Rental SCAMMER ALERT!!! 🚨

[Ranjith7]

Jeffrey Franklin Silson <jeffrey@j-silson.com>	17 Mar 2020, 11:16 (16 hours ago)
to me

Hello, thank you for your reply. First of all I must tell you that I own the place and it's not a sublease. I imagine you searched several apartments so let me refresh your memory, mine it's located on 7787 Margerum Ave, San Diego, CA 92120, studio, 1ba, parking and utilities included - $600.00 monthly rent for the entire place, available as we speak.

My name is Jeffrey Franklin Silson, you can call me Jeff. I own several properties in the US and abroad. I'm a retired stockbroker by the way so money is not the issue here, I'm just looking for a serious tenant that will take care of the place so can you please tell me a few things about you and your way of life.Also please confirm your phone number .

Anyway, check the attached photos and if you're good to go, just send me a reply and I will explain the rental process.

Thank you for your time,
Jeffrey Franklin Silson

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2nd Email:

Sounds good. Let me explain how I work as I like an out of the box thinking, but simple and efficient.
There are several big rental companies like Airbnb, Homeaway or TripAdvisor. Airbnb alone has more than 150 million users so you probably already used or heard of it. They don't allow long-term rental, but I'm willing to offer you two weeks short-term for free. The reason I'm willing to do this it's that I get to see how you will keep the place and all before we sign the long-term agreement.

You will enjoy the trial a lot as you will get comfortable with the neighborhood and all until we jump into the long-term rental. If you want to move in on a later date, you can still do the Airbnb reservation and set the two weeks trial around your preferred move in date.

This trial period will not cost you a dime but Airbnb will still ask you for a $950 security deposit (you will get it back once the trial ends). You don't pay that to me, you will pay to Airbnb they will keep the money as a security measure so no one leaves with the furniture or damages the place.

The terms are not negotiable, I like spending time with my family and I'm not willing to do a walk-through or any presentation, that's what the short term is for. If you have more questions, send me an email and I will get back to you.
If you agree, all you have to do is to fill in the attached form and I will send you the trial offer. I made it in PDF format and Office format.

P.S. The rent includes water, electricity, sewer, cable, internet and HOA (HOA's generally cover the following: Common Area Maintenance, Exterior Building Maintenance, Limited Insurance, Sewer, Roof Maintenance and Termite). Pets are allowed and parking spot included in the rent. Also the the apartment comes just like in the photos I sent you. If you prefer the apartment unfurnished, just let me know and I will move the current furniture into the storage unit.

[Roberta2 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Ranjith7 

Yes, this is a scam

Do not fall for it, do not send money

[Ranjith7]

Thank you that’s what I noticed..! Didn't send anything.

[La46]

this gentleman had me fooled, then i google searched his name and many claim rental scammer. And guess ? what he sends the same message to all of his victims, only personalizes it a bit.   One of our last messages which was a red flag was the following. 

Jeff - “  

Got a notification that the trial offer is now active. Did you receive the email from Airbnb? Please check your junk/spam as well.You must know that I have deactivated the card and paypal payment methods because the previous tenant tried to pay with a stolen credit card and I was unable to rent the unit until the problem was solved.Airbnb proposed as a beta service the payment through Bitcoin and I'm sure you will have no issue in completing the payment, they will provide all the instructions. The easiest way is to pay from a Bitcoin ATM, just google "Bitcoin ATM near me". It will take two minutes to complete the payment, sounds more difficult than it is. It's very fast and secure. Oh, and the bitcoin atm fees are included. Here is a video that may help: https://youtu.be/Qd5RDd438jc

PS: Find attached a copy of my passport for transparency.“

[Guadalupe159]

How do I get my money back? I got scammed $950. 

[Sarah977]

If you sent a wire transfer, you are out of luck- if you paid by credit card you may be able to stop payment-talk to your bank or credit card company.

If you send money to a total stranger you met online, there's very little that can be done to get your money back.

@Guadalupe159 

[Guadalupe159]

It was thru bitcoin. I have no idea what bitcoin is?

[Sarah977]

Digital currency.  How did you send money when you had no idea what it was? 

If you are going to buy something online, or rent a place, you need to first research how those online platforms actually work. If you had first read how Airbnb works, on the official Airbnb website, you would have known that guests never send money, checks, or bitcoin to Airbnb hosts. All payments are made through the Airbnb website by charging the credit card or whatever payment method a guest has registered there. 

Hosts don't even get paid by Airbnb until 24 hours after a guest checks in.

I'm sorry you lost money to a scammer. It's a hard lesson.

@Guadalupe159