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Parents have a flat to rent - think this is a scam!
bexsmum
Posts: 116 Forumite
Hi everyone,
My parents have a flat for rent. They advertised it on gumtree and got an email from a (so called) freelance journalist working in France.
My parents aren't daft but thought I'd post this anyway.... this is part of the email this woman has sent to my dad :
Concerning payment, I have contacted my client who i worked for while he was in (pairs France)but now based back in uk and he promised he will make out payment to you,he will be paying you in excess, cos he's taking care of my accommodation and traveling fees.He would be paying you £3,700.
As soon as you get the check,get it deposited in your bank.When it gets cleared, pls deduct the cost of the accommodation for a month plus the deposit and send the remaining balance,which would be for my flight expenses and my living allowance for the short period,The balance should be sent to my traveling agent whose information i would give to you as soon as you receive payment. I want you to see this as a favor you'll be willing to do for a tenant. As soon as i get there, i will make preparations for the remaining months, including all bills. Pls i want you to do this for me in good faith. if you comply,do not hesitate to provide me with these information.
Am I right - this seems like a scam to me...... Anybody heard anything like this before?
Thanks, Bexsmum
PS - I love all the text speak in a professional email and also the misspellings......
My parents have a flat for rent. They advertised it on gumtree and got an email from a (so called) freelance journalist working in France.
My parents aren't daft but thought I'd post this anyway.... this is part of the email this woman has sent to my dad :
Concerning payment, I have contacted my client who i worked for while he was in (pairs France)but now based back in uk and he promised he will make out payment to you,he will be paying you in excess, cos he's taking care of my accommodation and traveling fees.He would be paying you £3,700.
As soon as you get the check,get it deposited in your bank.When it gets cleared, pls deduct the cost of the accommodation for a month plus the deposit and send the remaining balance,which would be for my flight expenses and my living allowance for the short period,The balance should be sent to my traveling agent whose information i would give to you as soon as you receive payment. I want you to see this as a favor you'll be willing to do for a tenant. As soon as i get there, i will make preparations for the remaining months, including all bills. Pls i want you to do this for me in good faith. if you comply,do not hesitate to provide me with these information.
Am I right - this seems like a scam to me...... Anybody heard anything like this before?
Thanks, Bexsmum
PS - I love all the text speak in a professional email and also the misspellings......
Now Mrs! Still mum though.... 
Holiday 2013
January - Dubai
August - Disney World & New York
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Comments
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:j You answered your own question :j
Its a scam;):j I have a persecution complex. Everytime I pass a shoe shop they persecute me till I buy them:j0 -
Yes. Well known Scam
You bank the cheque, give them the overpayment. The cheque you bank is a fake/stolen, so money is taken back off you. Person you sent the overpayment to is untraceable.0 -
It's know as a 419 scam - usually originating from Nigeria. See here for other examples:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/nov/10/money.scamsandfraud
If you want a laugh google Scambusters, who have the time and energy to play silly games with these fraudsters.:D0 -
It's know as a 419 scam
Sorry tbs624 it's not a 419. That's the 'Dead Dictator' or 'advance fee' scam and as you say mainly originates in West Africa so you can often spot it by checking the IP address of the reply email if there is one. That scam asks for fees upfront to release megamillions of hidden funds and relies mainly on criminal complicity.
This one is the so called 'Criminal Overpayment ' scam and is very prevalent on classified sites where a contact address is openly displayed on the advert (As is the case on GumTree.) It relies on the vagaries of the cheque clearing system to allow a bank to tell you "yes that cheque's cleared" only to find that it is later shown to be fraudulent. It is very much more geographically widespread than the 419.
You can read a fuller description here.0 -
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Fraudbuster - That's the old 419 again. It's NOT what OP is facing.0
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Take the cheque Don't actually bank it and fail to return the left over to the sender if they query say its not yet cleared after a week say the bank have asked for a meeting and would like the sender to attend also. If you never hear from them again at least youve taken a stolen cheque out of circulation0
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Sorry tbs624 it's not a 419 I stand corrected jimc. My understanding was that these are all fraudulent variations on a theme:
http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/419.htm0 -
Thanks everyone - Just wanted someone to say I was right!
BexsmumNow Mrs! Still mum though....
Holiday 2013January - DubaiAugust - Disney World & New York0 -
Take the cheque Don't actually bank it and fail to return the left over to the sender if they query say its not yet cleared after a week say the bank have asked for a meeting and would like the sender to attend also. If you never hear from them again at least youve taken a stolen cheque out of circulation
I would strongly advise against this. You can't imagine the sort of people you would be getting mixed up with and how they could retaliate.
My advise is forget about it and have no further communication with them. At all.0
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