Is this a fraud using moneybookers escrow?

[moneybookers]

Hello everyone, this is a quick note from Moneybookers:

Here at Moneybookers, we are actively dedicated to protecting our customers against online fraud and money laundering.

With 9 years experience in the business, we are well aware of the potential pitfalls when shopping online and would encourage you to have a look on our website at the sections on FSA regulation (http://www.moneybookers.com/app/help.pl?s=fsa) and money laundering (http://www.moneybookers.com/app/help.pl?s=laundering), which will show you how we strive to reduce your risk of becoming a victim of online fraud.

Just like your regular high-street bank, we adhere to the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, requiring us to verify the identities of our account holders in order to prevent money laundering. If verification is not completed or unsatisfactory, we might freeze an account until we receive full and correct identification, ensuring you are always protected.

As one of the Europe’s largest payment providers we unfortunately occasionally experience scammers trying to misuse our good name. To alert and educate you about potential scams, and help you identify and avoid them, we have created the following website as a guide to staying safe online:

http://www.moneybookers.com/ads/moneybookers-scam-information/


There will be no further replies from us to this thread, but if you have a specific enquiry, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at our London-based headquarters:
http://www.moneybookers.com/app/help.pl?s=contact

At Moneybookers we do all we can to help you stay safe online. But you must also help yourself.
Always make checks before you send money to strangers, and if it sounds too good to be true...it probably is.

[Annegelic]

Hi guys, this scammer has now reached AUSTRALIA.

*( Apartment pictures :
http://picasaweb.google.com/11081191944 ... 80/Sydney# )*

Hi,

Thank you for your interest. My name is Adriana Martel and from the
Internet add, you could see, the apartment is located at 2102/157 Liverpool
Street Sydney 2000 and it has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen and 1
living room (79 m²).
I'm the owner of the apartment and I'm looking forward to rent it as
soon as possible, because I just recently moved to London, United Kingdom
with my job and my accommodation period will be about 5 years. That's the
reason I want to rent it at this price, and find the proper tenant, someone
who will treat and care my apartment likes it was his own.
The contract will be signed for the period of time that you need, with
the possibility of renewing it for 5 years the most and the rent for 1 month
is *$840.00 for the whole apartment including all utilities (water,
electricity, Internet, cable, 2 parking spots, air conditioning, washer /
dryer in unit, dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator).*
As you could see, from the photos the apartment is fully furnished but
you can feel free to move it wherever you like. If you have your own
furniture, I will take mine away, so don't worry because I have the option
of sending all my furniture into storage. You can move in the apt in the
same day you receive the keys with the rental contract.
The only problem is that I'm the only person who has the keys but I hope
that we will find a solution.

Thank you for your interest and awaiting your reply,

Adriana Martel
P.S. Please tell me if this is what are you looking for and reply my only if
you are truly interested in the apartment.

*Sender Information:*
First name: Adriana
Last name : Martel
Address : 87 David Lee Point
City : London
PostalCode: E15-3LF
Country : United Kingdom

*MoneyBookers Agent Details:*
First name: John
Last name : Cotter
Address : Lewisham Way 158
City/State: London
PostalCode: SE14 6PD
Country : United Kingdom

Scammer name: Adriana Martel
Scammer email: adriananmrt@gmail.com

Why I thought this person was a scam?
- Firstly, "Adriana" has already moved to London from Sydney. If you've moved overseas for an expected 5 years why would you bring your Sydney apartment keys with you? Any norm al person would leave the keys with someone they trust while they're away i.e real estate agent, family, friend.
- Going along with it, I then asked if she could express post the keys to a friend or relative in Sydney who could show me the apartment. She then referred me to moneybookers who I've never heard of.
- I then googled Adriana Martel's UK address as I was curious to see on google maps where it was- funnily enough, there was no such address. Then a google search brought me to this forum.

[djjohn]

They've reached Denmark on their world domination tour

Good day,

I am Andrea Schiff and I just received an email of interest in my 2 room apartment located in Peter Fabers Gade 26. I am an Italian researcher working for a pharmaceutical company and this apartment was bought while working here in Denmark on a 5 year contract, as I thought it would be a better investment than renting. I the only owner of the apartment, it is paid in full and it has no legal problems . The apartment has not been inhabited since I am no longer living in Copenhagen.
I wish to rent my apartment to some nice and responsible people and in order to do that I have to know a some details about you, like how many persons are you planning to live in the apartment, for how long, if you have a steady income, etc. I must tell you from the beginning that I do not have a problem if you are a student and I am very fond of pets and willing to accept them in the apartment(I am the proud owner of an english bulldog). You should also know that I appreciate sincerity very much.
In addition to everything else here is a little something about the apartment and myself so we can get to know each other.
The apartment is the one in the pictures from the advertisment, but as the last tenants had their own furniture it was moved into my private storage found in the basement of the building.If you don't have furniture I can take it back to the apartment with no extra costs for you.
The rent for 1 month is 5800 kr (for the entire apartment) including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable). You can rent the flat for any period of time (open end contract) but not less than 3 months.
About myself, I am 56 years old and as I told you I am a researcher in pharmaceutical products, currently living in Rome, my home town .
You can move in the apartment in the same day when you receive the keys. The only issue is that I am already in Italy but I hope that together we are going to find a solution.

I appreciate your interest in my property and I am looking forward to a future collaboration and friendship.

Best regards,

Andrea

Hi Jakob,

Thank you for your timely response and for your willingness to rent the apartment. If you are still interested I agree to rent it to you. I promise you that you will love the place. You seem to be a very nice person and I can assure you we will not have any problems .
Of course you will have to see the apartment before discussing further details because you cannot rent an apartment that you haven't seen. As the furniture was removed from the apartment I am willing to send you the keys so you can visit it and see it suits your needs.
The delivery for the keys (apartment keys, interphone, alarm) and viewing permit (signed by me), will be made through an authorized courier and using a Moneybookers Escrow Account to make sure that we can trust each other.
I will explain the procedure if you are interested so please email me as soon as you read this message because I really need to take care of this matter.

Thank you,

Andrea

Hi again,

The use of the Moneybookers escrow blocked account involves 3 parties : me as the home owner , you as the prospective tenant and Moneybookers as a licensed third party responsible for good development of the transaction .
The Moneybookers Escrow Blocked account is like the blocked account where you pay the damage deposit when you rent an apartment except that instead of a bank we will use Moneybookers. Of course, nobody can touch this money until you return the keys .
The value of the deposit is equal to the first month of rent and must be paid for the activation of the Blocked Account .
The delivery for the package will be made using an authorized courier like Pegasus, DHL, Federal Express, UPS and the package will be sent by Moneybookers to your home address.
In order to initiate the procedure I will need the following information from you :
-Shipping address (address where you want the package to be delivered) and the name of the receiver
-Arrival Schedule ( when you will be home to receive the package and sign for the receipt)
-Telephone number in case of any emergencies .
You have 14 days to inspect the apartment since the arrival date .
If you want to keep the apartment I will set up the open end (3 month notice) contract from here with your information , I will sign it and I will send it to you .
You have to sign it and send it back to me .
-If you do not keep the apartment, you give the keys/contract back to moneybookers and you collect the security deposit .
This will be in writing in the moneybookers contract I will sign.
The MoneyBookers fees will be paid by me when i will initiate the procedure, you will have to pay for the money transfer fees when you will have to pay the moneybookers agent.
I will wait your soon reply and if you agree, i will need your full name, shipping address and your daytime phone number and i will initiate the moneybookers transaction.

Thanks again for your time and look forward to hear from you soon.

Andrea

And our heartfelt reply

Hello,

After describing your elaborate procedure, we, thanks to the wonder of the almighty internets, quickly learned you are nothing but a mere scammer sitting in your mothers apartment, watching *spammer* all day long whilst trying to cheat good people out of their hard earned money.

Please look up from your pile of empty pizza boxes, jizz filled tissues and reflect on your life - I'm sure you can think of at least one thing better to do than this. Else you might want to consider suicide, I'm sure we could replace you with a monkey with higher IQ.

Anyway, you and your little scam have been reported to the webmaster so they'll be on the lookout for fudge packers like you. Luckily Denmark is quite small, so I think you can move on to somewhere else.

Thank you for wasting our time!

Sincerly
Jakob and Jon

We would never have sent any money, but still good seeing we're not the only ones experiencing this.

[astrid]

This is what just happened to me, untill I googled Moneybookers Escrow:
Hi,

I am Marc Matuszczak and I just received an email of interest in my apartment located in Ruysdaelstraat 34, 1071 XA Amsterdam, with 2 bedroom, 1 bathrooms, 1 kitchen and 1 living room. I am an English researcher working for a pharmaceutical company and this apartment was bought while working here in Netherlands on a 5 year contract, as I thought it would be a better investment than renting. I am the only owner of the apartment, it is paid in full and it has no legal problems . The apartment has not been inhabited since I am no longer living in Amsterdam.
I wish to rent my apartment to some nice and responsible people and in order to do that I have to know a some details about you, like how many persons are you planning to live in the apartment, for how long, if you have a steady income, etc. I must tell you from the beginning that I do not have a problem if you are a student and I am very fond of pets and willing to accept them in the apartment(I am the proud owner of an english bulldog). You should also know that I appreciate sincerity very much.
In addition to everything else here is a little something about the apartment and myself so we can get to know each other.
The apartment is the one in the pictures from the advertisment.I have the option of sending all my furniture into storage if you want to bring your own (no extra costs)
The rent for 1 month is 650 euro (for the entire apartment) including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable). You can rent the flat for any period of time (open end contract) but not less than 3 months.
About myself, I am 35 years and as I told you I am a researcher in pharmaceutical products, currently living in Sheffield, my home town.
You can move in the apartment in the same day when you receive the keys. The only issue is that I am already in United Kingdom but I hope that together we are going to find a solution.

I appreciate your interest in my property and I am looking forward to a future collaboration and friendship.

Best regards,

Marc

Hi Astrid,

Thank you for your timely response and for your willingness to rent the apartment. If you are still interested I agree to rent it to you. I promise you that you will love the place. You seem to be a very nice person and I can assure you we will not have any problems .
Of course you will have to see the apartment before discussing further details because you cannot rent an apartment that you haven't seen. I am willing to send you the keys so you can visit it and see it suits your needs.
The delivery for the keys (apartment keys, interphone, alarm) and viewing permit (signed by me), will be made through an authorized courier and using a Moneybookers Escrow Account to make sure that we can trust each other.
I will explain the procedure if you are interested so please email me as soon as you read this message because I really need to take care of this matter.

Best Regards,

Dear Astrid,

The use of the Moneybookers escrow blocked account involves 3 parties : me as the home owner , you as the prospective tenant and Moneybookers as a licensed third party responsible for good development of the transaction .
The Moneybookers Escrow Blocked account is like the blocked account where you pay the damage deposit when you rent an apartment except that instead of a bank we will use Moneybookers. Of course, nobody can touch this money until you return the keys .
The value of the deposit is equal to the first month of rent and must be paid for the activation of the Blocked Account.
The delivery for the package will be made using an authorized courier like Pegasus, DHL, Federal Express, UPS and the package will be sent by Moneybookers to your home address.
In order to initiate the procedure I will need the following information from you:
-Shipping address (address where you want the package to be delivered) and the name of the receiver
-Arrival Schedule ( when you will be home to receive the package and sign for the receipt)
-Telephone number in case of any emergencies .
You have 14 days to inspect the apartment since the arrival date .
If you want to keep the apartment I will set up the open end (3 month notice) contract from here with your information , I will sign it and I will send it to you .
You have to sign it and send it back to me .
-If you do not keep the apartment, you give the keys/contract back to moneybookers and you collect the security deposit .
This will be in writing in the moneybookers contract I will sign.
The MoneyBookers fees will be paid by me when i will initiate the procedure, you will have to pay for the money transfer fees when you will have to pay the moneybookers agent.
I will wait your soon reply and if you agree, i will need your full name, shipping address and your daytime phone number and i will initiate the moneybookers transaction.

Thanks again for your time and look forward to hear from you soon.


I THANK YOU ALL FOR THE EXCISTENCE OF THIS FORUM!!!

[ccutie]

Hello

I´m from Portugal and I was looking from and apartment to rent at Lisbom and I found this one: http://casa.sapo.pt/Apartamento-Arrenda ... 1305a.html

I started emailing until I got this email:

Thank you for your reply but the matter is that I'm in London already. Like I have inform you before, the price you shall pay for 1 month is 250 Euro, but you must to deposit 500 euros/the money for one month of rent and the deposit 250 Euro(for the whole apartment), with no extra taxes to pay. The money, I want to recive it monthly to my bank account, so I hope it will be no problem for you to wire the money to my bank account. The apartment is ready for you, you will need only to receive the keys and the contract to check it, and see if you like it. Obviously we need a way to complete this deal, that will allow us to make sure we receive what we are after. In order of that I have found a way for us to complete the deal safely and fast, and in this way you will receive the Keys in less than 2 days, if you move fast as well. The solution is provided by a company called MoneyBookers which is similar to FedEx or UPS, which will handle both payment and delivery of the Keys. I have found a procedure that will allow you to pay for the rent of the apt only after you will receive the keys of it and through this way you will see it and decide if you will stay in the apt or not before I receive my payment. Please click on the link bellow to the MoneyBookers website to see how we can complete the deal safely and fast directly from the website of the company where the procedure is explained: https://www.moneybookers.com/app/help.pl?s=escrow&l=ES

Let me know if you are interested please because I really need to take care of this matter.

thats when I decided to google this scams and found your forum
I emailed the site to reporting

[juarezkdvc]

hello there. i`m from brazil and happen the same to me. same history, messages and datas. the e-mail they used was wilfpatricia@hotmail.com and the name was Patricia Wilfong.

MoneyBookers Agent Details
First name: Eduard
Last name: Mattis
Address: 75 Fulham Road
City/State: London
PostalCode: SW6 5HY
Country: United Kingdom

Sender Information
First name: Patricia
Last name: Wilfong
Address: Hill Drive 4
City:London
Zip Code: SW16 4NP
Country: United Kingdom

i was trying to discover if it was real and i found this forum. so you can see they trying to take advantage from brazil too.

tks.

[stef3]

I experienced the same thing for Geneva. Thanks to you guys, I did not make a payment! E-Mail Adress was: bassardgisela@gmx.ch

Here's the french mail


Bonsoir,

Je m’appelle Gisela Bassard et je viens de recevoir un e-mail au sujet de votre intérêt concernant mon
deux pièces situé dans Rue De-Miléant 14. Je suis un chercheuse italienne travaillant pour une entreprise
pharmaceutique et j’ai acheté cet appartement alors que je travaillais ici en Suisse dans le cadre d’un contrat de
5 ans, pensant que ce serait un meilleur investissement que de le prendre en location. Je suis le seul
propriétaire, l’appartement est entièrement payé et il n’y a aucun problème juridique. L’appartement est inoccupé
depuis que je n’habite plus à Genève.
Je souhaite louer mon appartement à des gens sympathiques et responsables, et à ces fins je souhaiterais
avoir plus de détails vous concernant, par exemple : à combien de personnes comptez-vous vivre dans l’appartement,
pour combien de temps, possédez-vous un revenu stable, etc. Je dois vous dire que je n’ai rien contre le fait que
vous soyez étudiant et que j’adore les animaux domestiques et qu’ils sont les bienvenus dans l’appartement (je
suis moi-même le fier maître d’un bulldog anglais). Vous devez aussi savoir que j’apprécie beaucoup la sincérité.
En plus du reste, voici quelques informations sur moi-même et sur l’appartement, afin que nous nous
connaissions un peu plus.
L’appartement est celui qui figure sur les photos de l’annonce, mais dans la mesure où les derniers
locataires possédaient leurs propres meubles, les miens ont été entreposés dans une pièce située au sous-sol de
l’immeuble. Si vous ne possédez pas de meubles, je peux les faire revenir dans l’appartement sans coût
supplémentaire.
Le loyer mensuel est de 1080 CHF (pour tout l’appartement), charges comprises (eau, électricité, internet,
câble). Vous pouvez louer l’appartement pour une période indéterminée (contrat tacitement reconductible) mais pour
une durée minimale de 4 mois.
En ce qui me concerne, j’ai 56 ans, et comme mentionné plus haut je suis chercheusse en produits
pharmaceutiques, vivant actuellement à Rome, ma ville natale. Vous pouvez emménager dans l’appartement le jour de
la réception des clés. Le seul problème est que je suis déjà en Italie, mais j’espère que nous allons trouver une
solution ensemble.
J’apprécie votre intérêt pour mon appartement et je suis impatient de notre future collaboration et amitié.
Cordialement, Gisela

[dontbuyit]

I received a similar email from Hanne Perce. Do not trust the person behind the email address, hanne_perce@hotmail.de . This is a warning.

Hello ... ,

Thank you for your interest in having my apartment for rent. The apartment is located into a quiet area on 20 Berolinastraße, 10178 Berlin, and it have 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large salon and fully equipped kitchen.
I'm located in London, United Kingdom since I was in school and the apartment was my parents property, and now mine. I decided to keep the place and not sell it, so I've make an rent anouncement on internet.
The money are not the main problem I am looking for a responsible person that can take care of property. I will solicit for your absolute maintenance of the place and want you to treat it as your own. The place is available and it has not been rented before. You can rent it for the period of time suitable for you of course. You can start with a basic 3 months and we can renew the agreement any time you want.
I'm being selective so please send a description of what you do and why I should rent the place and anything else that might give you the upper hand. The Tenancy Agreement form will be forwarded to you, which would guarantee your entry to the place on the day of your arrival.
The rent for 1 month is 850 EUR including all utilities ( water, electricity, Internet, cable, 2 parking spots, air conditioning ). You can move in the apartment in the same day when you receive the keys. I have ready all the necessary rental documents. The only problem is that I'm the only person who has the keys but I hope that we will find a way to solve this situation. I will really appreciate a response if you decide to rent the place.
Above all things, this is a great place and opportunity for someone. Hope to hear back from you soon!
I've attached the pictures of the apartment...I hope you like it. You'll receive the flat fully furnished and fully equipped like into the pictures

Best Regards
Hanne

[MissDK]

Another warning.. It seems like this thing has also come to Slovenia...

Here's the mail from man named Carlos Chavez (carloschavez1924@hotmail.com)

Hello,

First of all i'm sorry to write you in english but i don't speak portugal. I just read your e-mail regarding my apartment located in : Trzaska cesta 24 - Ljubljana, It has 2 rooms : 2 bedrooms, 1 bathrooms, 1 kitchen and 1 living room (77m2 ).
I bought this apartment for my daughter during her studies in Slovenlja, but now she's back home (Rome/Italy) permanently, so I'm renting the place for unlimited time.
Before we go any further I would like to know a little something about you, like how many persons you intend to live in the apartment, and for how long.
The flat is exactly like in the pictures, fully furnished and renovated. Also, very important, the utilities (cold/hot water, electricity, wireless broadband Internet, digital TV, 1 parking spots, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine, etc.) are INCLUDED in the price of 350 EUR/month. The kaution is also EUR 350,00, and you get it back, when you decide to leave the apartment (you will have to give me at least 30 days notice). As for me, you can rest assured that I will never ask you to leave the apartment. My daughter is building her life here, and i am too old to move to Slovenlja, so we won't disturb you.
You can use my furniture, or you can also use your own if you prefer. If you decide to use yours, you will have access to a very large and well ventilated cellar, where you can store my furniture.
Now, a little bit about myself so we can get to know each other better. My name is Carlos Chavez and I'm a 58 years old graphic designer from Rome/Italy, planning to retire in the next 2 years.
I have a wonderful wife Liliana and a 25 year old daughter,Carlos. I am very proud to say that soon I'm going to be a grandfather . Another member of our family is a 8 year old Labrador which we all love, so, I have no problem if you will keep pets.
The only inconvenience is that my job doesn't allow me to leave Rome even for one single day. We just hired some new staff and I'm in charge of their training.
But this won't affect you at all. I can make arrangements to rent the apartment from Rome/Italy (on my expense of course).

Looking forward to hear from you soon.

All the best from Rome !

[oriolssires]

Hi, today I almost payed to an inexistent person. This time, it was in France. This advertisement (I give you many pages where you can find it):

http://location-appartement-meuble.viva ... e/37094815?
http://housing.justlanded.com/fr/France ... 0-Toulouse
http://immo.trovit.fr/index.php/cod.fra ... rg.1/pop.1
http://toulouse.olx.fr/appartement-t3-p ... -204499138

Here are her data:
Sender Information:
First name: Mireille
Last name : Connor
Address : 87 David Lee Point
City : London
PostalCode: E15-3LF
Country : United Kingdom
Email: mireille_connor@live.fr

Always using the same protocol: advertising a nice appartment, telling the story of living in London, explaining the way for giving keys and location contract using MoneyBookers, and finally asking to do a money sending by Western Union.

More information about MoneyBookers: I made a call to know what exactly they do and if they could tell me if it was a fraud or not. They told me: MONNEYBOOKERS DON'T MAKE SENDINGS OF KEYS OR LOCATION CONTRACTS and when I mentioned WesternUnion they told MONEYBOOKERS DOESN'T WORK WITH WESTERNUNION.

I hope it can help you,
Oriol