I just contacted someone whose e-mail is very similar to the one above. Thanks for the heads up. I need to contact the realtor and craigslist.

Thanks for the email. I own the 3bedroom Condo/House and also want you to know that it was due to my transfer that makes me and my wife to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own. So for now, We are here in west Africa, our new house and also with the keys of the house, we try to look for an agent that we can give this documents before we left but could not see and we are as well as don't want our house to be used any how in our present that is why we took it along with us. I and my wife came over to West Africa for a missionary work, so i hope you will promise us to take very good care of the house. So get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting home. Hope you are okay with the price of US$700 with hydro,heat laundry facilities, air condition and so on. I am looking forward to hear from you soon, please call us on how to get the house for rent, (2206 West 180th Place, Torrance CA 90504)...

Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you, we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.Please i want you to check the apartment at the address and let me know if you would like it, the apartment is locked and i have the keys.

Best Regards

I'm looking for an apt in Paris and I've gotten 3 of these guys claiming to be crusading in West Africa, and to contact their wives for more information.

Here is another one I found the other day. 

Do not rent this property:

110XX independence cir

I didn't want to post the full address on the net just in case some one actualy lives there. If you find a 2600sqft house for $1000 and all utilities are included, at a similar address then this is a scam.

-X

Listed below is the second response I received from an inquiry I made about a rental posted on craigslist. I had my boyfriend drive by and the house is still under construction with a For Sale sign. I allerted the real estate agency. I am still communicating with the scammer to see if I can get more info. Very sad! People must be really desperate and hurting big time.

Hello,
Thanks for the email. I Dr. Shannon Browning own the 4 bedroom and also want you to know that it was due to my transfer that makes me and my wife to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own. So for now, We are here in West Africa,Nigeria our new house and also with the keys of the house, we try to look for an agent that we can give this documents before we left but could not see and we are as well as don't want our house to be used any how in our present that is why we took it along with us. I and my wife came over to West Africa,Nigeria for a missionary work, so i hope you will promise us to take very good care of the house. So get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting home. Hope you are okay with the price of $800(1 months first payment) with hydro,heat laundry facilities, air condition and so on.  I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP, below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent,this is the address of the home. 

10423 2nd Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98146

Hi guys, first I will explain a lil details. Pls read this, I'am really scared and nervous now because I responded and gave all the info that he asked on that application form, (no i did not give my bank or ss), gave my full address, employment, full names etcc. I then talked to my husband and showed him the email' this is after i had replied and sent back the email. My husband then did alot of research on the internet, that is how he found this website. But he doesnt fully know' what i fully gave our full name and address etc. I live in San Diego CA. pls let me know if this is a Scam or if it is, pls let me know who to talk to, i would like to file this and report it.

I found an ad for rent with an awesome low rent in San Marcos CA. (it is not on craigs list anymore, cant find it again). I emailed that person, couple days later he responded to me with this:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beautiful one bedroom apartment for rentReply to: mellisagreen@ymail.com

Date: 2008-06-25, 3:21PM

Beautiful one bedroom apartment well designed and newly refurbished in

Spring 2007 with a classic style, the apartment offers a welcoming and

cosy environment, ideal for feeling right at home.

The entrance to the apartment opens up on a large living room with two

largewindows. The sitting area offers a large convertible sofa bed

(160x200), a matching ottoman and a glass coffee table, whilst the

dining area offers a table for 4/6 people with matching cupboards, in

front of the open plan kitchen, fully equipped with all necessities

including a microwave oven.

The bedroom, with the same hardwood flooring, colour scheme and

southern exposure as the living area, offers a large double bed

(160x190), a closet with sliding doors and a comfortable en-suite

bathroom with a shower with hydro massage, a basin, a bidet and a

toilet.The apartment is located in a very silent and peaceful street,

allowing for very relaxing and pleasant stays.For more information

contact me via email.

108 Jersey Street google map yahoo map

cats are OK- purrr

dogs are OK- wooof

Location: Boston

it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

another scam...

*****

Hello,

 My house is still available for rent for 600 pounds including the utilities, a 2-minute walk to the shopping area . It has been recently refurbished with great attention to detail such as mahogany floors, Pls i want you to note that,i will solicit for your absolute mentenance of this house and want you to treat it as your own,is that taken,as i said earlier it is not the money that is the main problem  but want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad  to see it neat when i come for a check up.i do that once in a while.I also want you to let me have trust in you as i always stand on my word.      

 

This are the flat details that you might need from me incuding  the amenities in the flat.


 Landing  22'1" x 5'10" ( 6.73m x 1.78m )
Reception room  17'0" x 16'0" ( 5.18m x 4.88m )
Kitchen  13'0" x 11'0" ( 3.96m x 3.35m )
Bedrooms  12'10" x 10'5" ( 3.91m x 3.18m )
Bathrooms  6'10" x 5'10" ( 2.08m x 1.78m )
Guest WC  5'0" x 2'10" ( 1.52m x 0.86m )

 

Amenities 
.............................. ............
# Bedroom : 1
# Bathroom : 1
# Extra Toilet : 1 
# Extra Guest Room: 1 
# Sofa Bed : 2
# Bed Linen
 
Accommodation Features
.............................. ..................... 
Mahogany Floor : 
Heater : 
Central Heating :
Equiped Kitchen : 
Tv: Cable/Satellite TV: 
Video/Stereo: 
Internet : 
Air Conditioning:
• Full Kitchen
• Refrigerator:
• Garage/Car park
• pets  allowed.
 
 Kitchen Features
...................... ...........
Washing machine:
Juice Machine : 
Iron : 
Toaster: 
Oven :
Dishwasher : 
Coffee Maker :
Microwave : 
Refrigerator:
Stove:


 PLS KINDLY FILL THIS RENT APPLICATION FORM AND  THEN GET  BACK TO ME TODAY

1)Your Full Name

 

2)Present Address(where you reside now) & Phone Number


3)How old are you?


4)Are you married?


5)How many people will be living in the house?


6)Do you have a pet?


7)Do you have a car?


8)Occupation?


9)When are you willing to move in

 

Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt in your name and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the documents and the keys to you,please we are giving you all this based on trust and again i want you to stick to your words,We are putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this property of ours.
 pls call my manager who is in the uk on  07024 068 450.so he will cal me after you have called him and then he will mail me if i can send you the keys. 

I made mistake of calling Africa, I need to call my ph company and make sure that call wasn't the scam... but see below the emails. The man I talked to in Africa, was very pushy and thats what made me question the deal. then I talked about it with a friend of mine and he googled Africa rental scams. im still pissed....thanks to anyone who made this scam available for others protection

"Thank you very much for taking your time to mail me.How are you doing  today?l must tell you that it is my sincere pleasure to write you back and to let you know that the apartment you are making enquiry of is still available,the monthly fee is $600,available from now,utilities  included Gas,Heat, water ,Light and a secured parking space. 

Let me quickly introduce myself to you.My name is Vivien lopez and my  husband name is Garry Lopez,my husband is the owner of the apartment you are making enquiry of, but right now he's in West Africa on a missionary  work.l was suppose to go with him but some months before he travelled l had a very serious car accident,that affect my back bone and brain,now l am using wheel chair and l find it  very difficult to talk   but l can  communicate through email after rest,that is the reason why l did not travelled  with him,l am staying with my mother in England Uk you can reach my mother and my younger brother with our home phone +447024057103

Actually me and my husband  both resided in our apartment before he  travelled to West Africa on a missionary call,so we both agreed to rent/lease our apartment to somebody that can take proper care of it,because we will not like to experience what we experienced from our last  tenant,she destroyed most of our properties ,and l know how much my husband  spent to repair the things our last tenant destroyed,to be very honest  with you, a whole lot of people are contacting me regarding our  apartment but l am not sure of who to accept due to our past experience,so  we're taking  our time to look for a responsible and a very honest tenant  that will take proper care of our home  since me and my husband are both  far  from home,although my husband is a very busy man due to the  nature of his job,but he said  if  l find a responsible tenant that can  promise to take care of our apartment,l should rent it out to he/she.
 
We don't ever want to take the risk of putting our apartment in care of  an agent again,because our last agent just leased our home to a lady that almost destroyed all that my husband has suffered for,since my husband is very busy he said l should be very careful with the kind of  person l rent out our apartment to,but if you can assure me that if  l let you rent our apartment,you will take proper care of it,l  will be glad to make you our new tenant to be. Here is the address of our apartment ( 1016sherman St,Watertown Ny) As soon as l hear from you l will send you more information  about our apartment and if my husband is okay with you,Expect to read  from  you soon,once again thank you very much for the time you took in  mailing me l must tell you that l really appreciate it.

Yours Sincerely

Hello,

How are you doing today? hope great if so glory be to God Almighty.However, i was informed by my mom that you called my husband and you both concluded on receiving the keys and now you said you are not willing to make the payment for the shipment well, all is good.You can go ahead and cheeck out our home but remember that you can't have acess inside and that is the reason why my husband said that you should make the payment for the deleivery charges and after you have acess inside and you are plaesed with our home you will then balance up your 2months rental fee.

Below is the Fedex charges list you are adivce to pick the one you will prefer to use if you are still willing to proceed.

24 Hrs Delievery:$265
48 Hrs Delievery:$205
72 Hrs Delievery:$180

If you are willing to proceed kindly get back to me so that i can forward you my husband personal information which you will use to make the shipment payment."

Here are a few scams that I encountered:

picture 16K   View   Download

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picture 16K   View   Download                       And This one too!   Thanks for your interest in my property, the property is available now, in fact it has been available for the past three months but as i told you on phone yesterday, i just relocated to Lancashire, Manchester to a newly acquired property, there is no problem about the viewing of the apartment, but what i want you to understand is the fact that i have been fooled on so many occasions by time wasters and unserious people here on the internet.  For instance, i arranged for viewing with a couple about a month ago, they provided their individual bank statements and i decided to trust them and come all over from Manchester to London for them to view my apartment, firstly, they never showed up at the agreed time, when they later showed up at an hour after the agreed time, and later after the viewing, they were pleading that they didn't have the money to pay at hand and that i should reduce the rent for them by 30% which i can't do for them. The most unfortunate thing that happened that day was when were going back to Manchester, it was very late in the night,we had a fatal accident in which my expectant wife had a miscarriage, and i suffered some losses and my former Lawyer who is now late, died during that journey.  So, you can see that I have lost so many things just for the fact that i based all that i did on mere trust. So ever since i decided to request for Proof of Commitment from any interested tenant in my apartment. I must make you understand that the fact that I don't receive money from people until after the viewing of my apartment and at the end the day he/she likes my apartment, then they can pay me at any time agreed on. I don't find it easy telling you my personal affairs but i must let you know what i have gone through in the course of renting out my lovely apartment. Moreover, this Proof of Commitment is what we landlords in the UK now use to get rid of time wasters and unwanted people here on the internet. Get back to me so that we can proceed about this contract. You can as well reach me on 07031943571   And... Chizoma Igbokwe <chizzysquash@yahoo.co.uk> Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 1:08 PM Reply-To: chizzysquash@yahoo.co.uk To: P D <distefanop@gmail.com> Hello    How are you doing today?I just got your mail. The apartment is £200 per week and you are required to pay a 1month and 2 weeks deposit,all bills inclusive.I am looking to rent for a long term lease and a minimum of 3months and maximum of 2years.Unfortunately,I am currently in Liverpool with my mum,she is very sick now and she is undergoing a surgery operation so i have to stay with her so before I can come and show you around for the viewings,I need to know how serious you are about the renting the property .The flat comprises of bedroom,Living Room,bathroom, spacious open plan kitchen, .         For instance,I organized a viewing for some professionals last week and they refused showing up and I came all the way from Liverpool.Hope you understand my reasons for saying all this? where are you coming from? Thanks Hellen ONE MORE: Thanks for the email and also yes My husband in respect of Rev CASTELLON  owned the place and also want you to know that it was due to my husband transfer that makes us to leave the place and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a resposible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person which is reliable and responsible that will rent it to take it as if it were its own.So for now,Am here in Maryland USA right now our new house and also with the keys/document of the place,we try to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as dont wnt our house to be used any how in our present that is why we toook it along to us here and as you know that,my husband over in the West Africa for a Mission of God,so I hope you will promise us to take very good care of the home.So get back to me on how you could take care of our home or perhaps experience you have in renting the home.Hope you are okay with the price of 150pounds  per week, I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible so that i can forward you an application to fill out and discuss on how to get the house for rent,also are you ready to rent it now or when?you can view our room picture at the attach file. Thanks so much Diaz   As you can see, I've had a tough time trying to find a real place in London.

I like browsing in craigslist, i aquired on several houses and 3 of them we're scam, obvious emails and same emails described on here....So annoying and wasted time for us, I don't know who to believe. One of the scammer said..."Sorry About people copying my ad on my house" ... iknew he was a scam because the following letter after that was the same scam letter ive seen all over. It is rediculous! I wish someone out there track them before they scam more and more people.

This just happened to me, but I cannot find the rightful owner of the house. Does anyone know what I need to do besides contact craigslist? Here is the ad link... http://atlanta.craigslist.org/apa/832434739.html

Thanks!

Jess

I recently responded to a ad on craiglist with the same type of responses that have been listed here, here is the email that I responded to and the response from the possible scammer.Hello Dear, Thanks for the email and it is my gladness  hearing from you.i am the owner of the house you are making enquiry of.Actually I  resided in the house with my family,such as my wife and my only daugther before and presently we had packed due to my transfer from my working place and now situated in the (West Africa Nigeria) and presently my house is still available for rent ..including the utilities like hydro,washerand security,it is furnised but  if u which to move in with your furnishes no problem.. i went for a Crusade in the West Africa .
 
Pls i want you to note that,i am a kind and honest  man and also i spent alot on my property that i want to give you for rent,i will want you to take absolute maintenance of my house and want you to treat it as your own,i,it is not the money the main problem  but i want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad  to see it neat when i come for a check up.
 
SO IF YOU ARE REALY INTRESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE  RENTAPPLICATIONS FORMS BELOW
RENT APPLICATION FORM
 
Also,Pls let me get this answer.
 
FIRST NAME:__________________
MIDDLE NAME: _________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
HOME PHONE (____) __________
(CELL)PHONE (____) __________
(WORK)PHONE (____) __________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
PRESENT ADDRESS: _____________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIPCODE: ____________
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
DO YOU HAVE A PET: _____________
NAME OF PET: _____________
KIND OF PETS: _____________
DO YOU SMOKE? ______________
DO YOU DRINK? ______________
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,Note that the keys and documents of my house is with me here in west africa.please we are giving you the house base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do notl et us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this
                                                             
HOUSE INFORMATION
                                                           PROPERTY DESCRIPTION:
This home is TURNKEY with a newer washer/dryer and fridge.Email for more details. This home will be rented quick! Property Information
Type: Houses and Homes for Rent
Bedrooms: 3 Bedrooms
Bathrooms: 2 Bathrooms
Square Footage: 1640 (Approx.)
Policies
Pets:
Dogs Allowed.
Cats Allowed.
Smoking:
Not Specified. Available NOW! Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms:2 Rent per month: $700 Deposit Req'd:500 Application Fee: $0 Parking: Reserved. Available:  Now ADDRESS: 2909 Margeaux Dr ..Lancaster, TX 75134 Pet policy: Ok Smoking inside policy: no smoking Lease terms: AS LONG AS YOU Wish YOU CAN CONTACT ME ON +234-803-855-9566  Or  011-234-803-855-9566.. Thanks

So please be aware. 

Last night when I got home for work and couple sat on my stup and were crying.  I asked what happen and they told me this horrible story.  They said the landlord Michael Ruiz who's real name was Michael Cortez rented out the apartment to them for $1200.00.  He told them to move in the 17th and he will give them the keys.  When they got to my house  they called him for the key or their money back.  He said he spent it and he will give it back Octuber.  So he stopped picking up the phone and the couple had no money of place to stay.  He is the twist.  Michael Cortez was a tenant of ours for 5 months. He didn't pay rent for two months or COn Edison.  He sold electricity from the other floors to keep living in the apartment for free.  He moved out Sept 15, and broken in the 16th for something he forgot. No my grandmother who is the real landlady has tenants moving in Oct.   We want this creep caught.  The couple scamed were from Spain and they didn't know the scams going around in Craigs List.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN A GENUINE AD WHEN LOOKING FOR RENTAL:

PICTURES, LOTS OF SHOTS (NOT YOUR TYPICAL FRONT SHOTS EITHER)

LOOK FOR PERSONAL WORDS FROM THE RENTER - ONLY SHE OR HE WILL CARE ABOUT

PHONE NUMBERS

RENT SHOULD BE COMPARABLE TO GOING RENTAL RATE FOR THE AREA. TOO LOW & TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?? ITS A SCAM

GET AN EMAIL RESPONSE FROM ANY PART OF AFRICA - ITS A SCAM

EMAIL IS IN REALLY BAD ENGLISH? ITS A SCAM

The ad has been reposted on Craigslist.  It is posted for only $800 and I just found that to be an unreal price for the neighborhood and the space.  I emailed him and got the same email as above.  I have reported this to CL's as a scam and hopefully noone has fallen for it. 

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/apa/898969800.html

I posted an ad on craigslist to rent my home and was sent an email from an "employee" of the United Nations who is traveling to Kentucky for work.  On checking the originating IP address at http://www.arin.net/whois/ I found that the email originated in Africa though she states she is currently working in Atlanta, GA.  In addition, there were many other clues that have previously been posted by others, i.e. no references to anything that was in my ad, broken english, and a desire to rent sight unseen. 

Just thought I'd add another version of this scam to the list of things to watch out for and pass on the IP checking website. 

David

thanks people and internet. I almost got scammed. what a relief..

Hi   
  Thanks for the email. I Johnson Ekaterina H owns the house and also it is situated and also want you to know that it was due to my transfer that makes me and my family to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take a very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean all the time and the possible tenant will see the house as his or her own.
   We have left the US and we are currently in the West Africa for a program called 'World Conference Against Racism Youth Summit, Empowering youth for combating racism, HIV/AIDS, Poverty and Lack of Education, the program is taking place in three major countries in Africa which is Sudan, Ghana and Nigeria. It as been a very sad and bad moment for me, the present condition that I found myself is very hard for me to explain. If you will be the right tenant to our house, we will get the keys and documents of the hou se sent to you via courier services as soon as all terms are settled.
 
 HOUSE ADDRESSES :5101 River Rd #1211 Bethesda, MD 20816.Huge 1 brm apartment located at River Road and Little Falls Pkwy in Bethesda, MD, 1-2 miles from the DC Line. Bus runs regularly and METRO is just a few minutes away. Shopping and restaurants within walking distance. Hardwood floors redone, large closets including walk-in in master bedroom. It is a fully furnished unit, all furniture is from Ethan Allen, has TV and DVD player, free Internet and cable TV. Wall of glass and balcony in the living room and huge window in bedroom. 1 Garage Space
   All types of pet allowed and Additional monthly charge of $80 for pets.....You can drive down there to take a look at it and also Available now!.     I will be online through out to get back to you as soon as you are able to get back to me. I would want to know how soon you would want to move in, as I will be taking a 2 month upfront payment which mean the first and second months you will be staying in the house including some utilities (Electricity, Water, Internet and Garbage). I am asking for $1000 and I believe we should be able to help ourselves. I am accepting $1000 including utilities because I want you to take a very good care of the house while I am away.
   I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP so that i can forward you an application to fill out and discuss on how to get the house for rent over to me so that I can get the keys and papers sent to you via FedEx or ups e.t.c, also are you ready to rent it now or when? Await your reply. I will be willing to send the inside view of the building if you demands for it.
    I could let you remain in the house till I come back if you are a good tenant and you can reach me on +2348024064907.
 
Thanks

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I am currently looking for house rentals on craig's list and it saddens me to see a good deal and doubt it's true because of the numbers of scams out there. I think most of them are legit, well the ones I have emailed. I make sure to only share my first name and the date I want to move in. So far, the people that have responded have set dates for appointments, so I'm assuming they are legit. Could it still be a scam?

I did receive two that seemed like scams, one was a "minister" doing missionary work. The other refused to give me any answers to my questions and sent an application which I refused to fill out or send. I spamed both users.

However, there is one that I think might be a scam but I'm not 100%. It's a 3 bedroom home for $975/mo which is rediculously cheap which is the first red flag. Then he asked me to do a credit report before the appointment, and said he'd give me the address then because someone egged his house before. I told him I did not feel comfortable doing that, and needed to discuss it with my roommates. I'm just going to leave it alone, unless credit checks before applying are normal. I'm researching and looking for more legit places. Does this sound like a scam? I sent him another e-mail from another account pretending to be another person to see what his response is, but he hasn't replied.

Your help is highly appreciated!