Room for Rent Scammer - Kelly Benson

Welcome to ScamWarners alang and thank you for posting this information. These may be the same scammer, or it may be different scammers who are using the same modality.

What you have posted will help others, so thank you for posting this.

This version is from: Michelle Murray <[email protected]>
When I started to reply, it put [email protected] in the "to" field.

Hello, I'm Michelle Murray,please let me know if the room is still
available for rent as i really need the room so i will want you to get
back to me with the room last asking price and some pics of the room
if you still have the room available..Thanks

Welcome jahmes and thank you for the update.
The change in the email address you saw is because the scammer specified a "Reply-To" address which is not the same as the original sending address ("From"). You can be sure that both of these addresses are used in the scam.

I got this email:

Hi ,

Thanks for getting back. My name is Michelle Murray,I am 23yrs old
female,fun loving, personal, friendly,clean, caring,and respectful of
others.A non-smoker, don't do drugs, i drink occasionally,and drama
free. I graduated last year in Greater London,UK, I am single and have
no children..i do bible study, and sometimes we do karaoke night with
my roommate! i go to church every Sunday .I need to secure this room
for myself before i arrive to the state as I'll be moving in with my
luggage.You seem to be a very interesting person to be with and I must
confess to you that you will enjoy staying with me in the house
because i make people smile always.I will be in the state before the
ending of this Month and will be staying for the one year and during
my stay. I am coming for my Masters Degree. I was born in England
(UK), my dad is from England but my mum is from USA ...I went to
university Of Greenwich in Park Row, London i speak both French and
English and I'm presently on a research work in Guam (USA), am almost
done with that because its part of my perquisite for my masters in
Microbiology.I would have loved to call you but this is a remote area
calls is hard to go through from here and i don't want to waste much
time .Am really interested in renting the room from you and i do
really love pets but i don't have any at the moment. I would have
loved to see it but am very far,but i'm okay with pictures. I will
also like you to tell me more about you and if you have garage or
parking space because I will have my own car come over, pls let me
know the total payment of the place and more over I will send your
email to my dad for him to email you later because he is the one that
will be paying the bills but nevertheless,I will like you to send me
your Full Name and the Address and your phone number as well,so that
my Dad will issue out the payment for the place as soon as
possible,with that you can hold on the place for me till my arrival .
I will be looking forward to your email soonest.

Respectfully

Michelle Murray..

Email address:

[email protected]

Just got the same exact scam attempt! Sharon Grayson at [email protected]. Thanks all for having a forum on this that is easily Google'd. This is the third time I've looked for roommates on craig's list and got this same type of reply.



Hi Roomie,

I really appreciate your quick and nice response to my mail,My name is
Sharon Grayson I am 25yrs old,I am fun
loving,personal,friendly,clean,quiet,caring,responsible and respectful
of others.a non-smoker,don't do drugs,i drink occasionally,and drama
free.I graduated last year in France,I am single lady and have no
children...i do bible study,and sometimes we do karaoke night with my
roommate! i go to church every Sunday.

I am coming for my masters degree.I was born in Paris (France),my dad
is from United states but my mum is from France...I went to the
American University of Paris France i speak both french & English
perfectly,am presently on research work at Guam (USA),am almost done
with that bcos it's part of my prerequisite for my masters in art
work.I would have loved to call you but this is a remote area calls is
hard to go through from here and i don't want to waste much time.

Am really interested in renting from you and i will really want to
know everything about the place.I do really love pets but i don't have
any at the moment.I would have loved to see it but am very far,but
with pictures,I am glad.I will also like you to tell me more about you
and if you have garage or parking space cos i will have my own car
come over,pls let me know the total payment of the place and more over
i will send your email to my dad for him to email you later becos he
is the one that will be paying the bills but nevertheless,I will like
you to send me your full Name and the mailing address,your phone
numbers as well,so that my dad will issue out the payment for the
place as soon as possible,with that you can hold on the place for me
till i come.I will be looking forward to your email soonest thanks and
have a nice day.

Sincerely,
Sharon

Welcome to ScamWarners FoCoScamSmasher. We are pleased to hear that you recognized you were dealing with a scammer.

It is very unfortunate that scammers have infected the internet. Sadly it does make it more difficult to do anything on the internet. Thank you for posting this so others can learn from it.

I just go this on Craigslist. She refused to talk on Skype.

From:
Shirley Caldwell
[email protected]

Email:
Yes,I'm quite comfortable with the available rental and it's living
environment.I have my recent pictures attached to this communique,I'd
love to call you but my cellphone service provider can't access long
distance/international calls.Hope we can get along together though I
know it kinda hard expressing oneself via email,but I'll put my pride
in the gutters and try to be as explicit as possible.

About me ....I like to think of myself as just a typical British lady
living in a typical British detached house with net curtains,a well
behaved garden and Westminister chimes on the doorbells.It may well be
the smartest house in our modestly elegant but secluded Avenue,but
that is merely because our typical neighbours do not rise to the
challenge as I do.A typical British woman has a responsibility to
herself,Flatmates and her Family to maintain certain standards of
behaviour,deportment and dress,and I make it my duty to achieve these
standards, come what may.My Roommates and neighbours may from time to
time stray from the highest levels of etiquette,but I and my Royal
Doulton tableware will not.


I'm a 28 yo professional lab technician.I'm 5'10,with long blond
hair,hazel eyes ,athletic build.I prefer cleanliness than any other
traits,I'm honest,responsible,and hardworking while I dislike
lazy,messy and uncaring people.I love pets so much,am quiet and easy
going. I'm straight and also gay friendly. I always love to go on a
date but seldom party. I neither smoke nor drink,I swim for fun and
sometimes play tennis also I enjoy snowboarding.People often ask how I
manage to keep up my hectic schedule of work and maintain such a high
level of correctness in all I do.I sometime overhear my Boyfriend Bach
-he is the type of man who sings on coach trips,so you can quickly
understand what sort of man I have to deal with-saying,almost in
awe,'How does Shirley do it? Chuff me,how does she do it?' I must
confess that i am comfortable with the price,I will like to secure the
place down pending my arrival. I'll also be shipping my things down to
the States such as My Hyundai Sonata (SE V6 2010)which I've been using
for over 2 months now,and some personal effects. don't worry am not
bringing in Furniture's I will easily purchase the one's I need when i
arrive. Moreover,Let me know how I can go about securing the place
down and filling any necessary paperwork before my arrival as i'll be
busy preparing to come over as I plan to arrive early in February.


References: Doctor Leony Allen: [email protected]

My present roommate :Margaret [email protected]


I have 2yrs US working visa and shall be starting sales of minor
Laboratory equipments for Clinical Procedures and Applied Molecular
Evolution,its a booming field coupled with my experience here.,right
now I have thought of it and understood that moving to the US will not
only help boost my career but also improve my personal life.I hope
you'll finally consider renting to me ,I assure you that the rules and
terms would be strictly adhered to .I have been introduced to
different landlord and room owners but they don't seem easy to get
along with, I hope we can get along well as I wait to read from you
soon via email.In life everything should be firm but friendly , not
oatfish or obsequious as seems to be the present -day trend. Sorry for
the email novel .I know its a lot to read and i apologize for coming
on strong I'm just looking for a reliable place when I move down.I
look forward to hearing positive from you again.

Have a successful year ahead.

Thanks and take care,
Shirley.

Welcome to ScamWarners synch and thank you for posting this information. This is indeed a scammer. It is great you recognized the signs.

For me the person used the name Salanda Wilson with that same email address...

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Salanda Wilson [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 3:13 AM
> To:
> Subject: Re: $600 / 1000ft² - roommate needed - everything included in
> flat rate (Mid City-American Can Apartments) (map) Date: 2012-01-24,
> 2:20PM CST Reply to:
>
> Thanks for getting back to me... My name is Salanda Wilson (F),I am
> 28yrs old,I am fun loving, personal, friendly,clean and respectful of
> others. A non-smoker, don't do drugs, i drink occasionally,and drama
> free. I graduated last year in France. I am single and have no
> children... I do bible study, and sometimes we do karaoke night with
> my roommate! i go to church every Sunday.
> Am coming for my masters degree. I was born in France (Bordeaux), my
> dad is from USA but my mum is from Paris...I went to University of
> Bordeaux in France i speak both French and English ,am presently on
> research work at Guam (USA), am almost done with the research. Am
> doing it because its part of prerequisite for my masters in
> Microbiology. I would have loved to call you but this is a remote area
> calls is hard to go through from here and i don't want to waste much
> time.
> Am really interested in renting from you and i don't really love pets
> but i don't care if there is any in the house. I would have loved to
> see it but am very far,but with pictures,I am glad. I will also like
> you to tell me more about you and if you have garage or parking space
> because I will have my own car come over, please let me know the total
> payment of the place and more over I will send your email to my dad
> for him to email you later because he is the one that will be paying
> the bills but nevertheless,I will like you to send me your full Name
> and the mailing address, your phone number as well,so that my Dad will
> issue out the payment for the place as soon as possible,with that you
> can hold on the place for me till i come. I will be looking forward to
> your email soonest. Thanks and have a nice day.
>
>
> Salanda.
Personal details removed - CW
>

>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Salanda Wilson [mailto:[email protected]]
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 3:11 PM
>> To: [email protected]
>> Subject: $600 / 1000ft² - roommate needed - everything included in
>> flat
> rate
>> (Mid City-American Can Apartments) (map) Date: 2012-01-24, 2:20PM CST
> Reply
>> to:
>>
>> ** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
>> ** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
>> ** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
>> ** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams
>>
>> --
>> Is the room available?
>>

This scammer is definitely still active and replied to a room in Washington, DC. She is now using the name Salanda Wilson. She hasn't changed the email "about herself" though. There was something weird about her emails to start and that she was in such a rush to put down money for a place she hadn't seen. I got really suspicious though when the profile picture on her gmail account was not for "Salanda Wilson," but for Trina Harris and I googled both. Thanks for the posts everyone - defintely saved me a headache.

I am quite sure the same scan is being attempted under the name Payden Tierney. The background story is the same, and since it seemed strange I googled the name but found no concerns of a scammer. I continued to look for a roommate to be well covered in case she wasn't genuine, and amazingly received a response from "Michelle Murray" over a week later. Luckily, since their stories were nearly identical, with the same broken english, I was able to confidently assume that this was all a scam. When I googled Michelle Murray I found this site. I just received the check in the mail, assumingly from Payden Tierney's father, with all the red flags - sent FedEx overnight, no instructions or note included, when I looked up the issuing bank the website has a notice of it being a victim of fraudulent checks. Strangely enough, "Payden" never asked me to send her any money, therefore I don't really see the scam here, unless somehow this led to an insight to my bank details.
Since there were no google hits with this name I thought it important to post my experience as this name may be new to the scam scene. I do hope this helps others avoid losing time and money.

Hi there kikijean!

Welcome to the site.

Since there were no google hits with this name I thought it important to post my experience as this name may be new to the scam scene. I do hope this helps others avoid losing time and money.

It is important and thank you so much for posting it. Hopefully you will save someone the hassle of losing money to these scumbags!

Strangely enough, "Payden" never asked me to send her any money, therefore I don't really see the scam here,

Some scammers will wait to ask for money until you actually deposit the check. Asking for money at the beginning tends to increase victim suspicion, and reduces the odds of a payout for them. But if they don't ask for money and the victim deposits the check without comment from the bank, the victim is a bit more likely to believe it may be real.

Hi my name really is salanda wilson and someone contacted me about a room that I had for rent but totally seemed like a scam. She was saying the same thing about being out of the country and couldn't get to a phone blah blah blah..the only reason I am replying is because I wa sitting here bored and googled my name and shockingly this came up! The ad was on craigslist around December and I got a couple emails like that and in the beginning I thought it was legit until she messages me again with a different name. I can't believe they took my name and used it like this.

Welcome to ScamWarners Salandak. Please do not take the actions of the scammer personally. They steal names to try to look legitimate and to sound like they belong in the country they are scamming in.

We do use situations like this to remind people to be careful of what kind of information they have about themselves on the internet. You never know who might use it for a reason you didn't intend or realize could be done. I hope you will take some time to read about scams here.