I put an ad in craigs list to rent out my basement apartment. I've had a couple of responses but 1 in particular stands out.
This woman claims that she's moving to the US from Australia and that she wants to secure the place and asked for my work addy & phone # to send me a money order. Thats not the weird part. Its the way she responds to my emails. She keeps on repeating that shes a model (like I care) and her responses are very personal. She told me that both her parents died, she likes swimming, playing tennis, studied to be an artist (why is she telling me this?). She hasn't even seen the place and she wants to send me $1200.
I'm getting a weird vibe from this, what do you think?
2007-01-30 07:12:17 · 25 answers · asked by wtf 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
Listen to your intuition and be done with this woman.
2007-01-30 07:20:05 · answer #1 · answered by beez 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Email Scam
August 18, 2006
Local people have been receiving e-mail inquiries from someone posing as a parent wanting to rent an apartment for a son or daughter who plans to go to school here.
Once an agreement has been made to rent the apartment, the fraudster sends an out-of-country money order for the first and last month's rent.
The amount of the cheque is always more than the amount agreed upon. Soon afterward, the fraudster sends an e-mail pointing out the error and asks the recipient to cash the cheque at their own bank and return the excess amount in the form of a bank draft. Sometimes, said a release from police, the e-mail suggests the recipient keep $100 for the inconvenience.
The catch is that the initial money order is counterfeit and eventually gets returned to the victim's bank as an insufficient funds cheque. The victim must then reimburse the money sent to the fraudster.
2007-01-30 15:23:42 · answer #2 · answered by Shara S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am amazed that so many people did not recognize this very old scam.
The scammer does exactly what you have described, then sends a counterfeit check or money order.
Then one of two things happen; they suddenly have to cancel and ask you to wire the money back to them before it's discovered that their original payment was no good or they send a counterfeit payment for more than is needed and ask you to refund the difference before it's discovered that their original payment was no good.
"She keeps on repeating that shes a model (like I care) and her responses are very personal. She told me that both her parents died, she likes swimming, playing tennis, studied to be an artist"
She is probably a He, and "she" is telling you this in the hopes that you are some lonely guy who will be blind to the scam because you are so excited by a "model" coming to live with you.
2007-01-31 10:27:52 · answer #3 · answered by WishICouldTellU 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its a total scam, these types pop up more often on sites liek EBay. The lady will tell you that she wants your work address and phone number and that she wants to send you a money order to secure the place. The money order will usually be a larger amount than you are asking for but she will ask you in good faith to send her a check for the difference, but what you dont know is that you will end up wiring her the differnce before you get your money. You were right, its a scam...stay far far away from this craxy "lady".
2007-01-30 15:24:33 · answer #4 · answered by hvandyk82 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a BIG scam!!! Just delete all the emails from out of state and out of country. They will send you a check or money order for more than you are asking and tell you to send them the difference. You will find that the check or money order is no good.
To determine if they are legit, tell them you will be willing to show them when they get to the states and that for a deposit and first months rent, you will only take cash. If you dont hear from them again, you will know its a scam.
2007-01-30 15:23:34 · answer #5 · answered by kimmamarie 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like either its a scam or the woman is a psycho\stalker, or something. Tell her the apartment's been rented to someone else, take it off the listing for a couple of weeks and try again. Hopefully by then she'll have moved on and won't bother you anymore.
2007-01-30 15:23:22 · answer #6 · answered by pinduck85 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's a scam. She'll tell you to wire the funds via Western Union. The money order is fraudulent. i personally know of a victim who fell for this and now he's being sued by the bank. Run far away.
2007-01-30 16:04:44 · answer #7 · answered by Natasha G 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you've had other responses, then ditch this one.
If this apartment is actually in your house, you absolutely don't want to rent it to someone you haven't met and checked references on. I mean, you basically have to live with this person. If they're noisy, you'll hear it. If they have dodgy friends, it's your place they're coming to--and your neighbors who will complain about it. So even if it's not a scam, she's out of the running, because you can't check on her, and the only thing you know about her so far is she seems weird.
2007-01-30 15:26:52 · answer #8 · answered by EQ 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds weird. I wouldn't give her any info about yourself and I would tell her that the two of you could go over more details once she sees the apartment.
If and when she get there, I would be sure to try and do a thorough background check on her if you can. Her being from Australia might make it rather difficult though.
Good luck to you.
2007-01-30 15:21:13 · answer #9 · answered by Nunya 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like a large scam, or someone just pulling your leg. If you feel comforatble sending your work add or phone number, that sounds harmless, but no doubt the money order will be fake.
2007-01-30 15:18:23 · answer #10 · answered by jade_rose320 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go with your weird vibe...they are scamming you. Block her emails, mark them as spam, since that is what it is. Trying to find something that will hit a sympathy nerve so you will fall willingly into the trap
2007-01-30 15:21:56 · answer #11 · answered by Gary S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋