Rental Scammer - [email protected]

Old Georgie Boy is at it again.

Got dumped on by these jokers today calling himself
" George Harper "
Which oddly enough if you search for on this site you will see other posts regarding an entirely different scam happening over seas where they are using the same name.

Luckily for me I felt that there was something fishy before I thought about wiring any funds out and thank god that I had the foresight to start googling information from his email and found out there are more people out there that have experienced this same exact email scam.

I am actually still blown away how they have the photos of this house, even with interior photos and the community information pretty much spot on and just how elaborate of a scam it is.
I mean I just happen to work on the same street as this house and it is literally walking distance from my office so I was lucky enough that I figured this out pretty quickly but jeez.

I can just imagine how other people around here like me that are looking for affordable housing could not be so lucky. Maybe even get shot for trespassing.

Crazy

Below is a cut and paste from his email:

From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: $899 Very quiet neighborhood with parking (Annapolis
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2015 14:05:37 +0100

Thanks for your swift response regarding my property, the home is currently vacant and it is available for move in. I am George Harper the owner of the property,I got transfer too Caldwell,Idaho few weeks ago and am looking to rent our home ASAP.

The rent includes all utilities like washer, dryer, gas, electricity, Dishwasher, water, Electric Stove, Fridge are included in the rental fee. We would be staying here in Idaho for a long time and this is why we are actually renting our Home. I am not after the money for the rent but looking for a trustworthy/responsible person too occupy our home.

The keys/documents are right here with us but feel free to go view the exterior and once accepted as our new tenant the keys would be sent to you via FEDEX courier service.

If you interested in moving in immediately or ASAP kindly fill out the application below and also feel free to reach us on (949)-734-1780 serious rental only.

FIRST MONTH RENT
PLUS DEPOSIT OF $700 NEEDED FOR MOVING IN.
PETS OK

RENTAL APPLICATION FORM
Full Name:
Desire date of Occupancy:
Desire Length of Occupancy:
Occupation:
Cell Phone ( )
Home Phone ( )
Current Address:
Apt#:
City:
State:
Zip:
Reasons for Leaving:
Current Rent Payment:
Are you married:
How many people will be living in the house:
Do you have a pet:
Do you have a car:
Current Employer:
If a student:
Name of School:

Once I have all this information I will let you know what the next step to take toward renting our home. Looking forward to hear from you ASAP so I can have the required details in my file In case of issuing receipts and contacting you.

I look forward to hearing from you.
George Harper.
CELL#(949)-734-1780.

N:B-Please note that we are not available to show the place because the keys are right here with us,you can only view the place from the outside and once Accepted as my new tenant the keys/documents would be Fedex to you.

So:

I actually went to this house and was looking through the windows to get a better look inside, and as dumb as I already feel, I did respond with the info he requested.

But after, told him that all of the info I gave him was as fake as his ad and that I know the people that live in that house and that I reported him to Craigslist. which I did and also with IC3.Gov
Im hoping he wont try to use my info for anything else.

It makes me so mad because I know better but I am in the market to move and I wanted it to be real.

Its like they always say, if it looks too good to be true it probably is, and it was....

I hope this helps someone else as much as it saved me.

I am actually still blown away how they have the photos of this house, even with interior photos and the community information pretty much spot on and just how elaborate of a scam it is.

It's actually pretty easy--the scammers simply visit realty sites like Zillow or realtor.com, pick homes that are up for sale, then copy the photos and neighborhood descriptions off the property listings.

Some wait until the home is actually pulled from the property site (either because it is sold or taken off the market) but many don't even bother to do that--they just post the rental while the home is listed for sale.

This happened to me this morning as well regarding the same property in Annapolis. Except this time his name is Samuel Reichert at [email protected]. Same phone number and everything. This was his email response:

"On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 5:53 AM, Samuel Reichert <[email protected]> wrote:
Thanks for your swift response regarding my property, the home is currently vacant and it is available for move in. I am Samuel Reichert the owner of the property,I got transfer too Caldwell.Idaho few weeks ago and am looking to rent our home ASAP.

The rent includes all utilities like washer, dryer, gas, electricity, Dishwasher, water, Electric Stove, Fridge are included in the rental fee. We would be staying here in Idaho for a long time and this is why we are actually renting our Home. I am not after the money for the rent but looking for a trustworthy/responsible person too occupy our home.

The keys/documents are right here with us but feel free to go view the exterior and once accepted as our new tenant the keys would be sent to you via FEDEX courier service.

If you interested in moving in immediately or ASAP kindly fill out the application below and also feel free to reach us on (949)-734-1780 serious rental only.

FIRST MONTH RENT
PLUS DEPOSIT OF $700 NEEDED FOR MOVING IN.
PETS OK

RENTAL APPLICATION FORM
Full Name:
Desire date of Occupancy:
Desire Length of Occupancy:
Occupation:
Cell Phone ( )
Home Phone ( )
Current Address:
Apt#:
City:
State:
Zip:
Reasons for Leaving:
Current Rent Payment:
Are you married:
How many people will be living in the house:
Do you have a pet:
Do you have a car:
Current Employer:
If a student:
Name of School:

Once I have all this information I will let you know what the next step to take toward renting our home. Looking forward to hear from you ASAP so I can have the required details in my file In case of issuing receipts and contacting you.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Samuel Reichert.
CELL#(949)-734-1780.

N:B-Please note that we are not available to show the place because the keys are right here with us,you can only view the place from the outside and once Accepted as my new tenant the keys/documents would be Fedex to you."

I responded to his email with a few other questions regarding rent and parking permits, but his response was "yes it is". That's all it said. RED FLAG. I flagged his post on craigslist as well and made it clear to him in another email that I know he is a scam.

Apparently he is up to it again. ... http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/ ... 10422.html