule to avoid apartment rental scams.

If you find a good deal for an apartment rental on a free ad site - it's a scam. That's how bad the situation is currently. The greed of scammers and their efforts to flood other scammers ads out is making the ad sites worthless as places to seek apartment rentals.

If you go further with an enquiry and Western Union is mentioned, you might as well give your money away to charity.

Some scammers in the UK have access to bank accounts and if you Google the bank details you may have a chance of discovering whether or not there's a history of it being used to receive stolen money.

Non-EU citizens should go here to find out about obtaining a visa to work as an au pair in the UK
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/doineedvisa/
Whenever payment is requested by Western Union you're dealing with a scammer

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