Online advertising - Be aware!

[SamEfford]

Recently I advertised a property for rent through a popular website (I will not name the website as I do not believe they had any part in it). I had been speaking with a lady who was very interested in the property and who had also placed a "wanted" ad on the same site for a similar property.

We set up an appointment to view the property, and a couple hours before I received a phone call from her. She asked if I was the owner of the property, or if I was acting as the property manager. I told her that I was indeed the owner of the property.

The reason for her inquiry was that she had been contacted by another "individual" claiming to be the owner however was currently out of the country. This "individual" also claimed to have lived in the house before moving to Nigeria with his family to become a missionary. The address given for the property was correct, however the description and amenities were not (the rent was way too low as well!)

The email she received stated that he would not be able to show the property as he and the keys are in Nigeria; however that wouldn`t be a problem as once he received the rent, damage deposit and security charges he could sent the keys via courier.

When we met to view the property, I alleviated her concerns as we spoke with the current family who is renting and went through the home. She gave me a copy of the email, and I tried to contact the "individual" with the phone number listed, however it was not in service.

As a result of this, I have removed the house number and postal code from all of my online listings to minimize this happening in the future. I hope no one has acted on any emails from this "missionary" which may cause some grief down the road.

 

[pvilay]

Yeah, people have to be really careful with these scams, especially if there is any mention of it from Nigeria. I watched a news broadcast about Nigerian Internet Scams.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Wow! That`s amazing what criminals think of to con people!

QUOTE (SamEfford @ Sep 25 2007, 08:15 AM) Recently I advertised a property for rent through a popular website (I will not name the website as I do not believe they had any part in it). I had been speaking with a lady who was very interested in the property and who had also placed a "wanted" ad on the same site for a similar property.

We set up an appointment to view the property, and a couple hours before I received a phone call from her. She asked if I was the owner of the property, or if I was acting as the property manager. I told her that I was indeed the owner of the property.

The reason for her inquiry was that she had been contacted by another "individual" claiming to be the owner however was currently out of the country. This "individual" also claimed to have lived in the house before moving to Nigeria with his family to become a missionary. The address given for the property was correct, however the description and amenities were not (the rent was way too low as well!)

The email she received stated that he would not be able to show the property as he and the keys are in Nigeria; however that wouldn`t be a problem as once he received the rent, damage deposit and security charges he could sent the keys via courier.

When we met to view the property, I alleviated her concerns as we spoke with the current family who is renting and went through the home. She gave me a copy of the email, and I tried to contact the "individual" with the phone number listed, however it was not in service.

As a result of this, I have removed the house number and postal code from all of my online listings to minimize this happening in the future. I hope no one has acted on any emails from this "missionary" which may cause some grief down the road.

 

[Grant]

Yeah, when you get a letter from the deposed king of Nigeria telling you that he wants you to transfer $10000000000 (or some other large amount of money) for him, you just can`t say no...

Good to inform others of the issue, though.

 

[TerryKruse]

I have a "potential renter" from France. I am not sure if this is a scam or not. Here is the email:

Hello,

I am (I left out the name in case this is real) ,a model from France.I am seeking for a relocation to Canada.In my search for a suitable place, I found your advert..Your advert looks great and it is very okay to me.I would like to know if the dwelling place is still available.I want to know how much I will pay as the security deposit for me to secure this acommodation.I will like to have the place for a minimum of 6 months,so let me know if this will be okay.Also the locational advantage of the area looks interesting and convenient If available,please get back to me with pics if any,also I will love to know how much i need to pay upfront.

All interview and signing of contracts will be done upon my arrival once the place as been secure for me as I will love to pay to secure the accomodation by paying the deposit so as to secure the place till my arrival with a money order . Let me know if this is also acceptable for
payment.

I would be waiting to read from you

Best Regards

I did email back saying that I would require a 12 month lease. I may turn this one down anyway as you never know...
Has anyone else heard of this one?

 

[mortgageman]

Terry,
That`s a total scam. I had a response with almost the exact wording from a "student from England."
Jason

 

[SamEfford]

I am sure with they reply they will want your banking information to deposit the funds.

 

[FayWong]

QUOTE (TerryKruse @ Oct 25 2007, 12:56 PM) I did email back saying that I would require a 12 month lease. I may turn this one down anyway as you never know...
Has anyone else heard of this one?I agree with everyone else here, it sounds pretty bogus. Just is case he is real be sure you tell him the rent and deposits MUST be in Canadian Funds, cheques written on a Canadian bank, for the exact amounts requested as you won`t do refunds. If he is really coming to Canada he should have personal or work contacts so he will be able to find a way to do that. Most likely you will never hear from him again.

 

[MarkReynolds]

Wow, kind of scary.. I have had a few of those Nigerian scam E-Mails but I never knew it was leaking into the Real Estate aspect. Better keep those eyes open! Thanks for the heads up guys.

 

[sdav]

the common avenue for this type of scam, is that they will offer to give you a larger sum than you requested via money order, then you are supposed to send back the difference, but the money order is a fraud, and in a week when that is discovered, you have already sent off the "Difference" and the bank is after you for fraud.

this scam is used in all forms of online advertisement.

dave

 

[Jana]

Hi Sam, I had exactly the same thing happen to me last week most likely on the same free website. After my property rented and I pulled the ad off the site the Nigerian person actually posted my house picture with the same address but all the interior pictures were different, looked like Ikea catalogue pictures. Anyway, I also tried to contact the person in Nigeria but the # was not in service I also contacted the police to see they`re interested in anything like this and they said weren`t but said to contact the website provider to inform them of this scheme. What will people come up with next!