A warning about a scam (Air BnB "Property Management")

A warning about a scam (Air BnB "Property Management")

So I just figured out this person "[Personal information hidden]" was trying to scam me and I want to take this chance to warn others in case they try to do it again. I'm not even honestly sure how they found me, perhaps craigslist or perhaps I had contacted them on [Link hidden].

 

 

Here is how the first email read:

 

"Hello,

The apartment at REDACTED San Diego, CA is still available.
Everything is just like in the pictures fully equipped with all the
appliances you need, very clean and well kept. The apartment can be
rented furnished or if you want you can use your furniture and deposit
mine in the storage unit. I work as civil engineer and the company I
work for has developed projects all around the world. They moved me to
the United Kingdom department because they have a new project there.
The apartment is vacant so you can move-in anytime you want.

The rent of 800$/month is for the whole apartment and includes all the
utilities: heat, water, electricity, parking, laundry in-suite, washer
and dryer also included, cable and internet. You will have full access
to all building amenities. Just in case repairs are needed there I
will cover the costs no worries. The price I'm asking is below the
market because I want to find a responsible tenant to take good care
of the place.

I would like to know how many people will live in the apartment and
also which rental contract do you prefer to start with - 6 months or 1
year with option of renewal. The monthly payments can be wired to my
Bank Account or we can setup a payment method that is suitable for
both of us.

I'm the owner of the apartment, it's already paid in full and no
mortgage on it. Schools and groceries near-by. You have everything you
need near-by because it's one of the best neighborhood. Pets are
allowed. You'll love it for sure!

I need to know if you are really interested in the place so we can
discuss further.

Thank you and look forward hearing from you!
[Host]

PS: I attached you all the pictures that I have with the apartment (as
you can see everything is in absolutely perfect condition)."

 

 

<<I did a little more research and the pictures he sent didn't match any of the floor plans of the building at the address he sent. The pictures also didn't show any washer/dryer, which was a minor detail but still.>>

 


He also sent this, furthermore, when I responded:

"Hello,

Like I said in my previous email, the company I work for moved me to United Kingdom, and unfortunately there is a problem showing you the apartment, because I already left. The reason I haven't managed to rent the apartment before I had to leave for United Kingdom is that someone said that will rent the apartment and haven't managed to keep the promise. I waited for him, but unfortunately he didn't managed to get the money on time, so the transaction failed and I had to leave before managing to rent it. Obviously this brought me huge inconvenience. So I can tell that I have a bitter experience making reservation, it's the first time I'm renting an apartment so I prefer using an worldwide property management company.

The company I am talking about is called AirBnb (www.airbnb.com) their website is main focused on short term rentals, but they also have an new service for long term rentals. I used this company last month when I rented my apartment in London, United Kingdom, and I can tell you that it was an great experience and the only way I will proceed renting my apartment is by using them.

We use this company to protect the both of us. They will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the rental package (keys and paperwork).

Using AirBnb involves three parties: me as owner, you as a potential tenant and AirBnb as a responsible third party authorized to handle this transaction. AirBnb works the same way as the escrow account on which you place the deposit when you rent an apartment, except that instead of a bank, we use AirBnb. Of course, nobody can take that money until you will sign the lease agreement. With this procedure you will be able to check the apartment before I receive the payment.

Like I said before I used them to rent my apartment in London and everything was perfect they are really professional and they have great services.

My phone number is REDACTED. You can call me or e-mail anytime you wish and I will respond ASAP.

Let me know if you are interested so I can provide with all the steps of this transaction. You need to know everything about this process before we get this started.

Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!
[Host]


He attached a passport photo.

Again I'm not sure how he found me exactly so I don't think I can contact any website posting about this scammer so I'm hoping maybe this will help someone else someday, as other people have posted their experiences that were almost word-for-word what mine is!

22 Replies 22
Cormac0
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

@Andrea

 

 

You need to play this "scum" at their own game e.g. tell the "scum" that you're a princess of the Nigerian royal family in exile (Andrea is not your real name) and that your evil half-brother the crown prince is withholding 500 million dollars of your very substantial fortune and if he would be so kind to sent you $49.99 and a stamped addressed envelope with a 75cent stamp you would send the deposit in cash as you have heard that there is very un-reputable characters on Airbnb. 

 

That should send the scum packing.

 

Regards

Cormac

The Explorer's Club Krakow III

 

Unfortunately, I fell for this scam. I really didn't know better. What can I do? I understand I won't have my money back however I do have the Bitcoin account number... Is there any way to file for fraud? 

Keziah2
Level 1
Cambridge, WI

Hi Andrea,

Thank you so much for posting this! We just experienced the same thing for a property in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Almost word for word what you received - man from U.K. renting his daughter's old apartment, passport for "proof" of identity, and using a third party management  to send money with very detailed instructions, etc. Glad we found your comment to further justify our uneasiness about the situation. 

 

 

I’m really glad you found it too! I was infuriated when it happened to me, after I dug further to discover it was a scam. I felt pretty helpless and wanted to do whatever I could to stop this kind of evil from continuing to happen.

This is happening to me right now..... Did you get your money back at all? Where do we report this?

I'm so sorry that happened to you, I wish I could help. Sorry for the late reply but my best suggestion would be to maybe talk to your bank and see if they have suggestions or advice. Best of luck.

Alannah5
Level 1
Victoria, Canada

I have received this same email word for word for a posting I found on craiglist in Victoria, BC Canada. Was so difficult to determine if they were legitimate or not. Thanks for this post!!!

 

 

You’re welcome, it was definitely my hope that other people would run a search on the emails and the wording the scammers use to find others have experienced it word for word. It was chilling for me to discover when I posted and searched around a popular social media forum.

Janine195
Level 1
Vancouver, Canada

Thanks for posting this! I was so excited to find the perfect place and thought I had checked out enough things although I was still suspicious ... When I got their email about payment and it really wasn't via airbnb though I knew it was a scam and found this post. Thanks!

I wanted to believe it so badly when it happened to me, it’s so horrible that they use something like housing to scam people. It’s already an expensive and vulnerable process as it is. I’m so glad this has been helpful to other people!

Hello everyone! This scam is still going on in San Diego as someone is trying to get me as I type this comment! His story is identical to the others listed here from him taking a job in the UK to the whole air bnb "escrow" account and everything.  Fortunately my intuition kept me from falling for this horrible scam. I knew something was strange when he wanted to do the rental "transaction" without knowing anything about me. He didn't ask about my employment, income, credit check, rental history,  NOTHING. And I knew that passport was a fake instantly. That little voice in my mind told me to do some research and thank God I found this thread. Times are too hard right now to get scammed out of our hard earned money. The scumbags that are doing this will have some serious karma to deal with.

Stay safe and God bless you all!

Unfortunately, I fell for it. How do we report this?

Almost made a victim in Florida for a $100 less ($200 if I had put the $1400 in BTC down)B08D2753-CE27-486E-93BD-9A38D94A0F93.png

@Elijah51  A fully furnished apartment with all utlities included in Fort Lauderdale for $700/mo.? That was your first big clue it was a scam.