whats the scam?

Euphoria1z

i have a property advertised for rent, some dude (from guana) viewed it and said yeah ill take it, ill pay the deposit, but im going to need to give 4 weeks notice to my prev landlord. so he'll pay me the deposit so i can take it off the market and he will take the property after 4 weeks. i said yeah ok.

in the eveneing another dude came to view the property, showed interest and came up with a similar story. yeah ill pay u the deposit, you take it off the market, and ill move in after 4 weeks once i come back from guana. i said sure why not.

this happened last yr also, as it happens none of the 3 dudes ever came back to me. the last year one wasnt from guana, but nigeria.

So wheres the scam? they give me my deposit, but naturally they dont get the keys till theyve signed contracts and paid rent in advance. at that stage theyve given me 2 months rent (deposit+1 month rent)..theres nothing to steal thats worth that much money, the other scam they could do is the cheap advertising and keep all the peoples deposit money but they only have 4 weeks to make more than whay theve paid me else they will need to pay me another months rent.

i know 99% that they were scammers, but cant really pin point what scam could have been?

any ideas? im curious

mr_fishbulb

How did they pay the deposit?

st999

How did they pay the deposit?

Stan

princeofpounds

Maybe they sue you for the deposit if you don't protect it (as you have to within 14 days of receipt, not 14 days of the tenancy starting) or return it. Get the 3x penalty or settle with you.

But I doubt that, as judges are not reliably awarding the penalty.

Maybe they ask for the keys 'just to put stuff in' or whatever...

Maybe a coincidence?

Euphoria1z

i dont think its a coincidence. when this happened last year, i didnt think anything of it. but twice this yr on the same day, same story?

nothing has actually happened as none of them gave me a deposit. but im just wondering what they could have done.

i would never give the keys till they signed the contract and gave one month rent in advance (maybe this put them off) but this is how it was advertised, so they knew this already. or maybe they were just chancing it that some amateur might just give the keys on submission of their deposit alone?
scotland has no deposit proctection i dont think.

AMILLIONDOLLARS

Could they be using your address for something illegal. Check your credit report for any unusual activity.

Did you give them any personal details, bank account details etc...


AMD

Jowo_2

Euphoria1z wrote: »

the other scam they could do is the cheap advertising and keep all the peoples deposit money but they only have 4 weeks to make more than whay theve paid me else they will need to pay me another months rent.

But a scammer who gets a tenancy for a property and then pretends to be a landlord to sublet it or fleece multiple parties of rent and deposits isn't going to be inclined to pay the next lot of rent, are they?

No idea frankly what the scam is because face to face scamming is extremely rare compared with the notorious practice of 'cheque overpayment' by scammers posing as tenants which is usually done without meeting them.

Surely you get them to complete a tenancy application form and perform tenant screening on them to verify their ID, credit check, employer references, previous landlord references etc? That tends to put off the majority of scammers and rogue tenants. Any landlord that doesn't screen their tenants is a magnet for dodgy tenants and scammers.

And you get them to sign a holding deposit form which makes clear that you retain this if they fail the checks?

Do you get much pressure from them to hand over keys or return the deposit once they've paid the deposit?

And is there any way they try to make an excuse to 'borrow' the key during the viewings or any opportunities for them to copy it? I've come across a thread on another forum where a prospective 'tenant' made an excuse that required a brief borrowing of the key and the landlord's property then had its furniture stolen that night, no sign of a break-in.

Jowo_2

Euphoria1z wrote: »

nothing has actually happened as none of them gave me a deposit. but im just wondering what they could have done.

i would never give the keys till they signed the contract and gave one month rent in advance (maybe this put them off)

Right, so basically they say they would like to be a tenant but then you never hear from them again?

Could it be fairly innocent - they view multiple properties and later view one that they prefer and then don't bother to contact you to say they've changed their mind?

Or because they detect that you aren't an amateur who is going to hand over the key on the promise of a deposit or rent so they then decide to find another sucker?

I'm interested to find out whether you continue to market the properties until you've received the deposit from a tenant (its bad practice to take a property off the market because tenants often change their mind) and what kind of screening you undertake for their suitability.

AMILLIONDOLLARS

Did you give them a receipt for the money? Could be they will leave it a while, then approach you for a refund. You may not have the cash to hand but issue a cheque. When they have your details via the cheque, bob's your uncle instance access.

Put the money in a safe place for instant withdrawal, plus all relevant paper work.

AMD

(sorry just read that they did not give a deposit but will leave message up just incase it helps anyone else)

Jowo_2

Do you own the property outright? Is it mortgage free?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2005/dec/17/scamsandfraud.moneysupplement

Euphoria1z

no its not mortgage free. the copying of the key is something i hadnt considered but like i say, there really isnt much valuable stuff there for anyone to steal and to go through all this hassle. but i suppose there viewing would identify as to whether there is something valuable that will far outwiegh the deposit.

how can someone access oyur bank account via a cheque? unless i misread the post, but cheques get handed out to business's all the time.