From: sully lambert < [email protected] >
To Michelle
Date: 8 Mar 2010
Subject: Re: Stunning one bedroom accomodation for rent in Oxford
Thanks for your reply, i acknowledge all your question, i will like to let you know that in the past outside uk tenant had put me through a lot of difficulties renting my flat to them / arranging a viewing. i will like to let you know that money is not my problem as i have enough even to feed the needy but this is a rental issue where procedures needs to be adhered to putting down the deposit is not my problem but all i needed is a comitted and sincere tenant who will take good care of my flat.
More so,owing to my past unpleasant experiences 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 have discovered over the years that most tenants from outside the UK do not have enough money to pay up their rent and yet disturb the landlord to arrange a viewing with their friend or relative who are in Oxford, in view of this, 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.
Check paragraph 44 on the contract and proceed with the deposit as there are lots of other interested tenant who have been placed on hold in view of your keen interest in my flat.
It is required of you to proceed with a transfer of one month rent 400pounds plus security deposit of 500pounds altogether you are to transfer 900pounds to confirm the flat booking for you .Kindly make the transfer through any western union money transfer post office / agent close to you. You can use your name as the sender name and your wife's name as the receiver in the uk so as soon as you arrive in UK she will just go and pick it up for you at the nearest western union post office and then we shall proceed.
Once you are done with the transfer today, 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 and available for pick-up by your wife in UK. Once my lawyer confirms the transaction valid, and atached the scan copy to the utility documents that will be handed over to you at your arrival date to my flat.
Kindly let me know your opinion and if you are not comfortable with this option i strongly suggest you look for another flat arround to avoid wasting one another's time.
Kind Regards
Mr/Mrs O. S. Abiri.
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 (by Western Union) money 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.
