Dissecting a Rental Scam Email
October 15, 2008 at 6:16 pm | Posted in Tips to Avoid Scams | 4 CommentsTags: rental scam tips
There are commonalities with all rental scam emails. Below are some tips when dissecting a rental scam email.
- Does the email start out with Sir / Madam?
- Are there misspellings in the email?
- Are there character mistakes in the email? i.e Hello,my nameis Susie.
- Is there excessive capitalization?
- Does the email reference God, UK, Cashiers Check, Doctor, Nigeria, Reverend, etc.
- Is the email from a free email provider. i.e gmail, yahoo, aol, hotmail.
- Does the email refer to another person or agent?
- Does the email reference wanting to move in site unseen?
If the email has a majority of these commonalities, then the chances are very good it is a scammer. If you are unsure, it is best to not reply to the email.
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Great site! I would also add if the renter wants to send you a cashier’s check or money order for payment, and it is for more than the agreed on amount, and you are supposed to wire that “overage” to someone then it is a scam.
Shawn Mosch
Co-Founder of ScamVictimsUnited.com
There is strength in numbers!
Connect with us through
http://www.retaggr.com/page/ShawnMosch
Comment by scamvictimsunited— April 19, 2009 #
Vacation rentals of south florida is a company to be aware of.They take your deposit and then demand more than agreed to.If you dont comply they keep your deposit .Its seems thats there shake and they squeeze you just before you leave.buyer beware
Comment by carlo— December 1, 2011 #
Hey here is one I just recieved. Sounds to good to be true. the email was from amanda_hymas@yahoo.com Please let me know what you think…
Hello Codi,
Thanks for your response concerning my ad. The house is much available for now and it’s a 2-bedroom home. There are 1 full bathrooms and 1 partial bathroom.I’m the owner of the home and I and my wife just moved out recently because we came over to Africa for the Holidays and my Hospital’s Project,Doctors without Borders and we would be here for least a year to contribute in our own little way to the service of mankind. The decision to give the house out for rent is because of this project.
The house is in perfect condition that’s why we want someone responsible to be there in our absence. We are more interested in the state of the house in our absence than the cash. We would be very pleased if you took the house as if it were yours. So for now, we are here in Nigeria, West Africa, our new house. We tried looking for an agent to leave the keys with we couldn’t get any,we were not comfortable/satisfied with the previous one,whose sign post might still be there. Due to our absence we have decided to make some compromise,which we very much feel is to your favor,as we indeed understand the peculiarities of our absence and we know you would find our terms and conditions acceptable.We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family, so if you know you can’t give the house the neatness it deserves please don’t contact me. However, if the reverse is the case, get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps your experience in renting homes. Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $595 and a security deposit payment of $500 with hydro, heat, laundry facilities, air-condition and a dishwasher. I am looking forward to hearing from you ASAP.
Kindly confirm your interest by filling the form below:
TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME:__________?
MIDDLE NAME:__________?
LAST NAME:__________?
PROFESSION:__________?
PHONE:
(CELL)PHONE__________?
(WORK)PHONE__________?
(HOME)PHONE__________?
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
PRESENT ADDRESS: _____________________
CITY: _______________
STATE:______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING__________?
IF THIS HOUSE IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________?
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________?
IF YOU HAVE A PET,
NAME OF PET: _____________?
KIND OF PETS: _____________?
HABITS
DO YOU SMOKE ______________ ?
DO YOU DRINK ______________?
DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT? ____?
HOW SOON CAN YOU COME UP WITH THE DEPOSIT ?______________________
Looking forward to hearing from you with these details so I could file it in case of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you and also so we can discuss on how to get the documents and the keys across to you. You can reach me on +2348097044314,please do not add an extra +1,make sure your line allows international dialing,so you can call for more details.
Thanks and we’re hoping to welcome you to our house in our absence.Find attached some pictures of the house,you could also drive by for confirmation(1002 Winslow Avenue, Richland WA).i hope you get to like it.
Regards
Dr.Amanda Hymas
Comment by Codi— February 24, 2012 #
I am looking for a house to rent in panama city florida.. I was on craigslist and this is what i found..
Hello,
Thanks for your email, I personally own the house, we want our property to be well taken good care, and there are some Precaution in which i do give out to tenant willing to rent my house which brings about safety of a home, so please don’t be offended. But if you are still capable of renting my house the precaution goes this way..
You must keep my house clean including the surrounding, you must know the way in which you use the stove so as to avoid fire outbreak,you must not disturb the neighbor. We decided to rent out the property due to our transfer to (West Africa) on a Missionary Work because, in a church here named World Mission, so we are renting it out since we need someone to take good care of the property on my absence.
Have this in mind you must know the kind of person that i am. Nevertheless i am giving you this Precautions because of what corresponded between me and my last tenant. the keys and documents are with us here in West Africa … so i will need to ship them to you before you can occupy the house but you can drive by the house anytime to take a look.
Pets are Welcome!!!
Living Building Square Footage
Number Of Bedrooms: 2
Number Of Bathrooms: 2
Rent: $700
Deposit: $500
Property Address: 1305 Calhoun Avenue, Panama City FL 32401
SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE RENT APPLICATION FORM BELOW.
****RENT APPLICATION DETAILS****
Please if you are ready now to occupy the house kindly provide the information below for record purpose
PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Full Name__________? Home Phone ( & nbsp; )__________?
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__________?
Present occupation :__________?
Do you agree to pay the payment before you move in:__________?
Earliest possible date of deposit and first month rent payment:__________?
How soon do you want to receive the keys__________?
Move In Date__________?
Your Family Pictures__________?
Are you a section 8 applicant :__________?
Do you work late night :__________?
Do you smoke :__________?
Do you drink :__________?
Looking forward to hearing from you with all this details so that I can present it to my family, pray over it (because I consult the Almighty God before making any decision and if accepted, and have them stored in my file for the purpose of issuing the receipts to you and contacting you. Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the keys to you, please we are giving you all this based on trust and again I will want you to stick to your words, you know that we are very far apart now and only putting everything into God’s hands and hope that you will not let us down.The house will be available for rent for a period of five and a half years so you have a choice of deciding how long you intend staying there. For more inquiries email me ,
Thanks and God bless you.
Ashley M Washington
you can rech me at +2347045698588
So my question now is what do i do with it? It looks like an obvious scam when i read it i was like… wow what in the world kind of whack job is this? The address exists, and it is available for sale not for rent.
Comment by Brienn Rockhill— April 9, 2012 #