From: jane jones < [email protected] >
Date: Sat, Apr 24, 2010 at 12:57 PM
Subject: Re: Reply to your ad: Fantastic one bedroom apartment for rent in Leeds
To: Michelle
Thanks for the interest in my flat, my flat is fully furnished and finished to a high standard,.Below are the things you should know about my flat.
Rent
The rent is 80 pounds per week and all bills are inclusive in the rent,such as Electricity, water,TV license broadband, wireless internet, Council tax and gas.
Security deposit
The security deposit is 500 pounds
At this point that you want to rent my flat, i have a few questions for you:
1. Can you take good care of my flat?
2. How long do you intend to rent my flat for?
3. Can you provide a reference in Leeds?
4. Where are you coming from to rent my flat?.
However owing to my past unpleasant experience of inviting intending tenant to view my flat without confirming if they are actually able to pay their rent at the right time has caused me a great discomfort and as such do not want to experience it anymore, because i have to travel all the way from Scotland to take interested candidate round my flat. I do hope you understand my point of view.
In view of the previous occurrences, I do not want to collect any money from you as i have not taken you round my flat and signed your contract with my lawyer, but my lawyer have strongly advised me to confirm that you can pay your rent as at when due, so before we can proceed for the viewing, I will like to confirm if you can afford my rent. All you need to do now is to make transfer of a 2 weeks rent and security deposit of £500 to your friend or partner within the UK through western union transfer. The reason for using western union is that it is faster and my lawyer can easily confirm the transfer almost immediately he receives the scanned copy of the transfer receipt or the details of the transfer.
Once you are done with the transfer, get back to me with the scanned copy of the transfer receipt as i forward it to my lawyer to confirm if the transfer is valid or not and available for pick-up by your friend or partner.Once my lawyer confirms the transaction valid, i will then ask you to tell your friend to pick up the money for you, then we can immediately proceed for the viewing. I shall refund the cost of transfer to you when we meet for the viewing. After the viewing, if you like my flat, you can proceed to signing the contract and then pay your rent and security deposit to me directly.
Kindly proceed with the transfer and get back to me as soon as possible.
Do not hesitate to ask anymore question.
Best RegardsM
From: jane jones <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 5:51 PM
Subject: Re: Reply to your ad: Fantastic one bedroom apartment for rent in Leeds
To: Michelle
Dear Michelle
Thanks for your reply. I wouldn't want you to get me wrong as i didn't ask you to send the deposit to me directly, the idea of making a confirmation of your financial ability is not only my idea, my lawyer and i decided to use that process due to the past unpleasant experiences with intending tenant and i can't violate my lawyer procedure.
However, i didn't want to collect any money from you as long as you have not sign a contract neither have i taken you round my flat. All what i request of you is to transfer the deposit to someone close to you within the UK through western union money transfer agent, once you've done that, you get back to me with a scan copy of the transfer receipt and if you do not have a scanner you can as well write out the details on the transfer receipt to me so that i can forward it to my lawyer to confirm if the transfer is valid.
After the confirmation might have been made by my lawyer, i will ask you to tell you friend to go and pick up the money for you and schedule a convenient time for the viewing. i will return the cost of the transfer without any deduction to you when we meet for the viewing, after the viewing if you like my flat you can then proceed to signing the contract and pay the rent and depoit to me directly.
Kindly let me know your opinion as soon as possible and if you are not comfortable with my lawyer procedure, i strongly suggest that you look for another flat to avoid time wasting.
Kind Regards
Mrs Jane Jones
The thief will tell you that you can rent his accommodation only if you can prove that you have genuine interest. He will ask you send money by wire transfer (normally Western Union) to yourself or a member of the family to show that you have sufficient finances and that you are not a "time waster".
Another variation of this scam is that you need to send (by Western Union) money in order that the keys and other documents can be couriered to you
He will ask you to send him the transfer details.
Make no mistake ! Western Union Transfers can be picked up virtually anywhere in the world and with the minimum of identification. They are almost impossible to trace once the money has been collected. You will never get to see the accommodation or your money again.
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 Gumtree or similar listing sites. If you receive any requests from 'Landlords' asking for some kind of payment by Western Union 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.
