Rental Scammer - [email protected]

I was looking for apartments to rent in Boston and fell upon an ad on craig's list that got my attention. I start emailing this person and thought it was extremely shady. I was told to send money using western union in order to receive keys. Below is the chain of conversations we had together.

Hey,

I saw your add on Craig's List looking for a roommate. I'm currently looking to re-locate to Boston for work. I was wondering if the room is still available for rent and if so, do you have any pictures of the place? I'm 25, laid back, clean and easy to get along with. If you have any questions about me, just shoot me an email. I'll be in Boston next week checking out other apartments so maybe we can schedule to meet up.

Thanks,

Tyler
----------------------

Hi,

Thanks for your interest in wanting to be my roommate. I am looking for a responsible & clean roommate that will be able to take good care of my apartment because I work as Oil Expatriates and I do travel a lot, Presently I am in Utah for a research and I don't know when I will return back to the apartment that's why am looking for a roommate who will live in the apartment and take care of it. The apartment is available for long term and short term lease is also accepted. The property is located at: 52 Maple Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA...... I will like you to drive by to the building today to view the exterior of the building for you to know where the apartment is located and get back to me so that I can forward you the full interior pictures to you to have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks and we can proceed to the next step which is the application process.

The apartment Features
ï High Speed Internet
ï In-Suite Laundry
ï Large in-suite storage
ï Cable

Its a spacious and lovely apartment, Utilities are included and Pets are allowed. Kitchen completely equipped, Kettle - Toaster -Dishwasher - Freezer - Microwave - Oven - Dryer - Heat - Water - Washing Machine and Electric.

I want you to note that I am a kind and honest man and also I spent a lot on my property that I want to give you for rent, and I would want you to treat it as your own, I would like you to keep it tidy all the time I also want you to let me have trust in you as I always stand on my word,the rental fee is ($600) per month including utilities for the whole of the apartment and the security deposit is ($500). Kindly let me know if you wish to proceed further so that I can forward you the full interior pictures for you to have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks and we can proceed to the application process. You cant view the interior, you will be able to drive by and view it from outside.

I look forward to hearing from you.
------------------------------

Hello William,

Thank you for your quick response! I really appreciate it. I will try to swing by the place sometime this week after work. I'm sure it's great though; your description makes the apartment sound perfect. I'll email you when I have seen the building from the outside. I look forward to the interior pictures. Good luck with your research in Utah.

Tyler
-----------------------------

Thanks for your interest in my room. The room is available for short or long term and the building is in a great location situated in the quiet and safe area and offers secure access. internet, cable, laundry in-suite, storage facilities, heat, water, electric and parking is included in the rent and pet are allowed. I will just let you know that you can't view the interior, i would have love to show you the interior through a friend or relatives but i don't have anybody that can do that for me at the moment. Its a 2 bedroom, you will have your own private room and i will reside in the other room when i get back.



I tried to look for an agent that I could give the document & the keys before I left but could not find any as a matter of urgency. And I don't want home misused in my absence that is why I took the keys and documents along with me. So I hope you will promise me to take very good care of the room always.



Attached are the interior pictures for you to have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks, I will like you to get back to me with your final decision after viewing the interior pictures and let me know if you are interested in proceeding with the rental so that i can forward the application form to you.



I look forward to hearing from you ASAP.

Regards

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


Hi William,

The apartment looks fantastic! I drove by the building today and was very impressed. Thanks for sending me pictures of the interior. I would be interested in renting the room from Jan 1 - June 1, 2011. What is the on street parking situation? I will have a car with me. Can you tell me a little about yourself? How would I be able to actually walk around the apartment? If you are traveling for business, how would we handle documentation, keys, etc.? Sorry for all the questions. I am very interested and excited about the room. Feel free to call me anytime at 203.526.4750.

Thanks,

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


Hi Tyler,
Thank you so much for showing your interest in my space, anyway i have attached the application form for you to fill, and yes there is a street parking, the keys and documents will be shipped to you via courier service, and will be delivered to you next day as soon as you make the payments, i am a married man, with children, which we all traveled together, i don't have a family in usa, i came from france.
---------------------




**********APPLICATION FORM**********

Full Name:


Full Address: & phone number:


Age


Mariage Status :


How many people will be living


Do you have Pets:



Do you have a car:


Occupation:


Religion:



Move-in Date:



Country:



Cell and home #



State Zip code



Your Picture:


Move-Out Date:

June, 2011

Comments:

Will you assure us that the apartment will be very good taking by you ?

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

Hello William,

I emailed you the application form but I'm not sure if the picture went through.

I attached a copy of the picture to just in case. Thanks.

-Tyler

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

Hi Tyler,
Thank you i got your application and your form, i just want you to also know i got your picture, which am impressed. I will like to let you know that my family has moved with me here in Utah, so i will just like you to know that, i will only be the one coming home to just see the way you treat the place, and the next step is payment stage, and the payment would be made via money gram, so let me know if you wish to proceed so i can mail you the payment info. Thank you

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

Hi William,

I am very excited about the apartment. Does the street parking require a permit because I have Connecticut license plates. I want you to know that I will respect your property and would like to know if there is any specific details I should know about? By money gram do you mean money order check? I assume I will mail you a check for $1,100.00 (first months rent and security deposit) to your Utah address and you will mail me the documentation and keys? Is there a lease I need to to sign? Would we be able to talk on the phone before I send payment out? Would I be able to send you a more secure form of payment just for the $1,100.00 that can be tracked until I get the keys?

Thanks William!

Tyler

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

Hi Tyler,
Thank you so much and am sorry for the late response, the parking does not require any permit and you should have no problem with that, there are no specific details to know about than no parties in my place please. Money Gram or Western Union is a way i can receive the payment for now, you will take cash along with you there, and the funds will be send from there, not a cheque. And yes there is a lease you will need to sign, which will be shipped to you with the keys, once you have made the payment. I hope you understand.

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

Hi William,

Thanks for the information. Would you like to speak to me on the phone before I send out the payment? What is the payment information? Does the price $600.00 include cable and internet? I also wanted to ask if you are going to give me notice of when you will be stopping by or a picture of what you look like so I know who to expect?

Thanks

Tyler

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


Hi Tyler,
Thank you so much for the mail again, i have attached my pictures to you and hope you can see what i look like, and more also the rent comes with internet, hydro, gas, stove, and many more. I will give you a call once the keys are shipped.

You can make the payment by Money Transfer Service such as : Money Gram Or Western Union I want you to go and visit any of their office or grocery store nearby and make the payment to my personal assistant information below. I will not be chanced to go and pick it up, i will go to the shipping company to ship out the package as soon as i receive confirmation from him that the payment is confirmed.

Name: Richard M Weeks

Address:1719 W Champagne Ave

Taylorsville,

UT 84118

Rent fee : $600

Security Deposit fee : $500 (Refundable at the end of Tenancy)


Once you make the payment with the Money Transfer Service. I want you to specify the service used and get back to me with the Information below:

Reference #:
Sender's Name:
Address:
Amount Sent:

Thanks

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

Hi William,

Thank you for your response. This all sounds great but because we don't personally know each other, I would feel more comfortable if a representative of yours in Boston can meet me, show me the place and at that time we can exchange keys and payment.

Thanks,

Tyler

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

Above was the last email I sent before I found out that this was a scam. I googled the address he gave me and the first thing that came up was this website with similar stories including the same address.

The email address this scammer is using is [email protected]

Here are the pictures he sent me of what he "looks like."





Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Here are pictures of the apartment that he sent me.

http://img249.imageshack.us/i/mailnn.jpg
http://img137.imageshack.us/i/mail4t.jpg
http://img11.imageshack.us/i/mail3b.jpg
http://img577.imageshack.us/i/mail2.jpg
http://img87.imageshack.us/i/mail1n.jpg

I just want to thank everyone on this site for reporting incidents like this. Hopefully we can all work together and stop these scammers.

Take Care,

Tyler

Tyler,

I'm glad you were able to avoid being scammed! You can continue to help too, simply by posting scams as you encounter them--the more we have posted, the better our odds of saving others.

I got this, too!! I can confirm now that it is a scam based on this post. Thank you SO SO SO much! I can't tell you how glad I am that I caught this now. I used Google reverse image search and used the photo he attached to the e-mail.

I got this from trulia.com and I think there may be more scams in that site than I initially thought... There's a lot of Manhattan apartments for $200 a month! This one was $800 a month and not totally lower- Manhattan... well, here was the address:

140 E 63rd St, New York NY 10065

and it looked like it was in a big apartment building on Google maps, street view. I thought it was legit.

I hope there gets to be less and less people like this in the world...

Edit: Now I see that he's (or she is?) doing this for many other apartments!! Look:



Furnished One Bedroom Suite - AmsterdamForRent.com
http://www.amsterdamforrent.com/listing ... .Amsterdam Apartment for Rent, Furnished One Bedroom Suite - Find Apartments for Rent, Houses for Rents, Rooms for Rent and Sublets in Amsterdam, ...


3858A 12th St, Long Island City, NY 11101 - Zillow
http://www.zillow.com › ... › New York › Queens › Astoria apartmentsView 1 photos. For rent: $800. 2 bed, 2.5 bath, 2352 sqft home at 3858A 12th St. 2 bedroom apartment for rent in a cool area 2 bedroom apartment for rent in a ...


1782 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118 - Zillow
http://www.zillow.com › Massachusetts › Boston › South End apartmentsJan 14, 2013 – View 5 photos. For rent: $800. 1 bed, 1.0 bath, 900 sqft home at 1782 Washington St. Great offer!! Beautifully decorated room in a 1 bedroom ...


523 Judah St APT A, San Francisco, CA 94122 - Zillow
http://www.zillow.com › California › San Francisco › Inner SunsetJan 15, 2013 – View pictures, and sales history for 523 Judah St APT A.


851 S Kihei Rd, Kihei, HI 96753 - Zillow
http://www.zillow.com › Hawaii › Kihei › 96753View 2 photos. For rent: $800. 2 bed, 2.5 bath home at 851 S Kihei Rd. 2 bedroom apartment for rent in a cool area 2 bedroom apartment for rent in a cool area.


That's what came up when I Google reverse searched by the picture of the bedroom. This is awful!!

Hello FloridaGirl126 thank you for posting and welcome to scamwarners.

Please remove your personal information from the post.

Thank you so much for posting this!!!

I got contact from the person who said he is renting out the "523 Judah Street, San Francisco, CA 94122". And he gave me the same reply as the post.

He said his name is Michael Cash, with a fake phone number 260-782-4407, his email is [email protected], I found the renting post on http://www.hotpads.com
Here are pictures that he sent me---

Welcome to Scamwarners ayalotooya,

I am happy to hear you learned it was a scam.

Could you please post the emails he sent you. The last post was Jan 2013, scammers sometimes change a few details. You may not see these details but it tells us a lot.

Bryon

I was almost scammed. When I search this gay's photo using google image search, I found this post. Same skills, but different name called Rolland!
But I sent him my passport and photos, will he use it do something bad?

First, I doubt that the house is very cheep in the Barcelona city center. Then he told me he canceled the bank account here just using west union transfer. So I thought how he pay the gas, light and community fee etc.
Then I want to check his ID and certificate of ownership, he told me he do not have the scanner. Oh my god, doesn't he use the cellphone to take a photo!

[list=][/list]he just got me today same pictures of him . different house interior pictures here is the whole conversation
hello my name is M
i am interested in the available apartment i saw the ad on Craigslist and i was wondering if i may see some pictures of the apartment? and what is needed to be able to be considered to rent the apartment? as far as paperwork and if there is anything else we should know about it i have a two year old son and a fiance we are in need of a good place to stay and would greatly appreciate the opportunity as of right now we are no longer permitted to stay at our temporary living situation we just moved here from North Carolina and we are just starting out we do not have any credit started but my fiance does have a very sturdy and reliable job that does bring in income . so please let me know thank you



sincerely m
paul Chisholm

1:41 AM (22 hours ago)

to me
Hello M

Thanks for your interest in my apartment. My name is Paul Chisholm. I am a Geologist and my work can be quite tedious because it involves mineral researches, I'm easy going and friendly. I like Music and have deep interests in traveling. I respect every religion and love to hang around with people and I am definitely not a trouble maker and very helpful in nature. So I want you to know that we relocated to SOUTH CAROLINA. I tried to look for an agent that I could give the document & the keys before I left to ( SOUTH CAROLINA ) for my UNICEF program but could not find any as a matter of urgency. And I don't want home misused in my absence that is why I took the keys and documents along with me..due to my new research and I will be here for long that is why am looking for a clean and responsible person to live in my apartment. The apartment is located: 2748 Antelope Ln, Santa Rosa, CA 95407

We left behind some Facilities and electronics which include the rent: Its a spacious and lovely 1-bedroom apartment suite with the kitchen well equipped with (Microwave oven, Dish washer, Blender, Cocktail mixer, Sandwich maker and Gas cooker e.t.c), all utilities included such as Cable and Internet e.t.c

Rental fees : $750 Per month including utilities

The rent is made very affordable because I am seriously looking for a clean and reliable person to take care of the apartment. I am not after the money, what I am after is the welfare of my apartment. I will like you to drive by to the address today to view the exterior of the building for you to get a better view of the building and also see what the neighborhood looks like and get back to me so that I can forward you the full interior pictures to you to have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks and we can proceed to the application form.

I look forward to hearing from you

Regards

thank you so much i can appreciate the work you do i myself am a rock collector yes we will check out the location today and let you know what we think we do have two cats they are treated as family and are home trained would that be an issue? is the property a house or an apartment? and what is the plan for the residence would the agreement be long term or temporary housing situation ? please let us know


Thanks for getting back to me, i want you to know that the apartment is ready for short and long term rent, Attached are the interior pictures for you to have an idea how beautiful and spacious the inside looks, I will like you to get back to me with your final decision after viewing the interior pictures, So if you are interested in proceeding with the rental application. Below is the application form for you to fill out and get back to me so that we can proceed to the next step.

*******RENT APPLICATION FORM*******

(Private & Confidential)
Also, Please let me get these answers.
FIRST NAME:__________
MIDDLE NAME:__________
LAST NAME:__________
(CELL)PHONE__________
(HOME)PHONE__________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
PRESENT ADDRESS: _____________________
CITY: _______________
STATE:______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
HOW MANY MONTH RENT ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY UPFRONT_________
DO YOU HAVE PET _________
KIND OF PETS: _____________
HABITS
DO YOU SMOKE ______________
DO YOU DRINK ______________


I ______CERTIFY that answers given herein are true and complete to the best of my knowledge. I authorize investigation of all statements contained in this application for tenant screening as may be necessary in arriving at a tenant decision. I understand that the landlord may terminate any rental agreement entered into for any misrepresentation made above. I want you to make sure the present address is not mistaken because that's where the keys and documents will be ship to. Please all this transaction is based on Trust & Honesty and again I want you to stick to your words,I am putting everything into Gods hand, So please do not let me down in this property of mine and God bless you more as you do this.

I look forward to hearing from you ASAP.
Regards.

we think the place is very beautiful as you said it would be. we would like to move forward to the next step in the process please ? we have to be out of the place we are in now in 30 days or less so we would like to move in that time frame but if that is to soon we could maybe arrange a different plan hope to hear from you and again thank you so so much


sincerely M


Hello M

Congratulations!!! Your application form as been approved. I really appreciate your willingness in renting my place and i promise you that you will never regret taking my place. I have taken time to go over your application form and i am so impressed and can't stop having the feeling that my place will be well kept by you as promised, and more so something came to my mind and i felt it'll be better to discuss it with you. Well i'm sure i'll have you wondering what it is.. Anyways its not something scary or that serious, i just wanted to know if you could provide me with one or a couple of your picture so as for me to have an idea who my new tenant is and how you look like (no offense). I'm willing to keep this as a means of recognition pending the time we'll meet as this will even make it easier for me to quickly identify you by the time i come for a visit in the nearest future.

The total cost for you to move into the apartment is $1,500. $750 for rent and $750 for the damage deposit which is refundable at the end of the lease if nothing is damaged in the apartment. I would be sending the apartment key's and documents to you via EXPRESS SERVICE to the address you filled in the application form and the shipment tracking number will be emailed to you so that you can track it to know the exact time the package will be delivered to you the next day.. Below are the document I will be shipping to you once i have received the payment from you. To make payment you should look for the nearest Western Union local agent in a Grocery/Walmart store near you and make payment to the information below.

Here are the contents of the document.
1)Entrance and The Rooms Keys
2)The Apartment Documentary File.
3)Payment Receipt.
4)A Copy Of The Lease Agreement Form

I will like you to go ahead and send the payment to my wife information via Western Union.

Receiver's Name: Kim Chisholm
Address: 37 Crescent Ave
City: Charleston
State: SC
Zip code: 29407

Kindly get back to me with the below information as soon as you send the money via Western Union.

Sender's Name:
Sender's Address:
Mtcn # (10 Digit):
Amount Sent: $

Once I receive the payment confirmation from you, I will get the keys shipped to you through Courier service {Overnight Delivery} and the shipment tracking number will be emailed to you so that you can know the exact time the package will be delivered to you so that you can move in at your own convenience time.

Regards.

ok, So i will like you to tell me when you will be making the payment so you can receive the Keys and document ASAP.



hello Paul i am a little confused the neighbors said this house is not for rent or sale and you are not who you say you are so please clarify this all for me because if this doesn't go through my family will be homeless we have no place to go and im already stressed and with the intestine disease i have that is not a good thing so please reassure me that you are real and so is the offer . what UNICEF program did you say you are involved with and what website can i go to to verify this my fiancee said we cannot sent money until we are sure you are who you say you are please reassure us thank you . my family has been through enough. ok so if your not for real it will be very disappointing .

m

Hello M

Glad to read from you once again and i quite understand your plight.I want you to know that I am a christian "BORN AGAIN" to be precise and to ripped someone off his/her money is a sin for me and i cannot do such a thing.I know it is very hard to believe or trust someone over the internet because of the scams around now and had it been i am in your shoes i will do anything within my reach to protect myself not to fall a victim and i know how hard for someone to earn a $ nowadays because the money doesn't come easily like that and that is why i make it fair in putting the apartment rent for $1,500 for someone to be able to afford every month.

I would have shipped out the package containing the keys and the documents prior to payment but due to what happened to me last year in which i sent the keys to a burglar and loose properties worth of $6450 in putting the apartment back to its place that is why i don't deal with a third party and even intend sending the keys to anyone and i hope you understand my situation.

Please, I will like to tell you that i can send you the a copy of the Residential Lease Agreement which i have approved and signed you as my new tenant to the apartment for you to sign to know that i will be definitely going to be renting the apartment to you....I will really like you to trust me over this and am still assuring you that there will be no problem with your moving in as the package will get shipped and delivered to you at your door step in 24 hours by the shipment agent once your payment is confirmed.

Awaiting Your Prompt Response.

Regards



if it wasn't for the pics you put up i probably would have wired money to him i found him on Craigslist it was my first time using the site .. so thank you