Does this sound like a scam?

[samwei]

Hi all,

I placed an ad to rent a condo under Homerent.ca.

I got this response this morning.

Greetings there,
How are things on your end and i hope everything is going smooth,Well i saw your apartment for rent online and it sparked my interest,My name is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and im from Burnaby B.C working off shore at the moment but im coming over for the holiday and i would love to rent the place.i have experienced getting riped by people who advertise houses and end up not getting the place ,please do email me back and let me know the price per month,deposit and total cost to pay to secure the place prior my arrival, i would like to know about the utilities available as i would love to do a 6months or one year lease with you so please do email be back with details about the place so we can proceed,i will make solid arrangements for me things to be moved in by my hauler so please do get back to me asap..
i await to read from you soonest.thank you ...

cheers,

Is this a scam similar mentioned in the Quickstart program whereby he books the place, sends a money order for funds over and above the rent and SD, then asks for money to be returned/refunded/forwarded to someone else to help him out?

Should I play along with it to check it out to see if it`s legit or not?

Also, does anyone have any experience, positive or negative, when dealing with Homerent.ca?

 

[RebeccaBryan]

QUOTE (samwei @ Oct 30 2007, 09:32 AM) Hi all,

I placed an ad to rent a condo under Homerent.ca.

I got this response this morning.

Greetings there,
How are things on your end and i hope everything is going smooth,Well i saw your apartment for rent online and it sparked my interest,My name is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and im from Burnaby B.C working off shore at the moment but im coming over for the holiday and i would love to rent the place.i have experienced getting riped by people who advertise houses and end up not getting the place ,please do email me back and let me know the price per month,deposit and total cost to pay to secure the place prior my arrival, i would like to know about the utilities available as i would love to do a 6months or one year lease with you so please do email be back with details about the place so we can proceed,i will make solid arrangements for me things to be moved in by my hauler so please do get back to me asap..
i await to read from you soonest.thank you ...

cheers,

Is this a scam similar mentioned in the Quickstart program whereby he books the place, sends a money order for funds over and above the rent and SD, then asks for money to be returned/refunded/forwarded to someone else to help him out?

Should I play along with it to check it out to see if it`s legit or not?

Also, does anyone have any experience, positive or negative, when dealing with Homerent.ca?




Sam,

It sure sounds like a scam to me. I get scams all of the time through my online business. One where they actually ordered product and used someone else`s credit card. They claimed they were from Nigeria. I suspected the order was not legitimate so I phoned to report the credit card they used stolen, and it was. It was a US Citizens credit card. Very long story. Yours sounds very suspicious. Red lights always go up for me when they can`t use proper english and it looks like they`ve made deliberate mistakes, not to mention what it says is set up for what we`ve been warned about. Maybe in the next email he`ll want to pay all of the six months rent upfront!

 

[samwei]

QUOTE (RebeccaBryan @ Oct 30 2007, 09:52 AM) Sam,

It sure sounds like a scam to me. I get scams all of the time through my online business. One where they actually ordered product and used someone else`s credit card. They claimed they were from Nigeria. I suspected the order was not legitimate so I phoned to report the credit card they used stolen, and it was. It was a US Citizens credit card. Very long story. Yours sounds very suspicious. Red lights always go up for me when they can`t use proper english and it looks like they`ve made deliberate mistakes, not to mention what it says is set up for what we`ve been warned about. Maybe in the next email he`ll want to pay all of the six months rent upfront!

Hi Rebecca,

I think I should play along to see how it plays out, so we can warn other REIN members about this particular one.

 

[NIZAROLA]

this thread talks about it also ... > http://myreinspace.com/public_forums/Real_Estate_Discussion/62-815-1769-Online_advertising_-_Be_aware.html#1769

 

[DarrylFlint]

I`ve seen similar scams several times. Whenever you have an ad online it seems that you might as well have a target on your back!! Nonetheless, I always enjoy playing along for a little while. This person has not even seen your place and yet they want it??? I am sure that you use an application that the prospective tenants must fill out? If not there is one on this website and it`s awesome. I always like to ask these "phishers" where you send the application to start the process. I`ve yet to have anyone take it any farther than that. Why should they? There are so many people out that are desperate to rent out their suite and all they see is the dollar signs. Be smarter than they are. There are so many good renters out there that even if this is legitimate you`ll find another one soon enough.

 

[mcgregok]

E-mail the guy back and ask for his phone number so you can call him. If he calls ask your questions .

 

[mortgageman]

Scam. Scam. Scam. Scam.
It`s been my experience that you can tell a scammer by the language used. In this case, they use the word hauler. I`ve yet to come across someone in Canada who called their mover a hauler. They also used me in the wrong context.
They also keep writing "please do," which is unusual.
I wouldn`t respond to them because they`ll know you have a live email and you`ll end up on every scam email mailing list in Nigeria.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Good advise Jason. My email is on every scam emailing list in Nigeria because of replying to someone before I realized it was a scam. Let it be and ignore them! You already know what it is. Number 1, it`s a waste of your time.

Rebecca Bryan

 

[hegleman]

I had the same kind of response last year on rentfaster.ca, This time it was a girl from england. willing to send a money order as long as it would not be a hassle to pay the movers with the extra she sent....I called her (or him) on it right away. I would say that you were dealing with the same scam.

 

[Mystique]

Thank you for sharing this information. I have received exactly same email for three of my properties in Red Deer. To me it appeared like a scam. In the end I did reply to one of the messages explaining that we normally do criminal checks. I will see if I get any response to it.

Hari

 

[MichelSelim]

Sure it is a scam!!! Here I got the EXACT email on one of my properties:
From: AAAA
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 1:37 PM
To: BBBB
Subject: Your Listing on HomeRENT.ca L23205 Your listing on HomeRENT.ca
http://www.homerent.ca/index.cfm?listingid=L23205
Street Address: 3 Bedrooms
name: Adrian viorel Jurjan
email: Greetings there, How are things on your end and i hope everything is going smooth,Well i saw
your apartment for rent online and it sparked my interest,My name is XXXXXXXXX
and im from Burnaby B.C working off shore at the moment but
im coming over for the holiday and i would love to rent the place.i have
experienced getting riped by people who advertise houses and end up not
getting the place ,please do email me back and let me know the price per
month,deposit and total cost to pay to secure the place prior my arrival, i
would like to know about the utilities available as i would love to do a
6months or one year lease with you so please do email be back with details
about the place so we can proceed,i will make solid arrangements for me
things to be moved in by my hauler so please do get back to me asap..
i await to read from you soonest.thank you ... cheers, XXXXXXXXXX

End of email
________________________________________________________________________________
_____________

Michel Selim
403.200.4222

 

[suzy]

I got 3 similar types of replies from posting on Craigslist this week and wasn`t sure if it was a scam. I gave my name and office address for them to send their rent application forms back. I did ask them to complete the rent application form and didn`t hear back from them. Hope that I am not trapped! What could they possibly do with a name and address?

 

[TerryKruse]

I got the proceeding one last month. The newest one I have is this one. It seems a bit less like the previous scams but ALL of my ads have the price, etc. in them, so I am pretty sure it is a scam. I have an ad running in Craig`s List, Rentfaster, Home Rent and several others so I am not sure where it comes from:

Hello,

I am pleased to contact you about your accommodation which you have for rent. I am 28 years old lady from a good background. Do not smoke, drink nor a party type.I like reading, watching TV (mostly Discovery Programmes) and meeting people, working with Premier Oil & Gas Plc in Republic of Ireland as a Geophysicist and presently on Oil field.

I will be coming to Canada for a research project in less than a month, and which will last between 11 - 12 months. So, I need an accommodation to stay for the period of the research project, and I will like to secure an accommodation before my arrival.

Therefore, let me know if your accommodation is available for me, if yes, send its address with brief description of its vicinity to me. Also let me know the rent cost per month and security deposit.

Thanks for your co-operation,while I can`t wait to read your prompt response.

Cheers,

Blossom Scofield,
Assistant Field Geophysicist

"A town is saved,not more by the righteous men in it than by the woods and
swamps that surround it."
- Henry David Thoreau

"We won`t have a society if we destroy the environment."
-Margaret Mead

 

[ebrahim]

I received 3 similar emails from an ad I have running on craigslist. I deleted them all as they are scams

 

[nimzan]

These scams appear to be more common... here is one I received from a rental posting on rentboard.ca

---------
Dear .....,

Thanks for the quick response, [/font] I want you to be inform that a customer who bought goods from my company we be sending you the payment and i want you to act as the company representative

It will be to the tune of $50,000.00 ( fifty Thousand Dollars).

You will be required to deduct the sum of $7,750 being down payment for the four months and damage deposite , and the balance would send to my office upon my arrival.

I will instruct my creditor to have payment sent to you via overnight express by a specified courier service, i will update you further to that effect.

I hope it is not a difficult task I am asking from you? This is the fastest way i can have this upfront payment. If this is okay with you, please confirm your name,

mailing/residential address and telephone number(s) so i can immediately instruct payment sent to you.
Note please make sure reciepient`s name, mailing address and phone numbers are valid so we dont have future complications.

I await your swift response.

Kind Regards.
Mr James freeman.
+447011130052

MR JAMES FREEMAN [[email protected]]
------------

 

[terri]

After reading these posts yesterday I actually got my first scam on craigslist, thanks for the warning!

Hello,
i am interested in the house you placed an ad on the site.i am David lennon and i am 28 i want to make reservations for your apartment.I can assure you that you will not have no regrets letting out this apartment to me,i am an introvert by nature & i get along much easily with most people.I will be coming over alone,with no family or pets. I do not smoke and i drink very lightly.My reason for moving is because i have three job offers which i am undecided which to choose & the pay is very good. I will be working as a DataBase Adminstrator on Oracle at any one i finaly decide on.At present i am based in london uk but will be relocating to your province in a couple of weeks. Consequent to this and in order to make settling in much easier and quicker i am searching for an accomodation early,I saw your ad on the internet and i am interested in your apartment,so let me know if it is still available so that i can tell my client to make payment for it,So that i can move in as soon as you recieve payment,i wil need your full name and the address you want the payment to be made out to,so that the payment can be made out to you as soon as possble.i am very ambitious,i have always wanted to work outside(Europe) to change my environment and meet new people and make new friends.Please reply me as soon as you read this email.I ll be waiting to hear from you.Kindly contact me via email.
Thank you once more
Yours sincerly
David lennon


Is there was anyway to contact the sender of the email to say "no thanks" without giving out my email address? If I ignore the emial will they just keep coming?

 

[Donal_Ward_McCarthy]

I actually played along with one of these scammers until I received a money order from them for $5000 where I was to cash it and return some of the excess, ( this is how they make their money, you cash a fraudulent money order or bank draft and then return some excess money to the sender). Then I contacted the bank from which the money order was issued and I sent it to their fraud agency so they could someway try and trace it.

This is probably a productive avenue for you to follow, don`t let them know that you are onto them and play all the way until you have a letter from them. Maybe the fraud agencies go as far as to fingerprint!

Donal.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

I asked about this at the police station as I had received one of these a few years ago pertaining to my apparel manufacturing business.

The criminal had acually placed an online order from me, using a stolen credit card. He wanted me to send several pair of Oakley Sunglasses to his address along with the clothing order.

The police told me that unless fraud had actually been committed and I had lost money, they were not interested in looking into it. Apparently crime prevention is not a priority.

I reported the stolen credit card to Visa. That`s another story! It took me several phone calls and a couple of hours of my time to report someone elses card stolen. You can report your own easily enough, but not someone elses. They did thank me. It was the credit card of a US citizen.

 

[PARAMJIT001]

Hi All,
Very interesting string of e-mails. Never came across but i thanks everybody for their comments and input,as this made me aware of a scam.
Thank You

Paramjit Singh

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Just a note:

As soon as proper English isn`t used, red lights go up everywhere for me!