Rental Scammer - [email protected]

[Michelle]

From: Paul Bennett <[email protected]>
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to look at my apartment. I'm the owner, my name is Paul Bennett.
Now a few words about the place. The apartment comes fully furnished, is very clean, quiet, and you can move in immediately. It has cable TV, high-speed internet, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer. There are two parking spots and if you prefer to use your own furniture there is a storage unit where you can deposit my furniture. Well behaved pets are allowed. The area is just great and a very safe neighborhood.
The monthly rent is $700 - utilities included (Cable, water, sewer, electricity, heat) and please note that the rent is for the entire apartment. I am looking for someone to rent anywhere from 1 month to 5 years or more. Most of the time I'm offshore, I inspect oil rigs for a living and I'm looking for a responsible person that can take a very good care of my apartment. I had some bad tenants and now I had the property completely refurbished (see attached photos). As you can see I am not after a high profit, but after good tenants who will treat my property as their own home and I hope that you can send me some personal information about yourself.
The property is being managed by Airbnb and they will handle the whole rental process since I work offshore for the time being.
If you want to know more about the rental process please get back to me and I will send you the step by step procedure.

Find attached more photos and let me know if you like the apartment.

Regards,
Eng. Paul Raymond Bennett

This person asks for a deposit payment via Western Union, MoneyGram, pre-paid credit card or bank transfer with a promise that you can have the keys to a property that does not belong to him.

Sounds safe. It's not!

At other times, he will ask for proof that you are able to pay the deposit and rent due to a string of time wasters.
This proof is in the form of a Western Union or MoneyGram payment to a lawyer,a friend or family member.

In either case, if payment is made and you give this person the details, they will collect the money.
You will not hear from them again.

All the details such as names, addresses, pictures etc. that the scammer uses in order to back up his story, are stolen from elsewhere.

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 Craigslist, Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment 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.

[Michelle]

From: Paul Bennett <[email protected]>


Hello, I just sent the airbnb offer and you are now welcome to reserve the apartment. Did you receive it ? If you have any problems or If you would like any additional information, please don't hesitate to ask or just let me know after you complete the reservation process.
PS: I wanted iTunes as payment method for the reservation because all the transactions completed using iTunes will have a 3% redirect to "American Cancer Organization ( ACO)" and I have like personal reasons in choosing this method, Is a very simple process and I hope is not to much trouble for you.

OMG I can't believe this is a scam. I actually just sent my license and information to him. (did not pay him) it seemed legitimate until he stopped responding) I'm hoping that he can't do much with my information. I was completely sold on this offer because he sent me a photo of his passport.

"Hello again Kaila,
As I already told you in my first email, Airbnb will handle the renting process in my behalf due to my offshore job. I will have to contact the Airbnb agency and provide them all the necessary information so they can start the rental process. For that I will need your full name, rental period with exact move-in date, if other persons will be living with you, your email, phone number and a copy if your ID or Passport if possible.
To secure the apartment you will be instructed to pay just the security deposit of $500 to Airbnb to confirm reservation ( which is fully refundable in case you don't like the apartment ). Only once the deposit is paid an agent will be assigned to handle the visit/ inspection so you will not be able to visit the apartment before the reservation. (Aibnb is a 20 billion dollars company but it has to manage more than 1,500,000 locations, so they would need an impossible number of agents to present every location they have without a deposit confirmation)
Once you confirm the payment you'll have two options, I could send you the keys by FedEx or you can meet the agent that will hand over the keys and rental agreement. Please note they require up to 48 hours to process your payment and rental details before they assign the agent that will handle the walk-through and all. The $500 security deposit will be refunded immediately if you don't like the place or once the contract will end if you decide to rent. ( but only If the apartment is not vandalized or something).
If you are satisfied with the apartment all you have to do is to provide a valid ID, pay the first month rent and sign the lease agreement. After you move in, the monthly payment will be sent directly to my bank account. If that is acceptable please provide the requested details and I will submit your application right away. I will send the Airbnb reservation offer to your email and you can take it from there.

Very important !! Please reply only if you fully understand the process as I have been disappointed lately with unserious persons when it comes to reserving. I'll have to pay for the transaction fees and just in case you change your mind I will not receive a refund from them!

You will find attached a photo of my passport for more transparency.

Regards,
Eng. Paul Raymond Bennett

Sent this message to him after getting a weird feeling in my gut about all his "amazing" reviews on Airbnb:

Hi Mr. Bennett,

I did receive the confirmation email from airbnb. I have never used ITunes as a payment before, do I just follow the link on the email that you sent me to reserve the apartment and see It?

Also, can I pay month to month instead of signing a lease for a long period of time or would I risk losing the apartment if I don't sign a 12 month lease? In addition, is it possible that you send me one more form of ID for verification. Sorry to ask but I have gotten scammed before and I am now extremely cautious about money transactions online. Nothing against you but just as additional precaution. I Hope you understand.

This was his response:

Scam ? How can you say that ? I've sent you my passport, you saw my reviews on Airbnb, everything is impeccable. I assure you that I am a very serious host here and I would rather close this deal with other person than knowing that you'll be very stressed hoping that I am an honest person, until you see the apartment. Your peace of mind is a lot more important than this deal and if you decide not to go through with it there is no problem. Thank you so much for your time and interest.
Whatever you decide I wish you good luck

This is the link to his fake Airbnb page:

http://airbnb.com.long-booking-term.com ... 58ha/30920

The airbnb reviews are quite ridiculous and not only are they ridiculous, but the page is as well. This is a very well thought out scam on a level of intelligence that I am not sure of. But I reported him, I'm pretty sure he stole someone's identity. Someone who may be dead or something, not sure.

I also received an email from paul bennett today regarding a rental property at 106th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA $900/month

Quote his email response:

Hello again Helen,
As I already told you in my first email, Airbnb will handle the renting process in my behalf due to my offshore job. I will have to contact the Airbnb agency and provide them all the necessary information so they can start the rental process. For that I will need your full name, rental period with exact move-in date, if other persons will be living with you, your email, phone number and a copy if your ID or Passport if possible.
To secure the apartment you will be instructed to pay just the security deposit of $500 to Airbnb to confirm reservation ( which is fully refundable in case you don't like the apartment ). Only once the deposit is paid an agent will be assigned to handle the visit/ inspection so you will not be able to visit the apartment before the reservation. (Aibnb is a 20 billion dollars company but it has to manage more than 1,500,000 locations, so they would need an impossible number of agents to present every location they have without a deposit confirmation)
Once you confirm the payment you'll have two options, I could send you the keys by FedEx or you can meet the agent that will hand over the keys and rental agreement. Please note they require up to 48 hours to process your payment and rental details before they assign the agent that will handle the walk-through and all. The $500 security deposit will be refunded immediately if you don't like the place or once the contract will end if you decide to rent. ( but only If the apartment is not vandalized or something).
If you are satisfied with the apartment all you have to do is to provide a valid ID, pay the first month rent and sign the lease agreement. After you move in, the monthly payment will be sent directly to my bank account. If that is acceptable please provide the requested details and I will submit your application right away. I will send the Airbnb reservation offer to your email and you can take it from there.

Very important !! Please reply only if you fully understand the process as I have been disappointed lately with unserious persons when it comes to reserving. I'll have to pay for the transaction fees and just in case you change your mind I will not receive a refund from them!

You will find attached a photo of my passport for more transparency.

Regards,
Eng. Paul Raymond Bennett