Date: Wed, 12 May 2010 08:56:49 +0100
Subject: Re: Reply to your ad: This apartment provide excellent accommodation in Leeds
From: [email protected]
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 90pounds per week and all bills are inclusive in the rent,such as Electricity, water,TV license broadband wireless internet and gas.
Security deposit
The security deposit is 400 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?.
I require answers to my questions before we can proceed with the reservation processes. More so,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 £400 to your friend or partner within the UK through Western Union Money Transfer Office. The reason for using Western Union Money Transfer is that it is faster and my lawyer can easily confirm the transfer on the Western Union Website 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.
Regards
Mr/Mrs Cook
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 money (again via Western Union) 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.
