Worried to be scammed!

[Lorenzo555]

Hello!

I found this apartment on ebay, is really nice and cheap compared to the rest in the city of Hamburg. 

The owner is Danish and doesn't live anymore in Germany. I asked him to see the apartment and he answered me that he is gonna use airbnb so I can check the apartment and rent it in the future.

This is the last mail he wrote me. With a photo of "his" passport.

Should I be worried?

Thanks in advance for any answer. 

Lorenzo

Hi again,

The whole process is simple and safe.I believe you serious, please take care of our apartment. Pets are accepted(if you have) but you must try to keep the furniture as clean as normal because I paid a lot of money for the renovation. If you are ready to proceed with the transaction i need to inform you how this works:
I need to inform you how this works:

1. I will send you the Airbnb invitation so you can select the period and follow the steps to finish the booking and payment to Airbnb website.
2. Airbnb will require the deposit confirmation of the first month payment and security deposit (first month of rent + 1400 euro Kaution (Kaution like I said, you will receive back at the end of the contract) = 2100 EUR). It will be done through their website.
3. After the payment is confirmed, the leasing process begins.
4. Airbnb will notice me, and after, i will buy a flight ticket to Germany, to come with the keys and the contracts of the apartment. You will have  two days to check the apartment and to take a decision if you will want to rent it or no.
5. If everything is in order and you decide to rent the apartment, Airbnb will give me the money after you will sign the contracts of rental. Additional rents will be sent directly to my personal bank account.
6. If you refuse to rent the apartment, Airbnb will give you a full refund!

Now, if you are interested in renting the apartment I will need the next informations from your side:

Name:
Address:
City:
Postal code:
Country:
ID or passport copy attached via e-mail:
Phone Number Available:
I request all this details because I need to see  that you are really interested in my apartment,I need to know more about you, I need to trust you.
I also attached my documents.
Thank you

[Emilia42]

@Lorenzo555 Yes be worried. This is very much a scam. 

[Anonymous]

@Lorenzo555  Copy-paste a swatch of that text in a Google search, and you'll see immediately that this exact scam has been run hundreds of times. 

Maybe Ebay isn't the best resource for apartment rentals at the moment...

[Helen3]

Why would someone advertise a legitimate apartment for rent on Ebay of all places.

Surely you know if something is much cheaper than it should be - 99% of the time it's because it's a fake! @Lorenzo555 

If you want to book through Airbnb then use the website.

This owner won't be using Airbnb he will ask you to pay the deposit directly through a scam site and you will never see him again.

[Elena87]

@Lorenzo555 

I found this apartment on ebay, - Oh-oh , schoolboy error!

 is really nice and cheap compared to the rest in the city of Hamburg.  -  The juicy bait is dangled!

The owner is Danish and doesn't live anymore in Germany. -  The plausible story is told!

I asked him to see the apartment -  You can't as there is no apartment, new plausible story given!

and he answered me that he is gonna use airbnb - But they send you instructions instead on how to wire lovely cash to them directly along with a fake look-a-like airbnb page.

so I can check the apartment and rent it in the future. - There is no apartment, remember

This is the last mail he wrote me. With a photo of "his" passport. - ''his'' fake copy of a passport you mean.

Should I be worried - Pretty much so as you are at risk to be royally scammed out of 3500 euro

What to do next?  Read more below

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Rental-scam-using-Airbnb-How-should-I-go-forward-if-at-all/...

Perhaps book a week or two in Hamburg on a more reliable site then continue your search for a longer term place when you are in the city. PS Look out for der antanzer trick when you are in St Pauli.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Lorenzo555  yes it's a well-known scam, don't book it.

The best would be to always book on Airbnb directly. I mean to type airbnb.com in your browser and then select the town and other filters, choose the apartment and proceed with the booking through Airbnb.

The legitimate listing should have an URL like this : https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13526118  (this is mine) , other listings have the same URL but different number on the end.

I like to book on my laptop, not on my phone where I can't see the entire URL address.