forseti-6

I just recently moved to Bowling Green, KY. I wanted to get a 1br apartment, but in the complex I decided to move to, all they had available were 2bed/2bath apartments. Now obviously for just me, this is way too much room. So I have decided to post an ad on craigslist to rent out one of the rooms. I have received one response and the email correspondence is attached at the end of this message. My gut feeling says it seems as a possible scam or someone messing around. I can't really tell for sure though. The poor grammar, might just be that - poor grammar. But when she started saying she was going to send me a money order (which craigslist strongly cautions about) and me paying her moving fees from the money from the money order, I got a little suspicious. Also, when I requested a scan of a photo id for the apartment management three days ago, I received no response back.

Here is the email correspondence.

Message 1 (she sent to me):
Hello,

I am Mary ...am looking for a roomate or someone to share an apartment with because i will be coming to the state for the next one year,i will want you to get back to me with the update if the room you pasted here is still available for rent.I await your quick response.

Kindest regards..

Mary

Message 2 (my response):
Hello Mary,

Yes, the room is still available. I can take pictures of it if you want. If you're in town and want to check it out, let me know.

My number is xxxxxxxx if you want to call.

Thanks,

Michael

Message 3

Thanks for the response to my introductory email,i will like you to know the full information about me. I was born and razed in Australia ,i am quiet and easy going person to live with. I'm 26 years of age, I am extremely clean,quiet and respectful, I am a sensitive, intelligent, patient and caring person, have a good sense of humor and am easy to get on with. I am a faithful and committed person, who is very considerate of other people's feelings. I don't drug, I don't smoke and i don't drink.. I enjoy going out with my friends to movies, plays, parks, hikes, anything to do with the ocean and horses but i'm cool living with people.I really do appreciate the breakdown details of the room.I must confess i'm comfortable with the cost of the room and its quite reasonable and affordable . I will like to make the payment for the first month ahead of my arrival, and then i will make subsequent payment thereafter as i plan to stay for 12months,'ve told my boss about this and he promised to make sure that he will meet up with the payment so that I can depart from here as scheduled.He also said I will have the advantage to make payment for deposit .I should arrive to US on or before the 15nd of July, so pls keep room for me till my
arrival.He also said my mode of payment will be the Most acceptable,safer and reliable means of payment which is United state certified money order,so get back to me with your name and address so that i can send you the payment as early as possible.

Kindest Regards,

Mary..

Message 4
Hello Mary,

The dimensions of your bedroom is 14 ft x 11 ft. I don't have the dimensions of your bathroom, but you have a full tub, toilet and sink. You can see the diagram here: http://www.fairwaysathartland.com/fl...?UTypeID=11067

Based on your description, you sound like an ideal flat-mate. I'd just like to let you know I'm a pretty clean and considerate person myself, so you won't have any issues sharing an apartment with me.

The address to the apartment is
xxxx
xxxx
xxxx

My full name is "xxxxx"

I have an extra set of keys to the apartment, as well as extra keys for the mail box, all of which I'll explain when you get here.

There is one thing you have to do upon arriving here. The apartment complex management requests all tenants of the complex submit a background check to them for their own records. I have already done this for myself, and it's fairly painless. I think they charge something like $35-50 for it. You can just deduct that from the next month's payment.

I'll try to get some pictures for you tomorrow of the apartment.

Michael

Message 5
Dear Michael,

Thanks for being there for me all this while,I really appreciate it. I want to let you know that i'll make it up to you.The payment will be mailed out to you tomorrow via regular mail and it will take 7 or 8 working days for it to get to your place.. I want you to know that my car,computer and other luggages will be delievered before my arrival,please do let me know if you can be there to help me recieve my stuffs ,it won't cause any problem because my Boss will include the shipper's fee in the payment.......So you will be getting the shipper's fee and the rent fee together.You will just deduct your rent fee and keep remaining money for the shipper till the shipper comes to deliever my things

Hope you can understand me?And i also want you to remove the ad from the site because i cannot afford to miss the room.

I really appreciate you for you have been so nice from the start.

Thank you...

Mary..

Message 6
Dear Michael,

Thanks for the reply..I will forward your name and address to my Boss so that he can send you the payment for the first month rent as soon as possible and i want you to consider the room rented.....I will also like you to confirm this address before the payment is sent Ok;

xxxx
xxxx
xxxx

Thanks and waiting to read from you..

Mary..

Message 7

Hi,

Guess you are doing great over there..I just want to bring it to your notice that the payment had already being mailed out to you and you shall receive it in the next few days..Please do let me know immeditaely you receive the payment,just deduct the rent fee and keep the remaining money till my shipper comes to deliver my stuffs at your place OK..

Thanks and have a lovely day.
Mary.

Message 8
Mary,

Sounds great. I'll let you know when I receive.

Also, for the management office here, do you have a scan of a photo id or something, so I can get your info on file with them. I'm not sure what other info they'll need, but I'll let you know when they tell me.

Thanks.

Michael
-----------------------

Ok and she hasn't responded to message 8 that I sent her. Her previous responses have been within 12 hours and it's been three days since I sent message 8. I started getting suspicious when she mentioned "You will just deduct your rent fee and keep remaining money for the shipper till the shipper comes to deliever my things"

That doesn't sound right to me. Every time I have had something shipped, I have paid before hand rather than at delivery. Craigslist warns against fraudulent money orders because you can cash it, but if it comes back to be a fake, the bank can penalize you. This is a headache I don't care to deal with. My last concern is that I'm trying to rent out my second bedroom. If this person is indeed legit, I have promised her to hold the room and don't want to break that promise. However, if she's a fraud, it's potentially costing me money from potential 'legit' renters. Any thoughts or advice would highly be appreciated.

Final note, my suspicion really began at the first email because of the extremely poor grammar. Last I checked they still spoke English in Australia right? This is almost reminiscent of a Nigerian scam's grammar. Anyways any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

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Willravel

Err on the side of caution here. It could be a scam.

PonyPotato

"I await your quick response" = dead giveaway for a Nigerian scam.

See this thread for ideas about how to respond: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...highlight=scam

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Tully Mars

Some Australian chick wants to move in with you and really knows nothing about you. Does this sound right to you?

Between that and this;

He also said my mode of payment will be the Most acceptable,safer and reliable means of payment which is United state certified money order,so get back to me with your name and address so that i can send you the payment as early as possible.


I'd say scam, but who knows? I'd be supplying personal details right after they deposited twenty pieces of gold in my safe deposit box.

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The_Dunedan

Scam.

Specifically, a variation on a type of Nigerian scam known as the "Violin Teacher."

Person "A" advertises item/service "1"

Person "B" answers ad. Correspondance ensues, and Person "B" offers to pay, usually by certified check or money-order.

Person "A" thinks this sounds great, since such a thing should be virtually foolproof.

Person "B" then explains that a larger-than-needed payment will be sent in this way, and that Person "A" should deduct their payment from the total, the balance to be held/sent/wired to a third party, usually a shipping or travel agent.

Person "A" agrees, gets the check, and does the whole deal. Takes their cash, sends the rest onwards.

At this point, everything's fine until about 2-4 weeks later, Person "A" discovers that the check/money-order was a fake, sometimes an exceptionally good one. They discover this when the Police knock on their door to;

1: Serve them with papers because the bank that cashed the check wants their money back, and/or

2: Arrest them for fraud, check kiting, wire fraud, or any of a raft of charges that could come their way thanks to having been an unwitting part in a sophisticated check-kiting scheme.

It turns out that the "Bank" was a skilled forger in Lagos/Prague/Moscow/Guadalajara, and the "shipping agent" is the forger's cousin. This Nigerian/Czech/Russian/Mexican fellow -has- his money of course, because Person "A" sent it to him...but the Police and banks have no way of even verifying this, much less getting the money back. The bank, therefore, wants -all- their money back from Person "A". With fees, court costs, interest, etc...this can sometimes be tens of thousands of dollars. And of course, Person "A" could always end up in front of a meanass DA who wants another notch on his belt and gets them sent to jail.


I ran into this scam while working in Prague a while back. The DEAD giveaway is the larger-than-requested check with instructions to hold the difference until some unknown third party requests it.

Scam, scam, scam.

snowy

The Cashier Check Scam section of Snopes talks about this scam, though yours is a variation with a money order:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/cashier.asp

The bad grammar is hideous.

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highthief

Scam, 100%.

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forseti-6

Holy cow that link outlines my conversation perfectly. Except the person hasn't asked for money back yet. If/when I do receive the money order, should I just bring it to authorities? Or will they not care?

__________________
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dlish

did she bless your eyes??

definately a scam. any australian born and 'RAISED' in australia would know how to spell the word raised.

also, they will use a female to try and lure you into a false sense of comfort with them.

i say scam

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