Craigslist Rental Scam Warning (Santa Monica: tenant, utilities, maintenance)

[C4B]

Thanks everyone for responding.

[jfields]

Originally Posted by C4B

Hey there ladies & Gents,

Well I was wondering if you guys can help me out on figuring out if this is one of the frauds that going on out on craigslist world. Well my fiance and I have been looking for an apt here in SF, Ca and found this nice place thats already been furnished and it is a good price etc... I have paste the first email we got back from the supposed owner. Please read and let us know, cause we wouldn't want to get scammed. The funny things is that after we email my info first and last address and thats it no important info was sent. and after a few minutes We got a respond back says that we meet the requierment. That made me think about the whole email, and did some research on scams and found this site.

Thanks.

P.S. All Emails are below. (the email addy that it came from is rentadls@ymail.com) I have more emails if you guys want to read the rest.

Email #1

Hello and thank you for your interest in my apartment,
The apartment is available for rent right now, you can move in
immediately. My name is Lili, the apartment owner, i have moved with
my job to the United Kingdom (Great Britain), to work for the US Gov
in London.

The apartment is located in a very select downtown neighborhood. The
area is very nice, very quiet and safe, it is close to all downtown
attractions, easy access to public transportation. Great Restaurants,
Bars, Pubs and shopping abound in the immediate area, within walking
distance.

The apartment is very spacious (over 1500 sqft) has 2 large bedrooms,
2 full baths, a living room, there is a dining area, a washer and
dryer in the apartment, lots of closet space, it is on the building's
top floors. All the rooms are nicely furnished and the apartment
features a spacious/open modern Kitchen with Stainless Steel
Appliances: range/oven, microwave, dishwasher & refrigerator, lots of
closets and storage space. Air Conditioning, Hardwood floors, Granite
and marble bathrooms, stainless steel appliances, Washer / Dryer in
the unit, 42" LCD TV, DVD, Sound System. It is fully furnished, all
new bedding/linens, all cookware & dishes come with the apartment,
high speed internet, premium cable w/HD, phone, all utilities and 2
Gated Car Parking Spaces Included. Well behaved pets are allowed. Any
maintenance or repairs in the apartment are resolved by a maintenance
company and i will be billed for their service. The price is the same
for the apartment furnished or unfurnished. The rent is for the whole
apartment NOT just a shared room. This is not a sublease, etc.

To get a better impression about the apt see the attached album with
photos of the apartment:

User Stuff - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

US$ $1100.00 / Month : 2 Br 2 Baths Apt. located at 1200 Gough St #15C
San Francisco CA 94109

The rental terms are simple :
The lease can be anything from 3 months to 4 years.
1 Month advance, $1100 Deposit. The monthly rent includes all
utilities and amenities fees.

Since i will be working London, England for the next 4 years I have
insured the apartment and everything in it with the Jp Morgan Chase
Group. The Jp Morgan Chase Group is a Fortune 500 Company, accredited
by the Better Business Bureau and ranked in Forbes List of best
companies so the rental is a trustworthy process. Because the
apartment has many valuables before you can inspect the apartment you
will send the safety deposit via Money Gram to the Jp Morgan Chase
Group. The Jp Morgan Chase Group will guarantee the transaction, you
will receive a receipt for the deposit and they will hold the deposit
locked, unavailable to me so you can access the apartment and review
the lease. If you want to rent the apartment you will have to email
Jp Morgan Chase to release the deposit to me, otherwise they will
refund you the deposit the same day the keys and lease are returned.

If you are comfortable and want to rent the apartment i need you to
tell me about yourself, about the people who will be living in the
apartment.I am looking for someone serious and responsible.

All The Best Wishes,
Lili Babazadeh

Email respond #2 from owner

Hello,
I would like it that you inspect the apartment as soon as possible so you can see for yourself how beautiful it is. The rental process will be done through JP Morgan Chase. You will not send any funds to me. The rental is safe and secure: If you want to rent the apartment all i have to do is start a safe transaction with JP Morgan Chase, they will send you an invoice and details to complete the transaction, you will have to deposit the funds to a JP Morgan Chase agent and confirm the transfer details, the paperwork and keys to access the apartment will be mailed the same day. You will have 5 days to inspect the apartment and review the lease. If you decide not to rent the apartment you will get the money back the same day you return the keys and paperwork, If you decide to rent the apartment all you have to do is sign the lease, fax it and confirm that you have decided to rent the apartment so the deposit can be released to me.
As i have explained in my previous email i am out of the country, i have nobody in the US that can show you the apartment and i have had bad experience in the past trusting the apartment to Property Management companies etc . The apartment has many valuables, electronics, appliances so for insurance the rental will be done via JP Morgan Chase . They are a reputable neutral intermediary that will hold the funds so you can inspect the apartment. I will need your Full Name and Address to start the process with them
Thank you for understanding.

Email respond #3 from owner. (note: this is about 20 minutes after we sent my name and address info.)

Good news, since details have been checked and you meet all the requirements so you can rent the apartment I have started the transaction #WD72177.
You should receive the notification from JP Morgan Chase Co along with all the details to rent the apartment. You will have to locate a money gram agent, send the funds to the JP Morgan Chase Co agent and confirm the transfer details so they can hold the funds, the paperwork and keys to access the apartment will be mailed the same day the funds are verified and confirmed. Let me know if you have received the details to go ahead.

Don't fall for it, it's a scam! I've had scam artists try to get me on Craigslist twice and one of them was very similar to this one. The JP Morgan Chase agent that you are going to send money to, isn't really a JP Morgan Chase agent.

[C4B]

We opt out on the whole thing. Fiance was right, thanks once again for responding..

[alexanderaf]

It's not a scam and perfectly fine to rent from him because he said he is a "kind and honest man". I blindly trust everyone, even absolute strangers looking around nervously and wearing trenchcoats!

[zakkk]

Had the exact same experience. Different wording, but boils down to the same. Guys was also a Reverend, and sent pics. Also had the bad grammar and spelling. Buggers!!

[ashdmode]

I found an ad that seemed too good to be true for a house for rent on craigslist. I actually drove to the house and walked around the property and it matched the pictures he had on craigslist. I sent him an email inquiring about it and this was his response..




Hi,
I did get your response concerning the AD I posted on craigslist. The house is still available but presently I'm not around... I did bid for a portion of petroleum land sometimes ago in West Africa and fortunately I won the bidding so I have to move quickly down to Africa to have my company set up because I will still have to rebid for it in the next 10 years. I came over here with my wife, we both owned the house when we got married. As soon as we settled down here I had a thought of selling the house so I have to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my wife advised against that. She said we may not be able to win the bidding next time, in other to keep our head when we return that we have to keep the house. I reasoned with her and accepted her advise. So I contacted the agent back and requested for my keys and documents. Later we decided to have the house rent out because of maintainance, we would have give the same agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with me later if I let him or her know that I'm letting it out because of maintainance. If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the maintainance. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the house because we won't be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space. But I just had a feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the house and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the house.The rent is $900 and the deposit payment is $1100

ADDRESS 862 W. Vista Dr. San Bernardino , CA 92405

Beautiful custom, 2-story, executive home on hillside, with city lights views, in nice area of North San Bernardino. Giant master bedroom with balcony, huge walk-in cedar lined closet with organizers, Roman tub in master bath. Gourmet kitchen with dining area plus formal dining room, custom bar, French doors, utility rm., family rm. with fireplace, 2 patios, lots of built-ins and custom details! House has fresh paint, new carpet, new garage doors.

862 W. Vista Dr. San Bernardino , CA 92405
Rent $900
Deposit $1,100
Square Feet 2498
Bed 3
Bath 2.5
Available Date Now

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

Full Name______________________________________________ ____
Home Phone ( )________________________
Date of Birth_________________________________
Other Phone ( )___________________
Current Address_______________________________Apt#________ City__________________ State______ Zip________
Reasons for Leaving____________________________Rent $__________Phone ( )____________________________
Are you married____________________________
How many people will be living in the house____________________________
Do you have a pet____________________________
Do you have a car____________________________
Occupation____________________________
Your Exact move in date____________________________
How soon can you make the deposit and first month payment________________________
How soon do you want to receive the keys and documents of the house________________________

House Address
862 W. Vista Dr. San Bernardino , CA 92405

PLS NOTE Drive by and take a look at the exterior of the house because you cannot see the interior of the house.the keys and document are with me and family here in west africa.get back to me after viewing the exterior of the house with the application form filled out so as to proceed in shipment of the keys and document to you after making the payment to me directly,utilities are also included in the rent fee such as water,light,gas,washer,dryer,trash etc

For more inquiries, please feel free to reach me on any of the numbers below
My Cell Number Is (+234-706-660-0837 OR 011-234-706-660-0837)

Best Regards
Harms Brian


Did you notice the similarities of the phone numbers on mine and your emails?? I was very skeptical so I had a realtor friend look up the address and, just as I thought, this guy is not the owner. I really want to confront him but I'm wondering if I should now contact the actual owners and inform them first in case they want to contact him before he changes his name and email address again...????????

[matt345]

Some craigslist scams are so incredibly obvious it’s comical. It must be the same person because I’ve heard some of these countless times. Any time you hear…..

West Africa
I’ll Fed Ex you the keys
Wire the money
I’ll check in every once in a while to make sure you’re taking care of the place

….it’s a scam.

[LizzyNola]

What a crock! Lol, lol

I also saw this for a 3 beadroom home someplace, and the owner lived in Africa! LOL

They want you to send them a deposit, and if you fall for it you will never see your money again, nor will you see the rental.

But, there is one born every minute!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

Actually, I think it's Nigerians.

just read an article in our local Sunday paper last week, not about this, but similar. You know those messages we get telling us about the money waiting for us, well, these companies are mostly in Nigeria as a matter of fact, they are college age kids and one guy claims he made $3000 in one day sending the notifications to people in America. How stupid is that? Not the kids, but greedy people falling for it...?? The same is true with many things on Craigslist.

BTW, this thread is over a year old, but in this case I understand it being drug up again. Hopefully it will be a reminder to people to think before you act and not be so gullible. I don't know if we are stupid, greedy or just too trusting, maybe all three, but there sure are a lot of suckers out there.

Nita

[Bigger Louie]

I once received a similar thing like this on Craigslist. Someone ran an ad for a house and then rented it to several people. Craigslist is aware of what's going on that is why there are warning anyone with a Heartbeat of America to beware of scams.