Apartment scam/ roomscam/ rental scam/ London UK Craigslist

[kclhans]

i'm sorry, i dont get you ... ?

[Katharina]

This means the text passage has been used lots of times with lots of scams.

[websaver]

I had the same sort of scam tried on me in gumtree, even sent photos, I asked for postal address so i could check it out on google maps, all I had was the street address, turned out it was in a commercialised area with no houses...And when western union was mentioned that was it...so beware, neve deal with anyone who asks for western union

[MaxDemian]

Hi all

My girlfriend and I almost got caught out by this evil, evil person. Thanks to this forum we were saved from loosing 600 odd pounds. So I wanted to do my bit to help out any others...

Just wanted to give an update on this scammer's activity.

They are now also operating under the URL:
http://www.awesomeholidayvacations.com/

using the email address':
[email protected]
[email protected]

They claim affiliation with:
http://www.globeapt.com (though doubtful)

Their listed business address is still:
55 Park Lane,London,W1K 1NA

And here's a little bit from the whois report:
Domain Name: awesomeholidayvacations.com
Created on..............: 2011-06-22
Expires on..............: 2012-06-22

Administrative Contact:
Domain Discreet
ATTN: awesomeholidayvacations.com
Rua Dr. Brito Camara, n 20, 1
Funchal, Madeira 9000-039
PT
Phone: 1-902-7495331

You'll see upon visiting the site that they're still using the same tired old recycled images of the apartments.

Oh, and he signed a contract PDF sent to us as:
Rowland Smith ( most definitely his real name )

Hope this saves others as it did us.
Cheers

[Michael]

Thank you for reporting, Maxdemian. We'll make sure that the site will be taken offline. We're very happy to hear you found out it was a scam before you lost any money!

[Michael]

awesomeholidayvacations.com has been suspended

[deezy]

Hi all,

I'm moving to London in a month and I'm looking for a flat to rent. You can imagine how happy I am to have come across this website! All the offers look to a bit too good to be true on Craigslist, but some I have no idea about! Do you guys think the following is a scam?

----------------------------
Hello,

Thank you for your mail and the interest you have in my flat. The minimum
let is for 2 months and the maximum let is for 10 years. The flat is
available for renting right away, no one is living in the flat at the moment
(this is not a flatshare). The price for the rent is 400+100 GBP/month for
the whole flat (the 100 GBP are for all the bills and taxes - electricity,
water, gas, internet, council tax) and you will pay for the first 2 months
of rent in advance (1000 GBP). The flat is very clean and I want to leave
the flat to a person who is a clean and responsible tenant. As you can see
in the photos everything is new in the flat. I am working in Switzerland
(Zurich) and I am here with my family. For me it is very hard to come in UK
because of my working place, and I want to be sure that you are really
interested about the flat. Regarding the meeting, I think we could fix a
date when I can come in UK for the viewing and we can reach an agreement.
The property has a fully furnished kitchen, clean and well tidy sitting
rooms, laundry room, and fully furnished with all home utilities like:
electric shower, lounge, vacuum cleaner, toaster, oven and microwave, dryer,
iron, washing machine , refrigerator , dishwasher, power shower, heater,
cable ready, tv set and dvd player, internet connection, equipped kitchen
and all utilities.
I am waiting for your mail to know if you are satisfied with the details of
my flat which I gave you, as well to know and arrange for the viewing of the
flat and arrange for other necessary arrangements that are needed. I am
waiting for your response.

C. K.
Marktgasse 17
8001 Zurich
Switzerland

> From:
> Subject: £100 / 1br - Studio for rent, Victoria Park Square, Bethnal Green, E2 (Bethnal Green)
> Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2011 23:38:51 -0700
> 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.html
>
> Good evening,
>
> I'm looking to move into a flat around September 12 or so of this coming month. I came across your ad on Craigslist, and I'm really impressed with your property, it looks amazing! Would the 100 pounds per week be for the entire flat? Does the room/flat come furnished with furniture? Thanks so much, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
>
> Best regards,
D

---------------------

I looked up the address that she sent in her signature and it's for the Zic Zac Hotel in Zurich. Should that ring any bells?

[Helen Halper]

Hi deezy!
Welcome to scamwarners!

I am working in Switzerland
(Zurich) and I am here with my family. For me it is very hard to come in UK
because of my working place, and I want to be sure that you are really
interested about the flat. Regarding the meeting, I think we could fix a
date when I can come in UK for the viewing and we can reach an agreement.

Yes, that is certain to be a scam. The next message from the scammer would be that she can't come to the UK to show the flat but if you send money she'll post you the keys.
If you check the headers on the email it will likely show that the scammer is in Nigeria.

[deezy]

Thank you so much, Helen. I had a feeling that this was bad news, and you've confirmed it for me. Do you have any tips on how to track IP addresses from headers?

[Katharina]

Hi deezy,
first you need to find the header - here is how to find it:
http://www.abika.com/Reports/Samples/em ... rguide.htm

It is a lot of technical gibberish on the top of the email. Copy it and insert it into this tool:
http://www.iptrackeronline.com/header.php

Note: Some scammers use tricks to hide their IP = location, then you will get either a fake location or the location of the email provider, for instance "Sunnyvale" is the headquarters of Yahoo.

[deezy]

Hi guys, I'm back again and still looking for apartments in London. Obviously, I haven't had much luck in the search but I came across this website and was wondering if you guys think it's a scam. What do you guys think? This is the website:

http://www.eurooms.net/

Also, is PayPal a safe way to pay for things over the internet? Do scammers use PayPal frequently?

Thanks, guys!

- Deezy

[Katharina]

Welcome deezy! Good to know you always proceed with care.

Yes, PayPal is safe - as long as you make sure that you are in contact with the real PayPal and not with someone who pretends to be an employee of PayPal. You should always verify transactions and payments by directly going to PayPal's site.

As to Eurooms: The site looks unprofessional - which doesn't mean it is fraudulent. Their email address is a private Gmail account; you would expect that they have an address that belongs to their website.

Eurooms has two more sites:

http://www.fr.eurooms.net
http://www.cazarelondra.com

The whois on cazarelondra says:

Updated Date: 16-feb-2011
Creation Date: 16-feb-2011
Expiration Date: 16-feb-2012

which is unusual if you mean to stay in business for long.

The other sites have been registered in 2009 and been paid for until 2012.

eurooms.net offers payment by bank transfer or PayPal on a secure page.

I realise all of this is inconclusive; I'll try to find out more.

[aughra]

Thanks Google and Scamwarners. This email from "Mariam Vincent" puzzled me, but I couldn't figure it out. Thanks for warning me about the scam.


Hello,
How are you doing?Hope God is taking care of you and your family? I am Mariam by name from Manchester(UK) and i am coming for a Research in Arizona LDSHousing.net By February so i need a place to stay. A little about me. I am 28 years old,i gentle, neat,respectful,i mind my own business, no smoking,no overnight guest,no party,i promise to keep the place neat as you ever wanted,my favorite colours are blue and white. I will love to rent from you and i will love to rent for one year but i may extend the rent later so tell me more about the place and i will also appreciate some pictures to the place.If there is any application that i will need to fill plz have it sent to me via email so i could print and bring it over with me when coming over cos i do not have access to fax machine.I will be happy to rent from you so get back to me as soon as possible.Do tell me the asking price per month and how do i secure it before coming over? Happy new year to you and your family.
Mariam

[Bubbles]

Welcome to ScamWarners aughra, we are pleased what we do here helped you.

[Teacake]

Just a quick note £100 a month would not cover the council tax in London, let alone the bills. Also the flat is too cheap to be in the London or surrounding areas.