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Rental Scams
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We want to provide you with information on several rental-related scams that are on-going. Below are a couple of examples & scenarios we extracted from various sources. Please be extremely careful when you are out there looking for a rental.
MANY OF THE ONGOING SCAMS ARE RELATED TO FRAUDULENT RENTAL ADS ON CRAIGSLIST. WE DO NOT ADVERTISE OUR PROPERTIES ON CRAIGS LIST. BEFORE YOU PROVIDE ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION OR FUNDS TO A "PROPERTY OWNER" OR "PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY" PLEASE VERIFY THEY ARE ACTUALLY WHO THEY REPRESENT THEMSELVES TO BE! IF THE DEAL SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE - GUESS WHAT - IT'S PROBABLY NOT TRUE!
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For Sellers and Property Owners:
A distant buyer or prospective tenant sends a money order or cashier's checks that exceeds the actual price or rent.
The distant buyer or tenant requests that you forward the excess amount to a third party via Western Union, or MoneyGram. After initially accepting the check, your bank informs you several days later that the cashier's check is fake after you have wired funds to the third party.
This article by the Washington Post describes the fake Money Order scam.
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For Buyers and Prospective Tenants:
A distant seller or owner asks for payment via Western Union or MoneyGram. After payment is sent using one of these services, the distant owner promises to send item or keys via Fed Ex, DHL or other delivery service however the items or keys never arrive.
The item or flat/apartment may seem to be "too good to be true"; the price is usually well below market value.
Never send payment via Western Union, MoneyGram or similar service to someone you do not know personally! (Exception: We are told that in Argentina, banking fees are so prohibitively expensive that some legitimate businesses (e.g. language schools) request payment via Western Union.)
Do not use bank transfer to send money to a city other than your home or destination. For example, if you are from New York, traveling to Madrid, do not sent money to someone in Dublin, Ireland! If there is a problem, local authorities at home or at your destination will not be able to help you.
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Please find below examples of Western Union scam messages sent to expatriates.com users.
Advance Fee Fraud
The perpetrators of Advance Fee Fraud (AFF), known internationally as "4-1-9" fraud after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses fraud schemes, are often very creative and innovative.
Claiming to be government officials, business people or the surviving spouses of former government leaders, con artists offer to transfer millions of dollars into your bank account in exchange for a small fee. If you respond to the initial offer, you may receive "official looking" documents. Typically, you are then asked to provide blank letterhead and your bank account numbers, as well as some money to cover transaction and transfer costs and attorney's fees.
A common misconception is that the victim's bank account is requested so the culprit can plunder it -- this is not the primary reason for the account request -- merely a signal they have hooked another victim.
For more information please read this advisory from the United States Federal Trade Commission.
If you receive such a message, please do the following:
- do not reply to the message!
- forward the message to their email provider at their "abuse" address (e.g. abuse@yahoo.com, abuse@onebox.com etc.). Ask their email provider to shutdown the account. The service provider may ask you to provide additional information such as "message headers."
- to our knowledge, authorities only take complaints from actual victims. Therefore, follow the previous step to have the scammer's email account shutdown.
Please find below examples of 4-1-9 Advanced Fee Fraud scam messages sent to expatriates.com users.
If you are a victim of a scam...
If you are a victim of a scam, please do the following:
- send us all email correspondence between you and the perpetrator.
- file a police report in city where you normally reside and where you believe the perpetrator resides.
- send us the police report case numbers. We cooperate with law enforcement agencies in such matters.
- file a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC). (The IFCC is normally for U.S. citizens.)
Examples of Western Union scam messages sent to expatriates.com users
Good afternoon ,
Thank you for the confirmation for renting my flat. I agree the rent for the period of [BEGIN DATE] until [END DATE]
I will send the keys by FEDEX to by the 24th. I will get back with the tracking number.
Please inform me where i can fax you the signed agreement.
The building, elevator is in good conditions.
The flat is recently renovated.
I will coming over to [CITY] around the [DATE]. As i work with a spanish account i suggest to pay me the rent in cash when we meet up.
Can you confirm me the tracking of the deposit of the flat by a western Union or moneygram office, as a transaction between international accounts takes one week.
I informed by western union and they told me that you will need this required information to transfer the deposit to me personal:
MY FULL NAME: [SELLER NAME]
MY PASSPORT NUMBER: [PASSPORT NUMBER]
AMOUNT: [AMOUNT]
PLACE TO WIRE: [CITY]
For any question you have, reach me by phone or by mail.
Enjoy the rest of the sunday and have a nice arrival in [CITY]
Best greets
-----------------------------
Hi
thank you also for your quick reply.I have done some calculations and the weekly rate in UK pounds is ninety five pounds sterling "#95". Again as stated this price includes electricity,water,rubbish collection and sat tv.If you would like I can arrange for you to be collected from [CITY] airport on arrival and taken directly to my apartment (costs 20 euro payable to driver). Ok now that you,ve decided to book my apartment we will need to exchange keys,contract and payment.
The total cost in UK pounds is #760.Unfortunately due to new rules and regulations imposed here in [COUNTRY] on investment properties anywhere within the EU I am unable to take payment by
credit card directly. Payment should be made by Western Union money transfer and sent to my accountant: [NAME] for collection at Western Union in [CITY].
To send payment from [CITY] you should go to your local Western Union agent located at : [ADDRESS]
You simply fill out a form to send payment , after you send payment you will be issued with a 10-digit reference code , you then simply call or email this 10-digit reference code to me.
There will be a charge for sending by Western Union which you should deduct from the total amount you are sending as my accountant can re-claim this at the end of the tax year.
Ok thats it and I,ll hope to hear from you soon.
Kind Regards
Example of Advanced Fee Fraud messages sent to expatriates.com users
FROM: Mr. John Kasrils
I am Mr. John Kasrils, the only son of late chief Robet Kasrils, from Sierra Leone my sources of your contact gave me the courage and confidence to rely on you. I am writing you in absolute confidence primarily to seek your assistance to claim our cash of Ninteen Million Eight Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$19,800,000.00)) which was Deposited in a suspense account in a bank here in Abidjan called BANQUE INTERNATIONALE POUR LE COMMERCE ET L'INDUSTRIE DE LA COTE DŽIVOIRE (BICICI) here in Abidjan.
Source of the money .My late father, Chief Robet Kasrils, a native of mende district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, was the General Manager of Sierra Leone mining co-operation (S.L.M.C.) Freetown, so this Fund was the income accrued from mining co-operation's over draft and minor sales. My father deposited the fund for the safe custody until after the war when he will join us. But my father including other top Government functionaries were attacked and killed by the rebels because of his relationship with the civilian Government of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. As a result of my father death, the untimely deaths caused my mothers heart failure and other related complications of which she later died after we spent a lot of money on her.
I humbly solicit your assistance in the followings ways: I need you to use your humble position to represent our family to reclaim the funds and transfer it to your company's account or any account you will norminate for the funds so that you can invest the funds on our behalf because we canŽt do this ourselves. after the fund is transferred to your country, you make arrangement for me and my younger sister to come over to your country to further our education and to secure a resident permit for us in your country.
Please observe the utmost confidentiality of this transaction until we meet with you in your country to make a good arrangement for a joint business investment on our behalf in your country and you will be the caretaker of the investment as I and my sister will like to further our education in your country. Most importantly. The whole documents issued after deposit is in my custody, for your assistance. I beg to concede 30% of this money to you for your efforts and assistance.
To contact you is to believe you can do this business therefore I request you to respond to me as soon as you receive my mail but if you cannot participate please informs me so I make another plans.
Best regards.
Mr John Kasrils.
Fake Message from expatriates.com
The following is an example of a message purporting to be from expatriates.com. Please do not open any such messages. If you opened the attachment, you must run a virus scan immediately.
Dear Expatriates Member,
We have temporarily suspended your email account upro_contact@expatriates.com.
This might be due to either of the following reasons:
1. A recent change in your personal information (i.e. change of address).
2. Submiting invalid information during the initial sign up process.
3. An innability to accurately verify your selected option of subscription due to an internal error within our processors.
See the details to reactivate your Expatriates account.
Sincerely,The Expatriates Support Team
+++ Attachment: No Virus (Clean)
+++ Expatriates Antivirus - www.expatriates.com
West African rental scam targets Juneau residents
By Alan Suderman | JUNEAU EMPIRE
For a month and a half, Amyanna Bryan said her daily routine involved checking the Internet for a reasonable place to rent in town.
Recently, she said she thought she found one. Listed on the Web site Craigslist was a three-bedroom house in the Mendenhall Valley for $1,000 a month.
There was only one problem: The house wasn't for rent. The ad on Craigslist was a scam, being run half a world away.
Juneau has joined the swelling ranks of U.S. cities that have caught the eye of West African scam artists trying to rent houses they don't own.
Sean Henderson, the owner of Assist-2-Sell real estate company, said four different potential renters have expressed interest in houses he has listed in recent weeks.
He said the information he had posted on Craigslist trying to sell houses had been repackaged by the scam artists and posted on Craigslist as a rental property. The scammers told the unsuspecting renters to send them private information and a deposit in exchange for the keys to the place, Henderson said.
"It's pretty blatant, in terms of what they are asking for," he said, adding that he had discontinued posting properties on Craigslist until the Web site fixes the problem.
Henderson stressed that sellers are not at risk, and it's only potential renters who face getting fleeced.
Efforts to reach representatives from Craigslist were unsuccessful, but on its Web site the company tells its users to "deal locally with folks you can meet in person" to avoid the majority of scam attempts.
Bryan said that after she responded to the ad on Craigslist she received an e-mail back from someone who alternately called him or herself Cindy and Kelvin Jackson. The e-mail said he or she was doing missionary work in West Africa and owned the home Bryan was interested in renting.
The e-mail asked for Bryan to answer a few questions, including her full name, age, also had a "For Sale" sign in the yard.
When she called Assist-2-Sell she found out the house had never been listed for rent and she was a potential victim of a scam.
A call to the cell phone listed at the bottom of the e-mails sent to Bryan, which had a Nigerian country code, did not work.
Bryan said Juneau residents need to be aware that they aren't immune to scams perpetuated from a distance. address and occupation.
Bryan said she thought the e-mail sounded "really nice" and responded with the requested information.
She got an e-mail back telling her the house was hers and asking for a payment for sending her the keys.
"Please once again, we are giving you this on trust and do not disappoint us and i promise you that, you will love the house," the e-mail said.
But Bryan never sent the money. She visited the house with her mother and saw that the house was furnished and looked occupied, complete with a dog and cat in the backyard. It
"Be very careful," Bryan said. "If you get a bad feeling, go with it."
Sgt. David Campbell of the Juneau Police Department agreed.
"Like anywhere else, there's a potential for fraud," he said. "People need to remain vigilant."
He said it's tough to account for how many people in town may have fallen victim to these kinds of real estate scams because fraud victims are often embarrassed to come forward.
He said the best way to avoid potential scams of this sort is to rely on local experts, such as real estate agents and banks, and to use a healthy dose of skepticism when eyeing a bargain deal on the Internet.
"If it's too good to be true, it probably is," he said.
How to avoid getting scammed out of your house
By Frank O'Brien - Inman News - Toronto Canada 06/03
The Toronto couple couldn't believe their good fortune. They had found a modern two-bedroom house close to downtown available to rent for only $2,000. After showing them the house, the landlord asked for the first and last month's rent in certified checks.
"It was such a deal we never thought twice about it," said Janet W., the potential tenant, who, with her husband, was soon packing. When they arrived two weeks later to move into their dream home, however, they awoke to a nightmare. The "landlord" had rented the house out to 12 other potential tenants, pocketing more than $25,000 in deposits before skipping town. It turned out the phony owner had actually rented the house himself just a few weeks before advertising it for rent.
Real Estate schemes, scams and fraud all constitute a form of theft which criminals use to steal your cash or even your home. And Canadian police departments say they are increasing in number and sophistication.
Con artists may use several methods to swindle you in a real estate fraud scheme bailout, home equity fraud, home renovation scams, rental fraud and deceptive time share scams are just a few types of real estate frauds now popping up.
No Joke, You're Busted!
WILMINGTON, DE- April 1, 2004 - (AP) State police have charged a 48-year-old Wilmington man with at least 24 aliases, saying he tried to rent a house in Newark that he doesn't own.
Police say Artis Bratcher is charged with attempted theft by false pretense, forgery and criminal impersonation.
A woman told police she made a verbal agreement with an Andre Rochester to rent a property. Before she met with him to give him a security deposit, she learned he didn't own the property.
She called police, who staked out site of the scheduled meeting. He was arrested and police say his fingerprints revealed his true identity.
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