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.

[Sarah977]

@Aleksander24  Yes, it is a scam. That isn't even a good fake URL. And no one transfers money to book an Airbnb. You first create an account with Airbnb, and when you book something, Airbnb automatically chaarges the credit card you have on file with them.

[Wendy1274]

I wish I would have came across this post sooner rather than later. I just got scammed by someone saying almost the exact things you are saying that you were sent by email.  I sentvv $1900 and that was everything I had to get a place to live. Now I have no where to live and no money to get somewhere.  This is terrible what people are doing. The man seemed legit. He even said he was a Sergeant in the US Army and would be in Spain for the next 3 years.  If anyone knows how I can get my money back please let me know.  People are terrible and seem to have no conscience at all of the fact that by doing this type of stuff they are easily making someone like me homeless.  Oh how I wish I would have seen these post before I sent my money. The emails were very close in words and some identical. But again the name he used is US Army Sergeant Daniel Langham

[Hasnain1]

I was trying to book an apartment for my sister and son in Dubai for 3 months
I saw a suitable apartment on dubizzle - which is an online app for the same.
When i contacted the lady she said she is listed on airbnb so I could pay through aribnb which is secured.
I was happy to proceed knowing it would be secured thru airbnb.
Next day she asks me if I received link from airbnb and when i said I did not, she send me a link which she said is from airbnb

The email was from marikokerfluben@gmail.com

Hello,
You can contact Airbnb Live Support here: https://www.temporary-url.com/DE5
They will help you complete the booking.
Your Reservation code is: HMTYPICOEV
Please keep me updated.
Kind regards

The above link took me to another url which had Airbnb logo but url was
https://app.chaport.com/widget/show.html?appid=6144e30a7dd33d2932c2a054

I knew it was a fraud the moment I read the above 2 links

I feel it is my moral responsibility to inform the community too that this is their latest ploy to use Airbnb good name

They wanted me to pay upfront for 2 months and a deposit of one month thru the link

[Sarah977]

@Hasnain1  The very first link she sent that was supposedly for "Airbnb Live Support" is also fake and you shouldn't have clicked on it.

You reach Airbnb by sending them a message on their webite, or by phoning them, not by entering a link.

[Igor502]

I just had the exact experience with the exact email.

I managed to get some details about him/her and sent a report to the Dubai Police

[Alina903]

@ Hasnain1 Hello everyone,

Same scam here, same person Mariana Kocker and email address marikokerfluben@gmail.com

I am forever grateful to the Airbnb community for flagging this up. The story of the scamer:

I am Mariana, the owner of the property you have contacted.

I do hope to find a serious person to take good care of my apartment.  

The apartment will be available starting next week.

The space is as in the photos of the ad, completely renovated, furnished and all amenities are in perfect condition.

The price per month is 3450 AED and the security deposit is 2500 AED.

All bills are included in the rental price. Weekly service cleaning is included. Parking space is also available.

If you are willing to pay more months upfront, please let us know because in this case we can drop the price.

I would very much like to know more about you (age, what you do, etc.), how many people are going to live in the house and for how long? My husband and I settled in Germany to help our daughter who just gave birth to twins. We got a little too old for travelling, so you won't be bothered by us during your stay.

As I have realised that the person is a scamer, I stopped replying. Here is what she said next:

Allow me to further explain the process so you will have a better understanding and for this to be as transparent as possible.

To complete the booking process Airbnb will charge the payment (12.000 AED the rent + 2000 AED the security deposit).

You'll receive your deposit back once you leave.

To be more clear, once the booking process is completed you will receive a 5-digit pin code that will allow you access to the location.

After you visit the property, Airbnb will send me the money only if you confirm that you have seen the space and want to keep it.

So, if for some reason you don't like the apartment or it's not like you expected, you can cancel the booking and you'll get a refund.

If you agree on this and you are able to pay, please let me know and I will open the booking.

[Rejo3]

@Hasnain1..Thanks for letter us know..i got an email from the same ID (among others) and the content is the same ..that should have been the first red flag...i didnt reach the payment stage but did share my documents...but i did file a police complaint just to be on the safe side...i was already in Dubai...

[Ling405]

They are still active, and posting ad on Facebook marketplace UK, I just received the same email, with a YouTube video viewing, not able to schedule any viewing before pay, and ask me to give details and all process will go through Airbnb blablabla.

luckily I google it first, they do sound quite legit and I had a thought to send them details. Thanks for reporting!!!!

[Anja1108]

I think I just found one in Germany. Furnished, price too good to be true, similar message about the process via Airbnb and the escrow account. He even sent a photo of himself and his driving license,  but I am still sure it's not genuine...glad I searched for Airbnb long term rentals and found this thread...

[Marcela568]

Do not trust, it is not genuine at all. They are trying to scam. We just went through the same thing. It is sad that there is people like this out there. 

[Marcela568]

Hello just to share my experience with you all, beware of these type of scams. This scammer emailed me and made it seem like everything was legitimate, However after researching on scams since I had red flags I was able to find this on Airbnb. If its too good to be true always do some research first and do not fall for these types of scams.

This is the email that I received that raised many red flags and made me dig a little deeper as far if its legit or not:

Hi again,

I will do my best to be as transparent as possible during the whole transaction. To build up confidence and gain peace of mind, I have attached a copy of my PASSPORT to this email. Also, please know that you will receive official documents from Airbnb also, before depositing them.

Regarding the process, you will have to deposit the first-month rent + last month's rent, a total of 2000$ (1000+1000), to Airbnb so that they can proceed with the shipping of the rental package (keys and documentation). Please note that Airbnb will HOLD your deposit (escrow) until you receive the rental package (keys and documents) and go and inspect the apartment. Please know that I will pay for all the fees that Airbnb will take. (transaction and shipping fees).

Below I will explain step by step how the transaction with Airbnb works. To avoid any misunderstanding, please READ CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

1 - To start the process, all I need is your contact information: full name, mailing address (street, number, city, and postal code), cell phone number, a move-in date, and lease agreement preferred (e.g., 6 months or 1-year rental contract with the option of renewal). The lease agreement will be a standard one.

2 - Once I have your contact information and your approval, I will go to the Airbnb office (UK) to start the transaction. I will give them the apartment keys and necessary documents.

3 - Airbnb will check everything, including the ownership documents. If everything is in order, they will proceed with the transaction. They will also confirm that I'm the legal owner of the apartment I'm renting to you.

4 - Airbnb will send you a notification (via email) where they will inform you that the keys and the documents are in their custody. They will also send you all the steps, how to proceed, and all the transaction details.

5 - At this point, you need to send the amount of 2000$(1st-month rent + last month rent) to the Airbnb payments representative (lawyer escrow account) provided to you in the notification. THE PAYMENT NEEDS TO BE SENT WITHIN 24 BUSINESS HOURS AFTER YOU WILL RECEIVE THE TRANSACTION DETAILS, OR ELSE THEY WILL CHARGE ME AN ADDITIONAL FEE.

6 - As soon as the payment is completed, you need to send the payment details to Airbnb. (a copy of the receipt proving that you sent them the deposit).

7 - Airbnb will verify the payment. If everything is in order, they will start shipping procedures using UPS Next Day Shipping Service.

8 - You will receive the package (keys and documents), and you will have 5 business days (inspection time) to check the place and decide if you want to rent it.

9 - If you decide to rent the apartment, you need to sign the lease agreement that Airbnb sends, email it to them, and they will release the funds to me. If, after the 5 days inspection, you decide not to rent the apartment, Airbnb will refund the whole deposit.

PLEASE NOTE:

•   Airbnb insures your deposit, and this means that if you do not sign the lease agreement for any reason, Airbnb will refund you the whole deposit, so you are 100% protected.
•  They CANNOT release the funds without your approval, and they can do it ONLY after you send them the lease agreement with your signature. (after the 5 days inspection period).
•  Airbnb will send you official documents (invoice, rental agreement, and insurance document) BEFORE sending the deposit to them.

From my perspective, everything is safe, and the reward for going forward with this process is significant. Also, because it's a SELF-SHOWING process, I find it usual (common sense) that you need to make the deposit first, as a guarantee. I hope you share my opinion because I cannot modify the transaction terms in any way, so PLEASE READ CAREFULLY ALL THE TRANSACTION STEPS.

Let me know if you have the funds available (2000$) so we can move forward. If you have the funds available and agree with the transaction steps, please email me your full information (full name and address, and cell number) to get the transaction started.

If you have any further questions regarding the transaction, please let me know.

I am waiting for your reply!

Thanks

Chris

He even went to the extremes and sent me a pic of his "passport" to make me gain trust.

** [image removed] 

[Mehmet82]

Same guy, same stories today, and I trusted for a second, so I have shared my passport with him. 

Probably, he will send my passport to following people to scam them.  Be careful, if you see someone with name: Mehmet and having a passport, he is fraud because the passport is belong to me and it is stolen now! Their contact email is this:  info@cardenesproperty.co.uk 

[Subbu1]

I have fallen prey today. I have shared my passport and other details such as address, phone number etc. So pathetic.

I found the ad on Facebook marketplace. Contacted for further details on email id amymaria487@gmail.com given in the post. The name displayed is Amy Maria Sweet. 

Please be careful if anyone contacts with name Subramanya and show you a passport then it is fake. It is not me!!

[Daria97]

Got this message, same, Spain- Madrid. first I reached out on Facebook market for an apartment ad, which was cheap for the way it appeared on pictures and for its location. 

Here is the message:

Hello,

Thanks for your interest in renting my apartment, I'm flexible in renting  3- to 36-month lease. Only a long term contract.
It's a one bedroom with one bathroom apartment, here you can see some pictures: https://myalbum.com/album/VqUb7nZo8S46
Apartment address: 244 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205

The apartment comes fully furnished ( you can rent is also unfurnished ) and with all the necessary amenities, exactly as you can see in the pictures, with dishwasher, washing machine, air conditioning, TV and internet. The pets are accepted. Also, it's a private parking space available for free.

The rental price per month is $1,100.00, security deposit is $900.00 so the total cost to move in is $2,000.00.
Utilities are included in the rent, you will not pay anything else.

My name is Yara Van Bommel and I'm originally from Amsterdam, Netherlands. I have worked in the United States for three years and I bought the apartment during my stay there. I'm the owner of it. Now, I have moved with my work in Madrid, Spain for at least 4 years and I'm interested in renting through Airbnb. 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, lifestyle, etc)?
 
If you are interested please let me know so I can explain how you can rent my apartment through Airbnb.

Best wishes


Then "she" reiterated that she is leaving to Madrid and she's the owner of the apartment. Asked for basic contact info. 

Sent me a suspicious link, where it looked identical to Airbnb, but I couldn't go to the main page or login. And the map looked ridiculous - not the usual map on airbnb. I decided to check the address and apartment on Streeteasy - it was rented in 2020 and the photos are exactly the same :))))))) Then she messaged me on whatsapp, so I sent her this question: 

Hi Yara, I went to the link, it's weird I can't log in to my account and the website URL isn't airbnb.com/stays/monthly which is the one that would be there. 

Also the photos look the same as in

 https://streeteasy.com/building/244-franklin-avenue-brooklyn/5a?utm_campaign=rental&utm_medium=mweb_...

and that apartment was rented in 2020. Are you sure you are giving me the correct link?

(please don't reserve anything through this link, it's for sure a scam and i included it for educational purposes, attaching some screenshots)

And after that deleted her whatsapp profile :))))))

Especially liked the "we are here" and the "customer support"

So please!!! don't do it
Hope this helps someone

[Irene1104]

Ty. She sent me the same sh*t.