We had a stay scheduled and complete their stay as well as a...
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We had a stay scheduled and complete their stay as well as added a few more days on, but our wifi wouldn't work. We spent ma...
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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
@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...
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.
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
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.
@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.