I think I may have found a new twist on the Nigerian scam. I am helping a friend look for an apartment in DC, and I saw a posting on Craigslist that looked too good to be true – $600/mo for a 3-bedroom apartment in DC proper! So I sent the following e-mail to the address on the listing:
Hi, I am a little puzzled by your Craiglist posting. You are offering a 3br house for rent for $600/mo? Can you clarify on this? Where is the house located? I am helping a friend look for an inexpensive place in DC, he lives in NYC now so I am helping out because I know what is a safe neighborhood better than he does, etc.
Eight hours later, I received the following reply:
from: stevens.hook@yahoo.com
Hello Dear,Thanks for the email. I own the apartment and also want you to know that it was due to my transfer to West Africa, Nigeria that makes me and my wife to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean all the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own. So for now, We are here in West Africa and will be staying here for the next 4 years in our new house and also with the keys of the apartment for rent, we try to look for an agent that we can give this documents and the keys before we left but could not find, and we as well do not want our house to be used any how in our absence that is why we took it along with us. I and my wife came over to Africa for a missionary work, so i hope you will promise us that you will take very good care of the house. So get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting home. Hope you are okay with the price of $600 per month with hydro,heat laundry facilities, air condition and so on.This is the address of the Apartment (1311 28th Street Southeast, Washington DC 20020 )
SO IF YOU ARE REALY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE
RENT APPLICATIONS FORM BELOW
RENT APPLICATION FORM
Pls let me get this answer.
1)Your Full Name
2)Your Full Address & Phone Number
3)How old are you?
4)Are you married?
5)How many people will be living in the house?
6)Do you have a pet?
7)Do you have a car?
8)Occupation?
9)What is your religion?
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and
contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.
Thanks and you are welcome
Regards.
There are so many red flags in this, it looks like Gay Days at Disneyland.
- Obviously this person is not a native English speaker, but that’s not unusual; this city has a lot of different nationalities.
- Hmm, they got transferred to West Africa? Do you get transferred when it’s missionary work, or do you get sent? I would have thought the latter, but I could be wrong.
- Nigeria…I’m sure “scam” is the first word people associate with that country these days. Yes, , but still – “Nigeria” just screams scam.
- They took all the keys with them, well, that was prudent, but it also makes it impossible to inspect the house. Wouldn’t it have been better to leave them with a trustworthy neighbor?
- The address – nobody ever writes “Southeast” like that. It’s SE, that’s how you write it.
- Four years? You’re going to be gone four years?
- You’re charging $600/month for a 3-bedroom in an area where are $1300. Riiiiiight.
- The last paragraph is so awful. “We are giving you all this based on trust” and “await your urgent reply” are straight out of the usual scams where some relative has died or whatever.
- It’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of religion regarding housing. Craigslist doesn’t say anything about it – some other listing sites do – but if you say “you’re the wrong religion, you can’t rent from me” you will get your ass .
- And if you haven’t figured it out by now, here’s the kicker. They expect you to send them $600 a month. Hello?!
So, yeah. This looks like a new – to me – twist on the usual Nigerian scam. I think I’ll take it over to and see if anybody’s heard of it before. And if I’m wrong, I’ll eat my hat. The one I’m going to sew out of baby spinach leaves, of course.
Added: I can’t find the posting anywhere on Craigslist now. Gee hmmmm.
More: Aha!
Added 10/20/09: Almost two years after I made this post, on the matter.
Same thing in Colorado, posted in craigslist yesterday, I smelled the rat first thing I read it. Thanks everyone for sharing this.
Same thing is happening in Denham Springs, LA.. via Craigslist. House for $800 per month, only thing is that when you go to Denham Springs, LA this house appears or rent for $1,300 per month. I have spoken with people that live on the same lane and they have no idea of any even numbers. The odd numbers are the only ones actually built. No idea where the pictures come from. If it looks too good, it probably is.
This thing happened to me nd I almost fell for it also. He “Phil Brown” even went as far to call me yesterday and talk to me. I gave out my address and phone number. Never again will I trust something that is too good to be true. Learned my lesson.
Chalk one up for Wellington, Florida also. The application was accepted without answering my questions. I googled the organizaion and found you guys.
Thank goodness, the old saying holds true, if is sounds too good to be true, it usually is NOT TRUE. The scary thing is that they are using real homeowners and homes!
This is the scond time in LA on craigslist. I am not fallin for it anymore.
Check Mill Creek, WA off the list. My husband and I fell for it. We Made the guy send us lease papers to sign just to be sure. I didn’t google the organization until too late and we are out $1400. The homeowner name checked out and the phone number checked out and the pictures checked out……but in the end, it wasn’t real. We contacted the real homeowner and let them know that this was happening even though we didn’t expect them to do anything about it. But they took the home off the market for a while to make sure than no one else got suckered into this scam.
We just talked to the guy!!!! literally an hour ago and he needed the $ wired ASAP, i felt uncomfortable sending someone i didnt know $1400 halfway across the world!!!!!! luckily i did my research and found this and other websites with same email!! THANK GOD i listened to my gut and a fellow co-worker!!!! i found the add ON CRAIGSLIST IN TAMPA, FL
OMG!!! I just found a house in Beaverton Oregon with the same exact information regarding renting and being in West Africa. He even ended his email with God Bless You! What a jerk…he surely does not believe in CARMA!
I just found this one here is the response letter. Hello
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent.The house is much available for now and it a 3 bedroom home..I want you to know that i am the owner of this building situated at 1768 Tributory Lane,Port Orange , FL 32128.But i am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade with my wife and we have the keys right here with us.I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own..So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new house and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here.We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don’t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care
of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home.Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $700 with hydro,heat laundry facilities,air-condition Etc.I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP,The security deposit is $700 so below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent…
Kindly confirm your interest by filling the form below:
TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME: __________________
MIDDLE NAME: __________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
PHONE (____) __________ (HOME)
MARITAL STATUS: _________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
Home ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIPCODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? _______________________________________________________________________
CURRENT RENT: _______
IF THIS House IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
When do you intended sending me the deposit___________________________
When do you intended receiving the keys and document of the house___________________________
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and
the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.
You can contact me on +2348026925504.or +2348026925504.
Regards.
as of today, i got a similar email from a house posted on craiglist recently, got the same letter (body) everyone has…and since I thought something too good to be true, i google if and found this info, thank you very much
Thank you so much for posting this, as there is a house on Craigs list in Minnetonka.MN I was interested in until I read your site. Your the best !
Thanks for posting. We had something similar in VT.
something told me to google the number to an ad I responsed to and they replied and this popped up! This is so crazy that they are allowed to do such a thing… Here is what I recieved:
Hello,
I did get your response concerning the Advert I published on craigslist. The house is still available. I did bid for a portion of petroleum land sometimes ago in West Africa and fortunately I won the bidding so I have to move quickly down to Africa to have my company set up because I will still have to rebid for it in the next 4 to 5 years. I came over here with my Husband, we both built the house when we got married.. As soon as we settle down here I had a thought of selling the house so I have to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later he advised against that. He said we may not be able to win the bidding next time, in other to keep our head when we return that we have to keep the house. I reasoned with him and accepted his advise. So I contacted the Agent back and requested for my keys and documents. Later we decided to have the house rent out, we would have given the same agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with the idea. If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the absolute care for the property. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the house because we won’t be able to see before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space.. But I just have a feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the house and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the house..
Please if you are ready now to occupy the house kindly provide the information below for record purpose
PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Full Name__________________________________________________ Home Phone ( )________________________
Date of Birth_________________________________
Other Phone ( )___________________
Current Address_______________________________Apt#________ City__________________ State______ Zip________
Reasons for Leaving____________________________Rent $__________Phone ( )____________________________
Are you married____________________________
How many people will be living in the house____________________________
Do you have a pet____________________________
Do you have a car____________________________
Occupation____________________________
Move In Date____________________________
HOW SOON DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE KEYS AND DOCUMENTS OF THE HOUSE___________________________
You could give me a call as soon as possible so we could proceed ASAP.
Please note that you will only be able to drive by the house for now but not have a look at the interior until i have sent the keys and documents of the house to you…and the requirement for getting the keys and documents of the house is a fully refundable payment, which is the security deposit (fully refundable) in case you finally gain entrance into the house after receiving the keys and documents and feel unsatisfied or uncomfortable with the interior, but i am giving you a benefit of doubt that you will love everything about this lovely home…
I Await your response so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the keys to you.
My cell phone number is : (+234-703-447-9995 or 011-234-703-447-9995) OR (+234-703-447-9995)
Best Regards.
Thanks for the blog post. It seems there are always new ways scammers are fleecing people out of their hard earned money.
I got the same thing in New London, CT it was so good of a story but after I saw they live in Nigera I was um ok don’t know if i like this. They also had a picture of the house and address. They also gave me phone numbers I can reach them at but I”m not gonna waist my money call a different country! So yeah people even though it sounds great be careful!
Same thing in Tampa FL. The key that set me off was the language. No one wanting to rent out a property screws up the language that bad and my boyfriend and I have never gotten a business letter in bold print. So I googled project prayer crusades in west africa and found several links that describe the scam. I’m glad my boyfriend said something seemed fishy.
Hello
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent.The house is much available for now and it a 3 bedroom home..I want you to know that i am the owner of this building situated at 4723 LODESTONE DR TAMPA, FL 33615. But i am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade with my wife and we have the keys right here with us. I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own…So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new house and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here.We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don’t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home.Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $700 and the refundable security deposit of $700. I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP, below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent..
Kindly confirm your interest by filling the form below:
TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME: __________________
MIDDLE NAME: __________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
PHONE (____) __________ (HOME)
MARITAL STATUS: _________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
Home ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIPCODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? _______________________________________________________________________
CURRENT RENT: _______
IF THIS HOUSE IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND SENDING ME THE DEPOSIT___________________________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND RECEIVING THE KEYS AND DOCUMENT OF THE HOUSE___________________________
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you..Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this..
I CAN BE REACHED AT,CALL ME ASAP…
+234-7031284117
011-7031284117
Regards.
Same thing all over craigslist Europe. My “spidey” senses were on alert so thankfully nothing happened with me. But, I want to protect others so, I reported to Internet Crime:
, abuse@craigslist.org, and flagged the posting.
If you can, do the same to save others and hopefully help to stop this fraud or bring more awareness to others.
thanks everyone.
I got the SAME REPLY TO A POSTING ON CL FOR A PROPERTY IN PALM HARBOR FL AND THE EMAIL HE USES IS IN THE REAL OWNERS NAME SO THEY ARE CHECKING PROPERTY RECORDS FIRST.
Wow this is unbelievable the same thing is happening here in Colorado. I searched the CO public records property and the address listed in the posting was valid and the person and the owner was David Hastoglis hastoglisdavid@aol.com. and thats where the email came from yet the body of the email was excactly the same as those I see here. Anyone in Colorado be aware!
this scam is going on in LasVegas right now. Craigslist had a house for $600.00 another to good to be true. almost caught me. he has my email and address thank goodness thats all. went to see the house and spoke to the neighbors, they said no the owners are in Az. i looked up the owners of the house, the price they were even using the owners name with there id. and i am sure the real owners have no idea, so everyone has to be careful homeowners plus the renters
omg i all most feel for it but i checked every where phone book and every thing till i found this posting thank u so much i almost did not have ahome to live
Wow I just received the same email this morning I almost fell for it until he said plz call me & the number seemed weird so I typed it on the yellow pages & couldn’t get anything so then I tried google & got this thanks guys I would have been ª homeless person w| ª baby in new york city
WOW i can’t belive i thought it was true. I didn’t know the area and i thought it was still to good to be true. When “April Frank ” wrote me back it seemed wierd so i googled his job. And this site pulled up. So glad i’m not the only one.
Hello,
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent. The house is much available for now and it is a 3bedroom home…I want you to know that i am the owner of this building situated at 4975 Westwood Way Antioch, CA 94531… But i am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade with my wife and we have the keys right here with us. I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own..So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new house and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here..We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don’t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home.Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $700 and the refundable security deposit of $700. I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP, below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent..
Kindly confirm your interest by filling the form below:
TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME: __________________
MIDDLE NAME: __________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
PHONE (____) __________ (HOME)
MARITAL STATUS: _________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
Home ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? _______________________________________________________________________
CURRENT RENT: _______
IF THIS HOUSE IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND SENDING ME THE DEPOSIT___________________________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND RECEIVING THE KEYS AND DOCUMENT OF THE HOUSE___________________________
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.
You can contact me on +234-802-444-6958 or 011-234-802-444-6958..
Regards
aprilfrank50@yahoo.com
I received an exact replica of the email response above when I asked about a house in Orlando!
Its amazing this is still going on, I almost fell for it last week in Wilmington NC, with the same exact letter. When I recieved the email, I had my suspisions and checked the public records, and the same result came back. The next day I rode by the house and saw it was actually for rent thru a rental agency.
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent.The house is much available for now and it a 2 bedroom home…I want you to know that i am the owner of this building situated at 830 Locust Avenue Bensalem, PA 19020.But i am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade with my wife and we have the keys right here with us.I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own..So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new house and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here.We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don ‘ t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home.Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $800 with the security deposit payment of $800 with hydro,heat laundry facilities,air-condition Etc.I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP,Our house number is +234-8089742766 or 0112348089742766., below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent.
WHAT A SCAM!!!
Dumb of me, I wished I came across this website before sending $700.00 for security for a 3/2/3 house in tarpon springs , fl. I received the same reply below when requesting more info on the house I found through Craig list.
Hello,
Thanks for getting back to me with the Rent Application Form.I just wanted to let you know that we have decided to let you live in our house.As we have found your application very satisfactory and acceptable by my family.So we would want you to go through this email and get back to us on what you feel so we could proceed in renting the house to you.
We would like to send the following documents to you via FedEx next day delivery to the address you sent to us and the tracking number will be sent to you so that you can possibly occupy our house. Please once again, we are giving you this based on trust so please do not disappoint us and i promise you that, you will love the house.
We are with the under listed documents here with us and you will need to make Payment for the security deposit and first month rent to enable shipment of the Keys and documents to the address you have provided to us, after which you could move in at your convenience. The rent starts counting when you move in, so you could go ahead with the payment straight away to make things faster,so you can have the keys and documents of the house with you and then move in at your own convenience.
Here are the contents of the document that needs to be sent.
1) Entrance and the rooms Keys
2) Paper/Permanent house form
3) The house documentary file.
4) Full Description of the house
5) Payment Receipt
6) Signed Lease Agreement Form you are supposed to also sign and get it sent back to me.
So please do get back to me today so that I will let know the next step to take concerning the payment.The house is available for rent for up to 4 years,so you are free to decide on how long you intend occupying it.Rent already includes utilities..I’m ready to accept either monthly or upfront mode of payment..depending on the one you’re most comfortable with.Utilities include:power, water,sewer and trash.Your monthly rent already covers utilities so you do not have to pay extra charges for that.
Please note that the deposit made is fully refundable should in case you finally gain entrance to the house after receiving the keys and documents and feel unsatisfied or uncomfortable with the interior,but i am giving you a benefit of doubt that you will love everything about this lovely home.You are advised to act fast on this so you don’t loose the house to other interested applicants.
Thanks and Remain Blessed.
Hello
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent.The house is much available for now and it a 3 bedroom home..I want you to know that i am the owner of this building situated 1752 Wood Haven St Tarpon Springs, FL 34689.But i am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade with my wife and we have the keys right here with us.I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own..So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new house and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here..We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don’t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home.Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $700 with hydro,heat laundry facilities,air-condition Etc.I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP,Our house number is+234-802-859-3562 OR 011-234-802-859-3562, below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent..
Kindly confirm your interest by filling the form below:
TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME: __________________
MIDDLE NAME: __________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
PHONE (____) __________ (HOME)
MARITAL STATUS: _________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
Home ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? _______________________________________________________________________
CURRENT RENT: _______
IF THIS House IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
HOW SOON CAN YOU HAVE THE DEPOSIT PAYMENT SENT TO ME___________________________
HOW SOON DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE KEYS AND DOCUMENTS OF THE HOUSE___________________________
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.
Regards…
MORRISON KEVIN.
Thank you all so much for posting your correspondence (emails) and experiences on here, as I came very close to falling victim to a similar scam in Manchester, NH – and thank god I googled the name of the Nigeria Crusade the email mentioned, and this site came up. I would’ve been out of $1000 for a single family house that was just too good to be true.
Hello
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent.The house is much available for now and it a 3 bedroom home..I want you to know that i am the owner of this building situated 3840 Longstreet Ct Annandale, VA 22003, USA.But i am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade with my wife and we have the keys right here with us.I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own..So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new house and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here..We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don’t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home.Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $700 with hydro,heat laundry facilities,air-condition Etc.I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP,Our house number is+234-802-859-3562 OR 011-234-802-859-3562, below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent..
Kindly confirm your interest by filling the form below:
TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME: __________________
MIDDLE NAME: __________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
PHONE (____) __________ (HOME)
MARITAL STATUS: _________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
Home ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? _______________________________________________________________________
CURRENT RENT: _______
IF THIS House IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
HOW SOON CAN YOU HAVE THE DEPOSIT PAYMENT SENT TO ME___________________________
HOW SOON DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE KEYS AND DOCUMENTS OF THE HOUSE___________________________
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.
Regards…
(NAME)
FYI~ the name given to me was the actual name of the man who owned the house. Instead the man who owned the house live here in VA and is renting the property but for a great deal more then what this scammer was tryin to rent it for and in addition this scammer took the real mans pics from his original posting.
You are going to send the Deposit payment of $700, so that you can have the keys and document in your possession,and below is the information to send the payment through Western union outlet.
Below is the payment information.
Receiver’s Name:MINCER CHRISTOPHER
Address : 92 ST VICTORIA ISLAND,
CITY: IKEJA,
STATE:LAGOS,
COUNTRY: NIGERIA
ZIP CODE:23401
TEXT QUESTION : WHO MADE YOU?
ANSWER : GOD.
As soon as you send the payment from the Western Union Money Transfer or money gram outlet, you would be given some informations. You would have to get back to me
with following informations:
1. Full Sender’s Name And Address Including Zip Code:
2. MTCN #:
3. Amount Sent:
4.Security text question and Answer
As soon as the payment been confirmed, I will send the neccessary document and keys of the house to you through FEDEX and get back to you with the Tracking number and the arrival time of the document and the keys.
Thanks and God Bless you
I found this same thing on Craig’s list in St. Louis, MO. The only reason I found this site was because I tried to call the number and it didn’t go through. Thank God! I Googled the # and this site popped up. This is really upsetting! I was pretty excited about renting that house! Here was the response I got from my inquiry for more info on the house:
Attn,
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent.The house is much available for now and it a 3 bedroom home…I want you to know that i am the owner of this building situated at 7306 Brunswick Shrewsbury, MO 63119 But i am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade with my wife and we have the keys right here with us.I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own..So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new house and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here.We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don ‘ t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home.Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $800 with the security deposit payment of $800 with hydro,heat laundry facilities,air-condition Etc.I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP,Our house number is +234-8089742766 or 0112348089742766., below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent.:
I hope this helps someone to not fall for the scam!
Thanks for posting this!
wow! I nearly feel for it in Minneapolis
I also was fooled and thank god
I did some research and the house that I was going to rent another owner name showed up
I did a search in the internet
with the phone number and its
unbelievable on how people do whatever to obtain money…thanks
Husband is PCS’ing to Ft Hood Tx and we were looking to rent a home while trying to sell ours and I came acrossed a 3/2 for $700 great deal then got the email below and researched the crusade and came across this . I almost fell for it too I was filling it out and decided to research. Thanks for this website you saved me
Hello
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent.The house is much available for now and it a 3 bedroom home..I want you to know that i am the owner of this building situated 103 Lone Shadow Dr Harker Heights, TX 76548, USA.But i am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade with my wife and we have the keys right here with us.I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own..So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new house and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here..We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don’t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home.Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $700 with hydro,heat laundry facilities,air-condition Etc.I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP,Our house number is +234-808-230-0428 OR 011-234-808-230-0428, below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent..
Kindly confirm your interest by filling the form below:
TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME: __________________
MIDDLE NAME: __________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
PHONE (____) __________ (HOME)
MARITAL STATUS: _________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
Home ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? _______________________________________________________________________
CURRENT RENT: _______
IF THIS House IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
HOW SOON CAN YOU HAVE THE DEPOSIT PAYMENT SENT TO ME___________________________
HOW SOON DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE KEYS AND DOCUMENTS OF THE HOUSE___________________________
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.
Scams are everywhere. I write on the New York Condo market, and you wouldn’t believe the scams out there.
@Kristal…I wouldn’t trust anything on Craigs List
We just cam across the samething. We went back to the house several times and started to notice that some one had to have the key because a window was open that was closed the day before and when we looked in the window it looked like someone had been making repairs.
Got the same email for a rental in Doral, FL.
thanks for the posting. I received the same response word for word in regards to a rental in Tampa, Fl
Scammers are everywhere.
I just encountered a scam of Nigerian nature for my carpet cleaning business. These scams are being run in all sorts of creative ways these days. Gotta stay on your toes.
A similar ad appeared for a rental in Victoria, BC. The email response indicated that he worked for a logistics company in Toronto that transfered him to Africa. The ad even showed photos of actual property in Victoria. I contacted the Human Resources manager for the company, who indicated that person was not an employee. There were numerous other anomalies that did not make make sense. Need to be vigilant.
Same in Albuquerque NM…Too bad its too good to be true:-(
Hello
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent.The house is much available for now and it a 3 bedroom home..I want you to know that i am the owner of this building situated 7120 Eagle Mesa Rd NE Albuquerque, NM 87113, USA.But i am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade with my wife and we have the keys right here with us.I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own..So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new house and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here..We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring family only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don’t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home.Hope you are okay with the monthly price of $700 with hydro,heat laundry facilities,air-condition Etc.I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP,Our house number is+234-802-859-3562 OR 011-234-802-859-3562, below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent..
Kindly confirm your interest by filling the form below:
TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME: __________________
MIDDLE NAME: __________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
PHONE (____) __________ (HOME)
MARITAL STATUS: _________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
Home ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? _______________________________________________________________________
CURRENT RENT: _______
IF THIS House IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
HOW SOON CAN YOU HAVE THE DEPOSIT PAYMENT SENT TO ME___________________________
HOW SOON DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE KEYS AND DOCUMENTS OF THE HOUSE___________________________
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.
Regards…
HUNG FRANK.
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!
Well it has offically hit HAWAII me and my hubby almost got scamed big time!!! for a house in Miliani 1200 for a 3 bedroom house. They wanted miltary to have priority, The big kicker was there was a realator on this ad to go along with this scam! Please be careful all!!! Bless You!!!
thanks for this info. to avoid scammer
Found a 3/2/2 in Lubbock, TX with a price that is in the normal range for this area so nothing looked suspicious until I received the email. The body was identical to the previous ones posted. Thanks for this site!!!
I wind up getting a scam letter like these and by my agent in America about two times a month. I had to check on one that was too good to be true doing instrumentation work in Nigeria in an oil field etc. but I guess many do not check on the scams.
All of these scams are just rediculous. If you are on the internet there is no way to avoid getting these emails.
4 Old Church Street,
Chelsea, SW3,
England. UK.
First and foremost I would like to apologize for infringing on your
privacy by sending you an unsolicited email, I decided to contact you via
an email to get us acquainted since it is a safer way of private
communication. If you must know, I came about your contact information
through a home page on charity organization directory on the Internet
while trying to locate any link to an orphanage home.I am MARY JOHNPAUL
suffering from cancerous ailment. I am married to Engineer Johnpaul Laze
an Englishman who is dead. My husband was into private practice all his
life before his death. My beloved the information i am about to inform
you is very confidential,my condition is getting worst every day, and my
doctor have adviced me to call for my family members, but i dont have any
family, the only person i have is my lawyer,My self and my husband have
worked so hard and we have made alot of savings from our effort,though he
never had the chance to enjoy from his effort.We lived together in Uk
before his death, and after his death i left UK for Netherland were i
lived for another 3 years before my illness.I dont have any hope of
surviving from my illness, thats why i took my time to contact you just
to inform you of a very important message and i hope you dont take it for
granted.
I have in my savings account the sum of $1.7million this money is our
life savings, With this hard reality that has befallen my family, and me
I have decided to donate this fund to you and want you to use this gift
which comes from my husbands effort to fund the upkeep of widows,
widowers, orphans, destitute, the down-trodden, physically challenged
children, barren-women and persons who prove to be genuinely handicapped
financially. It is often said that blessed is the hand that giveth. I
took this decision because I do not have any child that will inhe I do
not need any telephone communication in this regard due to my
deteriorating health and because of the presence of my husband\’s
relatives around me. I do not want them to know about this development.
With God all things are possible. As soon as I receive your reply I shall
give you the contact of my Barrister. I will also issue you a Letter of
Authority that will empower you as the original beneficiary of this fund.
My happiness is that I lived a life worthy of emulation. Please always be
prayerful all through your life. and assure me that you will act just as I
have stated herein. Hope to hear from you soon and God bless you and all
members of your family.
please reply me through my same private email address.
Email Adress: marryjohnpaul2@gmail.com
From: Madam Mary johnpaul
Yup, just got the same reply when I inquired about a home for rent outside of Columbus, oh. Originally I saw it listed on Craigslist, then it was removed. Then I saw it listed on a rental home site. here is the email I received.
Hello
Thanks for your response regarding your interest in having my house for rent.The house is much available for now.What happened is that initially,I wanted to sell this house but my wife suggested that we should rent it out to a responsible person.I am now presently in West Africa for my Hospitals Project prayer crusade for 2 years with my wife and we have the keys right here with us.I will like to inform you that it was due to my transfer that makes us to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at all time and the person that will rent it will have to take it as if it were his/her own..So for now,We are here in West Africa,NIGERIA our new home and also with the keys of the house,we are trying to look for an agent that we can give this document before we left but could not see and we are as well as don’t want our house to be used any how in our absent that is why we took it along with us here..We are only willing to give the house out to a lovely and caring person only, so if you know you cannot give the house the neatness it deserves please don’t contact me.But if you promise to always take good care of the house,get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting a home. I am looking forward to hear from you ASAP,My cell phone number is+234-802-956-9995 , below is the application form for you to fill and discuss on how to get the house for rent and also to know if you are qualify
Kindly confirm your interest by filling the form below:
TENANT RENT APPLICATION
FIRST NAME: __________________
MIDDLE NAME: __________________
LAST NAME: __________________
PROFESSION: ________________
DATE OF BIRTH___________________
PHONE (____) __________ (CELL)
PHONE (____) __________ (WORK)
PHONE (____) __________ (HOME)
MARITAL STATUS: _________
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________
Home ADDRESS: ___________________________
CITY: _______________
STATE: ______________
ZIP CODE: ____________
HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING
WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? _______________________________________________________________________
CURRENT RENT: _______
DO YOU HAVE A CAR?
HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BE LEAVING IN THE HOUSE
IF THIS HOUSE IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________
Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.
Regards…