If you have been scammed, please post here and share your experience; it may help others avoid the same situation!
#30733 by Michael Thu Jun 17, 2010 3:32 am
You rang, m'lord? ;)

rentalsservicecity.com
- Awful fake site, added to the list.

guesthousenetwork.com
- The site doesn't look too professional, I think that it's poorly moderated with fraudulent ads. The site itself can be clean. Be VERY cautious when dealing with this site.

bidforarental.com
- As said before, likely fake but there isn't real evidence on the site itself. My opinion? Stay away. Not enough proof to get it killed available on the site itself though :?

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#30789 by akorkidi Thu Jun 17, 2010 1:35 pm
Hi all,
My name is Assaf and I am the owner of Guesthouse Network,
You know, I do not know that Michael dude, but I put my hart and saul into my company, I work so hard to make sure that the apartments are legit and all the owners take good care of the customers.
Only to find a bunch of BS that some guy wrote about us withoust even trying to contact us

Now or that he is a competitor, or that his just a bad guy

If you have any questions about Guesthouse Netowk just shoot me an email to [email protected]

I can garranty that we have the nicest vacation rentals around and that we are 100000% legit.

I never had a single complain!!! So what if we post on CL? It gets us good Biz.

Anyway, shoo me an email if you have any question

Best,
Assaf
#30793 by Michael Thu Jun 17, 2010 3:01 pm
Hello Assaf, and welcome to scamwarners.

I would like to point out that I am in no way a competitor or a bad guy. I am happy to hear that you put lots of effort in screening your apartments, as you say. However, I never claimed that your site itself was fraudulent, only that the possibility of some ads were. There were and are some elements on your site which made me suspicious, and I stay with those feelings. The bad coding and lack of contact data don't make me feel confident when visiting your site, as they are regularly occuring elements of a site that isn't under much supervision. If you are indeed a legitimate company, then I hereby apologize for your name being linked here. However, my personal opinion to be very careful will not be altered.

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#30802 by akorkidi Thu Jun 17, 2010 4:20 pm
Hi Michael,
Thank you very much for replying
I can garanty there are no scams at Guesthiuse Network. Since I personally visit the owners, I will not let just anyone post before I met with him or had a long conversation with him.
In fact I am the only website that is Scam proof, since the customer does not pay since he arrive and the booking is approved.

As for the code, I will be happy if you can write me a private message with your feedback

Again, there is no way there is a chance for a scam at GHN since our bisuness model does not allow it

Best
Assaf
#30805 by Ralph Thu Jun 17, 2010 5:52 pm
Hi Akorkidi and welcome to Scamwarners.

One thing that I can guarantee is that Michael is a trusted and respected member our our site who definately does not have anything to gain by his comments here about your site.

We had somebody ask if we thought the site was fake and Michael answered honestly that he saw signs that it may be and that he could not say that it was fake or legit based on the information he had to go on.

Fake sites are definately not my area of expertise so my opinion on the matter is not worth stating at this stage however I note that you suggest you personally inspect every property you have available on your site, this is quite an unusual step but certainly a noble effort by you to curb the incidence of fraud.

Could you please tell me for the benefit of promoting your site and showing that you are scam free, how many properties you have listed and what geographical areas they cover, I think that information could go a long way to proving your claim to be scam free.
#30811 by theoracle Thu Jun 17, 2010 8:24 pm
Hi guys,

I have spotted another few scams on Amsterdam Craigslist.

Here is the site that is 100% fake and shares the same terrible coding, similar phone numbers and typos from the other sites previously mentioned:


- http://www.citypalacehome.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1797393974.html


- http://www.holidaylettingsflat.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1796103586.html

- Michael, we're gonna need bustin on these ones. (P.S I notice a few of the others I listed and you confirmed as fake in the past couple of days are still live. Can you please confirm when they are killed. Cheers)

Guys, it's starting to get pretty obvious that the more we list these sites on here, the more the scammers are getting desperate and registering similar domains with the same website just days later. Let's remain vigilant and bust these scammers where they belong. They will eventually tire.

More fake potentials:

A variation of this ad has appeared on the Amsterdam Craigslist site for a while now:

http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1797409170.html
. They're using a gmail account and are also using the same text structure (and prices) in several ads for different parts of Amsterdam. Be careful with this one and follow the advice of this board if you're interested in this type.

Also, Michael and Ralph, I want to tell you that Akokidia (Assaf) is sending me threatening PMs demanding apologies for my comments regardinghttp://www.theguesthousenetwork.com. I never said the site was fake, but that it could be fake. Look Assaf, or whoever you are - I'm trying to help people - if you want to do the right thing, please let the mods know more about your site and answer their friendly questions. I am sorry if you don't like the idea of that, but as mentioned, parts of your site (guesthousenetwork.com) are suspicious and that's the calling card of scammers.

By the way Assaf, your site has a track record of fraudulent advertisers on board. See http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/apartment-escapes-c86251.html for more details of this.

if I'm wrong, then prove it and answer Ralph's questions. We're here to help, and save others from making very costly mistakes. You might be a good guy doing the right thing, but what about your advertisers? Fix your site, add contact data, add some transparency to your site. P.S I will not reply to PMs, so don't bother.
#30822 by akorkidi Fri Jun 18, 2010 1:11 am
Hi
Sure I can answer,
Hey, I can talk about my Biz all day

So, our segments is big cities. Like, NYC, Paris, Rome ....
We have ~ 1000 properties and 100 owners. I PERSONALY vited each owner or at least tlked to him on the phone. I can say that I checked ~80% of the apartments. For example I will be next week in Rome to meet an owner tat hs ~ 200 apartments.
As you can see, we are growing and we are beyond the singe apartment ower. We are working with brokers that hasgood IT support so we are exchanging XML, things that no scammer will ever do.

As for the contant, I hate it. I hate it that everyone writes the same thin again and again, in fact I would even take the little contant I have out. I am trying to create a simple way to find a place on the map and book it, just keep it simple. We ony use PP and only take payment when you get to the apartment so it is 100% scure.

We had articles on Businessweek, and the NYTimes (and many oher places) I don't think that they will risk avertsing a fraud.
What bothers me is that you never stopped and send me a simple questions, or picked up the phone. I work so hard and trying to bild something here and you can just trash it without even carrying.

The funny thing is that you picked my owner in Aamsterdam from all places, which is the nicest sweetedst guyever. His aprtments are the best

As for the scam link you sent, well, the guys name is Daniel Rozenthal and he is located in NYC, I worked with him for a month 2 years ago and I made sure he is out of my network the minute I saw what people wrote about him (you can google his name and find a lot of things)

We are a seriose, funded company and I am not going to shoot my self in the leg with ome fake apartments, all my apartments are legit and in fact I am the only one that can garanty it. My business model is scam proof and if you had a bad expirience I garanty topay you back the money!!!

So, for next times, please ask the comapny before you trash it

Best
Assaf
#30825 by Michael Fri Jun 18, 2010 2:16 am
I'll keep you posted on the kills :)
regularhomerentals.com
- offline.

citypalacehome.com
- fake, added to the list. Created just 2 days ago :twisted: Keep them coming!

holidaylettingsflat.com
- fake, added to the list. Created just 3 days ago.

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#30826 by Ralph Fri Jun 18, 2010 2:25 am
Hi Assaf

Thanks for the response.

One of the points you made, this one;
We ony use PP and only take payment when you get to the apartment so it is 100% scure


That is very good advice for anybody who is renting a place unseen, do not pay money until you are there.

From what i have read and the explanation above, I would prefer to keep the information here, if what you are saying is true, and I have no reason to believe that it is not it will show your site is free of scammers.

If you were to go against anything you have stated here it would be easy for anybody to see so everything is up front from the start.

I will point out that at no time did anybody suggest your site is fraudulent, there are some signs to suggest that people need to be careful as there are with most sites and especially sites involved with rental properties.

Perhaps that is something you may wish to work, scam warnings may help and advice for people who are looking for properties and teh big one, no payments will be required without people seeing the property.

We never seek to ruin the business of those companies who are legitimate but sometimes legitimate businesses can get caught up in scams so it never hurts to be careful
#30843 by GomerPyle Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:51 am
I have been doing some in-depth research and have contacted a UK estate agent.

I await their reply which should clarify the situation.

If I don't get a reply - I'll contact some more.

May I presume akorkidi that your business relationship with all property owners is the same ?

You state that it is, but I'd like to be quite sure.

akorkidi wrote:....... and only take payment when you get to the apartment so it is 100% scure.


A couple of things. I found it impossible to book an apartment without providing my card details and it clearly states on the form that a deposit is payable.

I also noted in your Terms and Conditions a clause that is what I'd describe as a 'schoolboy howler' and they do not include any reference to your obligations and responsibilities to renters.

I have also noted something else, but I'll await a reply from the estate agent I've contacted before pointing it out.
Last edited by GomerPyle on Sat Jun 19, 2010 3:10 am, edited 2 times in total.

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
#30903 by Michael Fri Jun 18, 2010 5:43 pm
Further update;

rentalsservicecity.com is now offline :)

Editing to add that its friend, citypalacehome.com has joined the site above on the graveyard.

And another edit: holidaylettingsflat.com is gone aswell.

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#31046 by theoracle Mon Jun 21, 2010 3:39 am
My god, these scams just keep popping up and it all looks like the same group or scamemrs doing the bad business.

Here are more sites for busting on the Amsterdam Craigslist site:

- http://www.peopleshomeservice.com appeared under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1802070516.html

- http://www.holidaysuitableapartment.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1801338976.html[


-http://www.reservationpalacecity.com listed under http://amsterdam.en.craigslist.org/sub/1800585322.html (I could have sworn these guys were busted last week. Mods - please check)

It's tough keeping up with these scammers. They are fast. Buyer beware. Fortunately, this will stay in Google cache forever, when people search before they buy (provided they do!)

- The Oracle.
#31220 by theoracle Tue Jun 22, 2010 7:42 pm
Hi Micahel, those scams (fake sites) I have listed above are still live. Are you guys still looking into this? I'm a bit worried that people can still be scammed while these sites are active.

cheers.
#31225 by Ralph Tue Jun 22, 2010 8:45 pm
Michael is very thorough and will no doubt be doing his best to get them closed down, depending on the host and the amount of evidence we have available it can take anywhere between 1 day and 1 year to get a site closed.

Just by having the names of the sites listed here you have reduced the chance of people being scammed already, unfortunately, even with the sites closed, there is still a chance of people being scammed, we can only reduce the numbers.

What can be a huge help is an email and email header that proves that a site is fake, in some cases it is necessary for scambaiters to contact the scammer pretending to be a victim using untracable details to get the scammer to provide enough evidence to prove the scam, obviously when that step is required it adds even more time to how long it takes to get the sites closed down.

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