Rental Scammer - [email protected]

I posted a ad on gumtree looking for for a property as I'm relocating to another area for work, within a few hours I had a text message from a Jessica Ann Robinson, exactly the same text message as posted by others asking me to email her and she would send me some information about the property.

Hello

Thanks for the email provided. However, the property is still available for rent which is located in Meadow Halt, Ogwell, Newton Abbot, Devon. TQ12 6FA.

Here are the necessary things you need to know about the rent and deposit.
Rent per month is £ 800 { Electricity, gas, water, Iron, Wireless internet, Washing machine, TV Licence, council tax, and waste disposal }
Security deposit of £700 {it's refundable after end of your stay in my house }

However, i need to know some details about you. Can you keep my house clean and tidy? i said that simply because all the facilities present are all new so i am looking for a responsible and clean tenant.

I am reliable and open. If anything went wrong in the house, i will make sure the problem is quickly rectified. I have been disappointed lately with unserious interested candidate when it comes to viewing or reservation so i would appreciate your sincere reply.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards
Jessica Robinson

We were hesitant at first as this person seemed more than happy for us to move in with our pets without even asking how many we had, but we just thought we had hit on lucky. We communicated for around 2 weeks as we were still waiting for a start date for work and she constantly kept in touch asking for an update. We became suspicious when the grammar and spelling were off and also when she agreed to keep the house for us even when we told her we weren't sure when the move in date would be. That's when I googled the phone number and found this site. I had already tried to Facebook search her and had no luck (obviously because she doesn't exist) I also reverse image searched the pictures but had no luck so I don't know where they are stolen from. So angry as we have wasted weeks in contact thinking we had a house sorted all along.

Welcome to Scamwarners,

Please post the email address used in case others may search for the email address.

Sorry!

'her' email address is [email protected]

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.