On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 8:58 PM, Lynn A J < [email protected] > wrote:
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for your response to my ad.The flat is two bedroom apartment and here is little details about the flat before we proceed.
Flat address: Queens Gate Mews, South Kensington, London
Post Code:SW7 5JP Rent: £150 per week all bills included for a room.
Security deposit:£250 refundable after one week in the flat.
Minimum Stay: 1 week
Flat amenities:TV ,CD - DVD - Video,Radio,High-speed Internet with WiFi,Washing Machine ,dryer, Heating, iron and Ironing board,Gas cooker,Electric Kettle,Toaster,Dishwasher,Refrigerator, Microwave e.t.c
The pictures of the flat are hereby attached with this email.
Location:Queen’s Gate is a pretty tree-lined broadway leading from Old Brompton Road directly to the Queen's Gate of Hyde Park. It is in easy reach of local shops, bars and restaurants, Hyde Park, Royal Albert Hall and Knightsbridge and within walking distance of Royal Marsden, Brompton and Cromwell Hospitals. Near Gloucester Road and South Kensington Underground Station serving by direct line Knightsbridge and the West End, all major railway stations, Richmond and Wimbledon.
Cheers
Lynn.
From: Lynn A J < [email protected] >
Date: Sun, May 9, 2010 at 12:47 PM
Subject: Email me back to proceed
To: Michelle
Hi Michelle,
There's no problem in reserving the room for you till your arrival but before doing that I will need to be sure of your readiness and capability because I will not want a situation whereby I will secure the room for you and you will not turn up when you arrrive.I have had several cases of people we had a deal for viewing and fail to turn up is either they cannot afford the rent or the security deposit required.
This is what you will need to do in order to secure the room,you will need to make a transfer of a month rent plus security deposit (£600+£250=£850) via Western Union using your name as the sender of the money while you use the name of your partner as the receiver of the so that you will be the one to receive the money when you arrive London and pay me when you might have viewed the flat and ok with it.
You are doing this just to be sure of your seriousness and capability before securing the room for you because I will not want a situation whereby the room will be reserve for you and you will not turn up when you arrive that's why I want you to do the transfer and you will need to email me the scanned copy of the transfer receipt for confirmation before securing the room for you.
I do not want you to have the feeling that I am asking for money BEFORE you see what you are renting because I know that payment is meant to be done AFTER you have seen the flat and okay with it that is why I said you should make the transfer to yourself so that you will be the one to receive the money and pay me in person after the viewing.
You don't need to worry about the transfer charges, I will personally refund it back to you,I'm doing this just to make sure everything is perfect before securing the room for you.
Let me know if you are ok with this arrangement so that we can proceed.
Kind regards,
Lynn.
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.
