If you have been scammed, please post here and share your experience; it may help others avoid the same situation!
#28885 by littlefish Wed May 19, 2010 5:40 am
Hello, am new to the forum, so please bare with me.

After following up an advert on craigslist, just days ago I was duped by homeforhomes.com in an Amsterdam apartment rental transaction and lost some funds. Alas I've found this forum too late, but in parallel I located this website- rentalscitypalace.com -which appears to mirror the contact details for homeforhomes. Thought it may be worth adding to this forum to raise awareness.
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#28887 by Ralph Wed May 19, 2010 5:49 am
Hi Littlefish

Welcome to Scamwarners.

Thank you for posting the information on these websites.

We should be able to verify if they are fake shortly

If you have any questions, please ask
#28889 by Crispy Duck Wed May 19, 2010 6:02 am
Welcome from me, too, littlefish. Sorry you have lost money to these criminals.:(

rentalscitypalace.com

Domain Name: RENTALSCITYPALACE.COM
Registrar: RANGER REGISTRATION (MADEIRA) LLC.
Whois Server: whois.register.com
Referral URL: http://www.register.com
Name Server: DNS107.B.REGISTER.COM
Name Server: DNS111.A.REGISTER.COM
Name Server: DNS207.C.REGISTER.COM
Name Server: DNS249.D.REGISTER.COM
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 03-may-2010
Creation Date: 03-may-2010
Expiration Date: 03-may-2011


One year registration is highly suspicious!

BUT - from that website

© 2007-2010, thekingspalacehome.com serviced apartments, all rights reserved - email: [email protected] | +44 (0)703 598 2360


It is a fake site! ALL phone numbers +44 70xxxxxx are 'redirect to anywhere' numbers & NOT valid UK numbers.

homeforhomes.com

Domain Name: HOMEFORHOMES.COM
Registrar: MONIKER ONLINE SERVICES, INC.
Whois Server: whois.moniker.com
Referral URL: http://www.moniker.com/whois.html
Name Server: NS1.DSREDIRECTION.COM
Name Server: NS2.DSREDIRECTION.COM
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 08-may-2010
Creation Date: 08-may-2010
Expiration Date: 08-may-2011


Another with a one year registration!

The web page is only a placeholder so no site exists as such - perhaps it has been removed already?
#28909 by Michael Wed May 19, 2010 9:03 am
I can confirm that - homeforhomes.com has been killed already ;)

rentalscitypalace.com has been added to the 'To kill'-list. Thank you for directing us to it :)

Account inactive - messages are not being monitored
#29056 by Michael Thu May 20, 2010 3:11 pm
Next on the list,
rentalscitypalace.com, has been killed :D

Account inactive - messages are not being monitored
#29913 by garth_rumina Fri Jun 04, 2010 4:19 pm
Rentals City Palace are here now:

http://www.reservationpalace.com/

After making an inquiry yesterday about the apartment in Paris advertised on the above website, I got this reply:

From: rentals city palace ([email protected])
Sent: Friday, June 04, 2010 5:11:24 PM
To: XXXX

Thank you very much for your inquiry.

For your travel dates we could offer you the following options:

Our HOLIDAY APARTMENT is €300/week.

We are available throughout that time. The cost per night is €45.00 a night,
so for 1 week the total is €300.

This includes all utilities. There is a fully equipped kitchen. We
supply all linens, and there is parking space.
There is high speed wireless internet for your convenience. If you are
interested we take 40% and refundable €200 security deposit to confirm
your booking and the rest of the balance on your arrival.

Or you may pay in full at the time of the booking. The amount of 40%
would be €120 plus €200 security deposit making €320, we will secure
and reserve the apartment if you make this deposit .

We accept money transfer or bank transfer only.

Please let us know if you are interested and we can go from there.

You can view more pictures and information on our website at:

http://www.reservationpalace.com

Thank you and have a great day.
#29915 by Dotti Fri Jun 04, 2010 7:37 pm
Domain Name: RESERVATIONPALACE.COM
Registrar: RANGER REGISTRATION (MADEIRA) LLC.
Whois Server: whois.register.com
Referral URL: http://www.register.com
Name Server: DNS035.B.REGISTER.COM
Name Server: DNS207.C.REGISTER.COM
Name Server: DNS230.A.REGISTER.COM
Name Server: DNS249.D.REGISTER.COM
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 20-may-2010
Creation Date: 20-may-2010
Expiration Date: 20-may-2011


Definitely looks like a fake. Our site killers should pick this one up shortly and get the ball rolling.

Need to post photos? http://scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3219
Are you a victim of a romance scam? Read here for advice and FAQ's.
#29918 by Michael Sat Jun 05, 2010 4:39 am
The gears have been set in motion to get it closed down ;)

Account inactive - messages are not being monitored
#29968 by Michael Sun Jun 06, 2010 9:17 am
reservationpalace.com has been taken offline.

Account inactive - messages are not being monitored
#30650 by theoracle Wed Jun 16, 2010 3:11 am
Hi guys, I've been following Amsterdam craigslist for a while now because I was in a position to rent. Let me just say this: most of these are FAKE! The most obvious fake ones are listed in the property sublist catagories and Vacacation listings. I'm doing this so it can be found on Google listings before people rent and almost lose money like I did. Fortunately I found this site in time before I rented off Amsterdam Craigslist.

Let's try and make this a top search priority to save others. I ask the mods to monitor this site regualarly, because you can easily clean the site, by busting the fake site listings and letting genuine people list instead.

I have made a list that shows who I believe are 100% scammers, based on:

-Previous information in this forum
-The style of the information (spelling mistakes, reprinted, fake professional pics that have been stolen.)
-The actual websites (very low design quality) and used again and again
- WHOIS DNS data
- Variations of the same URL (eg reservationcitypalace is also reservatiopalacecity)
- Prices that are too good to be true. Look at the pics and the place will usually have luxury furnishings. They will charge much lower than the market rate, so be very very careful - this is the first easy to spot sign in Amsterdam.

Here is the list that I wish to be investigated and busted ASAP: (They are most likely 100% scam sites and notice the similar names) (note: I have included where the listing proceeds, so to give people an idea how not to get caught by these scammer ads)

- http://www.reservationcitypalace.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1789492727.html

- http://www.vacationlettingscity.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1791883535.html

- http://www.regularhomerentals.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1790776454.html

- http://www.thepalacehome.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1779807097.html

- http://www.summerlettingshome.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1772755826.html

Also could be fake:

-http://www.bidforarental.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1792819172.html

- http://www.roomorama.com/short-term-rentals/amsterdam listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1785263076.html

I will add more of these later as I find them. I hope the good people on this site can clean the Amsterdam craiglist so visitors there will not make a mistake in picking up rentals. Stay safe everyone and always remain vigilant.
#30673 by Michael Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:25 am
1. reservationcitypalace.com
- I'm seeing no content. No doubt that it's fake, but most likely already taken offline.

2. vacationlettingscity.com
- See #1

3. regularhomerentals.com
- 100% fake. Added to the 'to kill'-list.

4. thepalacehome.com
- See #1

5. summerlettingshome.com
- See #1

6. bidforarental.com
- Most likely fake. Practically no evidence though, which will be not easy to kill.

7. roomorama.com
- Site is legitimate. This doesn't mean that all ads on the site are real, but the site itself isn't owned by scammers.

Account inactive - messages are not being monitored
#30721 by theoracle Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:06 pm
Thanks guys, this is obviously working, because the sites are going down as I let people know. The best thing is that Google is caching this thread rather effectively when you search the terms: "Craigslist + Amsterdam + scams". I only wish more people would check this site before they rent on the site - it may save them lots of money and heartache.

I think the more we do this, the more the scammers will get sick of trying on the Amsterdam subsite. If I can achieve this, I'll be quite a happy person.

Here is another site I have found today listed on Amsterdam Craigslist, that look 100% fake:

- [url]http://www.rentalsservicecity.com [/url] listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1792882550.html. Notice the very cheap price for the luxury furnishings and the poor website design. This is a dead giveaway for scammers. The URL is also a variation of previous sites I have listed.


This site pops up from time to time. Looks potentially dangerous, I ask the mods to check. Could be a good pro job using fake ads.

- http://www.guesthousenetwork.com/cl.aspx?ir=206 listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1792821766.html

- [url]http://www.bidforarental.com[/url] listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1792819172.html. This site pops up quite often on the Amsterdam site, and the webpage it leads to is low on content and asks you to submit a form - which may be used to aquire the target. This one I would like to be checked out by mods.

The good news from my extensive hunting today is that most of the scam sites now advertised are broken links (as above post shows), which is great news! And I have noticed less of the scam ads in recent days since this thread was started. Our efforts are working!

The bad news is that I believe there is good evidence to suggest that the scammers on Craigslist are changing tact when their websites go down. I believe they are now going to create more text based ads without websites that require you to email them off site.

The other thing to remember is, just because the site is down, dosn't mean their dodgy gmail address won't work. Some people will still be scammed this way. If you send them an email regarding reservation, most probably they will make an excuse that the site is down temporarily for maintainance and will still try and scam you without the site.

My advice: If a real person won't skype you over video, where you can clearly see their face; forget it, don't rent it. Ask questions, look for clues of ethnicity and see if they really do live where they say they do. Scammers easily make mistakes. Play to this weakness. Be wary of large deposits. Never go for western Union - that's a scammers giveaway on the site.

-Use http://www.tineye.com/to see where a photo originally came from. Scammers are lazy by nature. They will usually steal photos from professional sites. Tineye is a reverse image search enegine, which will tell you exactly where the original photo came from when it was first cached online and its original source before it was used by others.

I hope this thread continues and I will endeavour to update it as I see new scammer URLs pop up from time to time. I hope others feel strong enough to help the thread out too.
#30722 by Ralph Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:57 pm
Well posted, thank you

I did want to add a couple of things to your list of tips though;

My advice:
If a real person won't skype you over video, where you can clearly see their face; forget it, don't rent it.

Good advice but be warned that some scammers will show their faces so be careful of that too, That said, if you can see their face on webcam, you will weed out the vast majority of scammers


Ask questions, look for clues of ethnicity and see if they really do live where they say they do.

Great advice but be warned, some scammers do their homework and may be able to answer some questions, if you are still unsure, ask somebody with more experience

Scammers easily make mistakes. Play to this weakness.

Too right they do in MOST cases and yes, ask questions and in many cases the right question will trip them up

Be wary of large deposits.

Always good advice, I would also be looking to use a known and proven company to make the payments to such as a real estate agent that you can confirm beyond a doubt is real

Never go for western Union - that's a scammers giveaway on the site.

Good advice again but be aware scammers are just as happy to use moneygram and if they have to they will also be able to accept money into a bank account

-Use http://www.tineye.com/to see where a photo originally came from.

Good advice again but you may only get 1 in 10 pictures come up on Tineye, if you dont get a match, dont suspect it must be real

Scammers are lazy by nature.

Yes, most scammers are, but occasionally they will go to extra effort if they think they have to in order to scam you

They will usually steal photos from professional sites. Tineye is a reverse image search enegine, which will tell you exactly where the original photo came from when it was first cached online and its original source before it was used by others.

Very true but as mentioned, not getting a result is not proof of it being legitimate
#30723 by theoracle Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:45 pm
Ralph, thanks for the great reply: those extra tips are solid. Can you have someone check those extra sites I posted. At least one of those is 100% fake and should be added to the kill' list.

Regarding the video webcam chat, I believe it's probably a priority to do this in most of the private ads. Are there any cases of verification one should use during such a chat?

Thanks
#30727 by Ralph Thu Jun 17, 2010 2:17 am
Michael is far more skilled at fake sites than me so I will let him look into that ;).

With the webcam, it is possible to record some footage of a person and play that pretending to be yourself on the webcam, this is a trick that most scammers will not be bothered with but some will go to these lengths. you can tell if the person on teh webcam is who they say by asking them to do something specific, it could be to hold up a sign with todays date or to hold up the days local newspaper.

By doing this you will weed out 99% of scammers but as I mentioned a very small number will use their real faces in their scams, to catch these ones, you will need to look for other clues.

With that said, if you can get one of these on webcam, you will have weeded out the vast majority of the scammers, only the most clever and resourceful scammers will go to those lengths.

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