Room for Rent and other rental scams
#315004 by Michelle Mon Dec 19, 2016 5:21 pm
<[email protected]> wrote:
Hello Michelle

Thanks for your mail. After going through your email, my wife and I have finally concluded to rent the apartment out to you. The rent is $950 and deposit payment fee is $500. Since we shall be giving you our house, please again take care of the apartment and I will keep my word to be a good landlord to you, the neighbourhood is very friendly and conducive.

Therefore after going through your email and accessing your profile, we strongly believe that you are a respectable and responsible person, I am sure you would be able to take great care of the property. It would be appreciated if you can make the deposit payment ASAP to secure the apartment so I can file you in as my new tenant pending when you are ready to move in. Also, Pets are allowed.

Please once again, we are giving you this on trust so do not disappoint us and we promise you that you will love the apartment and the peaceful serene environment. I am with the documents below here with me, send me your full delivery address if you are ready to make the deposit payment, here are the contents of the documents I would be sending to you via FedEx:

1) Entrance and the rooms Keys
2) paper/Permanent house form (Containing your reference details)
3) Agreement which you would sign and send back to me.
4) The apartment Documentary file.
5) Payment Receipt.
6) Full address and description of the apartment

I would have prefer you sending the deposit to my bank account directly, but the fact that you have to at least see/view what you are renting, You will deposit the funds with Money-gram. Now, in Money-gram, there's a Security Test Question and a Security Test Answer, which serve as a password to any funds transfer that is coming to Africa. You can send the security deposit with your own different Test Question and Test Answer it will be a secret to you alone until you receive the house keys and house documents. All you need to send to me is the reference number so that I can track/confirm from Money-gram that the said amount was sent. And after you receive the House Keys and Documents, you will email the Security Test Question and Answer so that I can receive the payment that is to say if you love the apartment, but if after your viewing you do not love the apartment then there will be no need releasing the security test question and answer to me, all you have to do is go back to Money-gram and cancel the transfer and FedEx back my package to me since I will be having a shipping account with them.

The details to send the payment are found below:

RECEIVER'S NAME: PEARL MARTINS
ADDRESS: 144 OBAFEMI AWOLOWO WAY, IKEJA.
CITY: LAGOS
COUNTRY: NIGERIA
AMOUNT: $500

After you have sent out the payment, send me the reference number so that I can confirm that the payment has been sent and after you receive the House Keys and Documents and you are satisfied with the apartment, you can release the Security Test Question and Answer to me. Feel free to call me anytime on my cell number: (+234) 705 6744 572.

Hope to hear from you ASAP.

Pearl Martins.


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.

Advertisement

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 68 guests