Rental Scam! Red Flags and How to Avoid.

[Charlotte285]

*The reason why I started a new coversation regarding rental scams is because "the owner" I contacted sounded legit and seemed to know Airbnb long-term rental rules. Different from other scamming stories I read online, he did not ask me to transfer money outside of Airbnb (at least not yet). Instead, he indicated that everything, including the payment and the rental contract, will go through Airbnb. However, he still raised lots of red flags (details down below). After contacting Airbnb Customer Support, they confirmed that the emails were sent by an unauthorized party.*

*From what I know and hear, Airbnb DOES NOT have local agents to help handling the rental matters.*

*Check the website URLs. Should be under "www.airbnb.com". Otherwise are fake.*
*If you are in doubt, contact Airbnb Customer Support before taking any actions (including clicking links in the emails if any).*  

For the past few weeks, I have been searching for an apartment to rent in Miami. I found this too-good-to-be-true listing on both rental website (Zumper) and advertisement on Facebook Marketplace. For those who don't have much idea about Miami rental price: normally a 1 bed/1 bath apartment cost around $1,200+ just the place itself. This listing offers $1,000 only for a 2bed/2bath townhouse including all utilities (water, electricity, internet etc.). Out of curiosity, I made contact through Facebook message. It was later on directed to Zumper for "the owner" to contact me via email. At first he sounded cool (tho explained a little too much), but soon rasied lots of red flags once he mentioned Airbnb. 

1. No listing post available on Airbnb site.
2. Described Airbnb as "the biggest international website dealing specifically in rental properties." 
3. Ask for information in order to "provide Airbnb with your details."
   (Never heard hosts booking for renters on Airbnb. Should be the other way round!)
4. Only allows potential tenants to check on the property after paying full amount deposit (in my case $1,000).
   (Mentioned refund but do not trust them! Why don't you allow people to book one day stay with a discounted price (or even in full) to check on the property?) 
5. "The property looks like in the pictures."

Other detials I found weird:

- Almost exact wording as other Airbnb scams people shared online. "If you decide to proceed with this transaction, ..."

- Keep mentioning Madrid/Spain. Okay, I get it. You live in Madrid/Spain. 

- Interesting timing. He sent me emails at 6:58pm, 10:05pm, and 10:43am EST. I did a little math, it should be 12:58am, 4:05am, and 4:43pm Madrid/Spain time. Sounded like a hardworking person who is very eager to rent out his property in Miami/USA.

Following are the emails:

#1
Hello,
My name is Miguel Rufino Garcia and I am the owner of the property I am happy to let you know that it is still available for long or short term rental. I bought this property for my daughter during her studies in the US, but now she is back home in Spain, so I'm renting the place for unlimited time (obviously preferable for long periods).
The property looks like in the pictures. The utilities (cold/hot water, electricity, wireless broadband Internet, digital TV, 1 parking spot, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine, etc.) are INCLUDED in the price of $1,000 per month. One month deposit of $1,000 is also requested and fully refundable once you decide to leave the apartment (with a 30 days notice before). As from my side, I will never ask you to leave the apartment because my daughter is permanently living here in Madrid/Spain, so we won't disturb you.
Before we proceed I would like to know a little something about you, like how many persons you intend to live in the property, and for how long.
All the best from Spain,
Miguel

#2
Hi again,
Everything sounds good, but as I said, I live in Madrid/Spain and unfortunately i cant be present to deal in person. I can arrange to rent the apartment from Spain through AIRBNB, which is the biggest international website dealing specifically in rentals properties.
I hope you are familiar with Airbnb, but if not i'll explain you how it works..
If you decide to proceed with this transaction, I will need your phone number along with your full name, the date when you want to enter in the apartment, how many people would live there and for how long.. Then I will start the process through Airbnb here in Spain, providing them with your details. Next you will receive a notification message with all the instructions that you need to follow in order to complete the process and receive the keys with the rental contract.
This is the only way i can proceed, so hopefully you will find it ok in order to secure the apt in your favor...
Let me know,
Miguel

#3
Hello again,
At this moment i dont have it listed on Airbnb, but if you are interested, Airbnb will send you a notification and you can see the listing with pictures and description on Airbnb website. Also on the notification, you will receive the steps on how you need to proceed in order to book the apartment. Everything will be thru them, including the payment and sign of the rental contract. Once you confirm the booking with Airbnb, an agent from them will show you the apartment. However, they will ask you to pay them the security deposit in amount of $1,000 before that. They will hold your funds and they wont release anything to me until you have checked the apartment, you decide to rent it and we sign the rental contract. At any time, you can request for a refund if you are not happy with the apartment.
Please send me your full name, phone number, the date when you want to enter in the apartment, how many people would live there and for how long.
Looking forward to receive your email.

[Diethe0]

And here comes the second mail with the airbnb advice:

Hello and thank you for writing to me.
I'm really selecting my tenants, so if you agree to do it via airbnb, add me on Whatsap, my number is +34 685 22 75 95  , so we can discuss all the details, including my ownership link on Airbnb.
As I said, I am currently working in Spain, the visit can therefore only be organized when airbnb confirms your reservation.
About the reservation, the first 2 months by airbnb, we will make a contract from the first day you move into my apartment, about the move, after these 2 months with airbnb, if you want to stay more you will pay me monthly on my bank account for the rest of the period, we will inform you on contract that you have already made the reservation and paid this 2 months with airbnb, the deposit will be returned to you after 2 months of airbnb.

Luckily the money transaction did not work and i got a pishing alert today... Beware if similar behaviours!!!! 

[Alessandra877]

Hi All,

please be aware "Mr" Rivas is active in London: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-89459939.html

Contacted him through Rightmove, although the advert was to good to be true and I received the same email from info@pablogomezrivas.co.uk:

Me- 

Hi, is this advert real? £800 bills included for the whole flat in a central location seems a scam. If it's not, would it be possible to see the flat? Thank you.

"Mr" Rivas:

Hi. Here you can see more pictures of the apartment https://imgur.com/a/FJjj01Y
It will be available from 24 th of February.
Please let me know starting when and for how long are you interested to rent the apartment. Also for how many people?
It's a 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms flat and comes fully furnished and with all the necessary amenities, exactly as you can see in the pictures, with dishwasher, washing machine, air conditioning, tv and internet. The monthly price is 800 GBP for the whole flat including all the utility bills. The pets are accepted.
I'm looking for a serious and responsible person to care, keep the house clean and see it as his own home. It would be great if you can send me some personal information about you (age, employment, life style, etc)?
I'm working offshore as a civil engineer so I rent the apartment through Airbnb because they will handle the entire rental process on my behalf. Airbnb will handle the visit/check-in once the flat is blocked through them, the signature of the physical rental contact and the keys handing. There will be no service fees for you.
Also I prefer them because of the lower fees they will charge me, I'm a "Superhost" on Airbnb.
Before the check-in/visit in order to block the apartment you'll have to deposit one monthly rent, 800 GBP, plus two months as security deposit, 1600 GBP, through Airbnb. So will be a total of 2400 GBP to be paid.
Starting with the second month you'll have to pay monthly.
The security deposit will be returned to you at the end of the contract if the apartment will have no damages.
If you are interested please let me know and I'll send you the step by step procedure.

Thank you

Thank you all for sharing.

[Rahul90]

I find him at right move and unaware of that. And send him passport copy for the link . I did mistake . Please help me. What I have to do next

[Sarah977]

@Rahul90  Do nothing except disengage from any further communication with this person.

[Marco2587]

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-89460692.html

He asked me money right now

[Marco2587]

info@pablogomezrivas.co.uk 

Once the flat is blocked and paid through Airbnb you can visit it.
Here you have a video presentation of the apartment
https://youtu.be/p2PayVX9GWk
This is not a real estate, that's how the Airbnb process works, it is the ONLY way.
Let me know as soon as possible if you are interested because there are more interested peoples waiting to rent it...
OK, in order to have this rental process started I need the following info about you:
- Full name
- Actual address
- Email address
- WhatsApp/phone number
- A picture of your ID/passport
Here you have a picture my ID too https://imgur.com/a/La7DTWG
Once I get the requested info I'll send you the Airbnb link to book the flat.
I'll be waiting for your response as soon as possible.
Thanks

Reported to Action Fraud

Nigerian scam I suppose

[Marco2587]

He has also a YouTube channel and imgur profile.

[Sarah3249]

“Pablo Gomez Rivas” is also advertising the same property in Nottingham UK. He sent the exact same emails as above to myself and my boyfriend. He asked for personal details and money up front “through AirBnb” £2400. Which immediately set my alarm bells off. So I googled him. Thank you for all sharing on here! We’ve reported him to Actionaid and Rightmove fraud department. 

[Stewart75]

Same person advertised on Right Move in Portsmouth, how have they allowed that to happen. They even suggested contacting him directly?

I actually advised I couldn't take it as I wouldn't know an end date and his reply didn't match what I had written, luckily for me, which made me suspicious! 

[Felippe7]

Hi,

I also received this email from him today. Requesting me to pay 1-month rent plus 2-month deposit before visiting the property through Airbnb, no real state agent which looks suspicious.

I got exactly the two emails described by the previous post by Josef324. Not sure how can we report it and for who.

[Lampros7]

Now he is on Zoopla 

[Marc7072]

Hi, yes I’ve been speaking to him today! I’m in Portsmouth, and a flat came up that was very cheap for the area! Exactly the same correspondence as previously mentioned!

Glad I googled his name now!

[Diego1028]

We almost got scammed with a similar story, we are looking for a place to rent in Lagos in Algarve - Portugal, the person identified itself as Alicia Howe and asked for the payment of one month rent plus deposit via an AirBnB link she would provide after sending the passport photo. Here are the messages, one in Portuguese and the second message in english.

We also found the photos she sent us via WhatsApp on another website for long term rentals, we do not know if its the same scam or a real apartment owner:
https://housinganywhere.com/room/1532384/es/Madrid/calle-del-conde-de-romanones

We also found the photos on many other listings via google search by image, but they seem to be already removed.

I'm leaving the content of the messages here for someone checking it in Portuguese. Hopefully it will help other not to get scammed 🙂

####### Message 1 #######

Olá
O apartamento está disponível para aluguel em boas condições, totalmente mobiliado e bem equipado, como nas fotos. Está disponível imediatamente e por quanto tempo você deseja.
Meu nome é Alicia Howe, sou a dona do apartamento e sou do Reino Unido. Eu comprei este apartamento para minha filha durante seus estudos, mas agora ela está de volta em casa permanentemente.
O aluguel mensal é de 420 euros por apartamento inteiro e inclui todos os serviços públicos (Internet / Água / Gás / Eletricidade / TV a cabo). Quero antecipadamente o pagamento de 1 mês de aluguel € 420 mais uma caução de € 800 (você receberá a caução no final do contrato) ... no total de 1.220 €.
Eu peço este depósito de danos, porque tudo no apartamento é novo e eu quero ser bem conservado ... espero que você entenda.
Recentemente, sou funcionário de um navio de cruzeiro e ficarei fora por três meses e não posso vir lhe mostrar o apartamento. Antes deste trabalho, aluguei meu apartamento no Aribnb por curtos períodos, mas agora com esse trabalho não tenho tempo para cuidar dele e é por isso que quero alugá-lo por um longo período.
Todo o processo de locação continuará sendo gerenciado pelo Airbnb, para que eles cuidem da inspeção e pagamento. Eles me ajudam porque no passado eu uso o Airbnb para alugar meu apartamento por curtos períodos e nunca tive problemas.

Antes de prosseguirmos, gostaria de saber um pouco sobre você, como quantas pessoas você pretende morar no apartamento e por quanto tempo.
Obrigado e espero sua resposta.

##############

####### Message 2 #######

You seem to be a very nice person and I can assure you we will not have any problems.
I will try explain the process step by step how this will work...as I told you, we will do this transaction via Airbnb.First you must reserve the apartment via Airbnb for one month and after you've made the booking, Airbnb will send you via email the invoice and all details about your booking.
As soon as you will receive the invoice you have 24 hours to complete the payment to confirm your booking. 
As soon as Airbnb will receive your payment, they will contact you to fix the date of inspection and their agent will come in 2-3 days after your payment is confirmed to present the apartment and give you the contract. The contract is signed by me and you can choose to rent my apartment for how long period you want.
Once you inspected the apartment you have two options:
Option 1: You will take the apartment and sign the contract. After you've signed the contract Airbnb will release me your money.
Option 2: But I don't think you will use this option, you'll tell to the agent that you don't want to rent my apartment and Airbnb will refund you the money in 48 hours.
I've chosen Airbnb because they offer a guarantees for both of us.To continue I need from you a photo with your Passport ID or any official document of you. As soon as I'll receive this document I'll send you the link to make the booking.
PS: If you'll pay for 6 months upfront, I'll make you an discount of € 50 for every month.

##############

[Jade236]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. We own the place and our daughter lived there until 2 month ago when she got married and she moved back to CA.
That`s why we decided to rent it.

Unfortunately, because of my job, it will be a bit difficult to meet you personally for the moment, we are from CA and I am unable to travel right now. Last week I came there to meet a couple who was interested, but they never showed up, and it's not comfortable to fly back and forth from CA, especially when work commitments are made. Because of that we decide to make everything through Airbnb, an international company that mainly deals with rentals.
They will organize the inspection and will also assist you in managing the payment.

I`ll make the booking registration for you with Airbnb, and they will send you by e-mail the booking confirmation containing all the rental information including the payment information.
You`ll have to make a down payment of 1 month of rent to Airbnb and after they will receive it, an agent will be assigned for your reservation, which will contact you to inspect the place. Can be even the same day when the down payment was made.

If you like the place, you`ll sign the lease, you`ll get the keys from the Airbnb agent and you can move in right away.
The down payment is 100% refundable, after the inspection if you do not like the place and you do not want to rent it, Airbnb will return your down payment in full immediately.

If you would like to proceed, please give me your details (full name, current address and phone number) and we will make the registration for you with Airbnb.

Sincerely,
Anne

[Jade236]

Just another example now they live I  CA.