Is this a fraud using moneybookers escrow?

[gold_y]

sorry for the tattered posts, but the forum doesn't accept bigger ones from me.
here is the name and address of the "agent":

First name: Dennis
Last name :Bach
Address : 16 Great Peter St
City/State: London
PostalCode: SW1P 2
Country : United Kingdom

i didn't read from "him" again since i suggested to make the payment via moneybookers and sent the link to this hp.

thanks for this site!!

[thorlaug]

THANK YOU!
My sister was just about to transfer money via moneybookers to the abovementioned Angela Detter when I googled her name and this page up. My sister received the exact same mail regarding the apartment on Norrebro so this is clearly an ongoing scam (august 2010). My sister is a 'poor little student' and this scam would have affected her seriously - so many thanks for the warning!

[sparkle]

The have reached Brussels, and they are not even trying to be orginal.
DO NOT TRUST catherinaguzman@hotmail.fr DO NOT TRUST

Good day,

My name is Catherina Guzman and this is a response to your email showing your interest in my

2 room apartment located in Bijstandsstraat 14. I am a spanish researcher working for a pharmaceutical

company and this apartment was bought while working here in Belgium 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

Belgium.
What I want is to rent the apartment to nice and responsible people and in order to do that I

would like to know a some details about you, like how many persons do you intend to live in the

apartment, if you have a steady income, etc. I have to tell you from the beginning that I do not have

a problem if you are a student and I do not have a problem with pets (I am the proud owner of a french

bulldog). You shoud 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

thier 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 700 EUR (for the entire apartment) including all utilities (water,

electricity, Internet, cable, parking). You can rent the flat for any period of time (open end

contract).
About myself, I am 56 years old and as I told you I am a researcher in pharmaceutical

products, currently living in Valencia, 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 Spain but I hope that together we will find a solution.

Thank you for your interest and I looking forward to a future collaboration and friendship.

Best regards,

Catherina

------------------------------

Hi Alix,

I was pleased to read your reply and thank you 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 fall in love with 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,

Catherina

--------------------------------------

Hi again,

Using the Moneybookers escrow blocked account, the viewing procedure involves three parties:

me as the 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 just 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 deposit, which is equal to the first month of rent must be paid for the activation of the

Blocked Account.
The delivery for the package will be made using an authorized courier such as DHL, Federal

Express or UPS and the package will be sent by Moneybookers to your home address .
You must know that in case the keys in the package will not correspond to the apartment keys you will

receive three times the value of the security deposit from Moneybookers out of my Security Deposit

fund that I have with Moneybookers .
To start 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 will have 14 days to inspect the apartment since the arrival date.
If decide to keep the apartment I will set up the open ended (3 month notice) contract from

here with your information, I will sign it and I will send it to you. You will also 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 will

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 in the bank account.
I will wait your reply as soon as possible and if you agree, I will need your full name, shipping

address and your daytime phone number and I will handle the moneybookers transaction.

Thank you again for your time and I am looking forward to hear from you soon.

Catherina

--------------------------------

Thank you for letting me know about this outrageous scam!!!

[iRoody]

She's back with email: jessicapatterson65@live.com in France! Offering again a very affordable house in Strasbourg for low cost. See email and reply below. She has a poor english and this what I always found suspicious.

here is the proof:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Appartement T3 Strasbourg
From: Jessica Patterson <jessicapatterson65@live.com>
Date: Mon, August 30, 2010 4:11 pm
To: <0000000000000000000000000>

Hello Pamela,

Thank you for your interest in having my place for rent; it has 2 Bedroom and 2 bath and fully equipped kitchen and it's situated on: 7 Quai Desaix de Veygoux, 67000 Strasbourg.
I have moved to London, United Kingdom, about 4 months ago, with my husband, when I accepted my new job. I decided to keep the place because I wanted to have a comfortable and familiar place to stay when I will get back so I decided not sell it, I will just rent while I'm London. It may take up to 5 years. I will solicit for your absolute maintenance of the place and want you to treat it as your own.
The money are not the main problem I am looking for a responsible person that can take care of property. 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 550 EUR including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, 2 parking spots, air conditioning). You can move in the apt 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
Jess


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Appartement T3 Strasbourg
From: Jessica Patterson <jessicapatterson65@live.com>
Date: Tue, August 31, 2010 2:30 pm
To: <000000000000000000000000000000000000>

Hello Pamela,
I am very happy that I speak with such a reliable person. I have a very busy schedule at my office and I really can't come to meet you. I can deliver you the apartment keys by mail and you can visit it. The rent period is between 2 months and 5 years.
The deposit will not be necessary. We will use the services of Money Bookers, who will be in charged of payment and the delivery of the keys.
Here's my suggestion:
* To start this transaction i will need to know your full shipping information, full name, full shipping address to proceed with this deal .
* A soon as I got your e-mail I will go to Money Bookers to deposit the apartment keys on your name and address. Then they will send you a e-mail with a payment invoice for 1 month rent.
* Your money will be kept by Money Bookers in their safe account.
* A soon as Money Bookers will receive the money from you, they will send me a e-mail for confirmation.
* I will proceed with delivery of apartment keys.
* You will receive the keys of apartment, visit it and e-mail me if everything is okay
* After I get from you the acknowledgment that my apartment will fit to you, I will contact a local notary for the rent contract.
* I will send you, by mail, the original contract for signing.
* You will sign the contract and keep one contract for you and one contract you will have to mail me back to London.
* After everything is complete you will have to e-mail Money Bookers to confirm that all is okay so they can transfer the money to my bank account.
I hope you will agree with my suggestion.
Also here you can find out more about the security of these transactions made through MoneyBookers https://www.moneybookers.com/app/help.pl?s=escrow&l=FR
Cheers!
Jess

[preacher]

With a very warm welcome, we greet the scammers in Helsinki,Finland. They were trying to rent a beautiful apartment right in the city center for 450 euros... Identical to all cases above in this thread.

Name: Amine Bajar
email: amine.bajar@yahoo.com

This was actually quite blunt attempt. In the advertisement for the apartment, the name of the contact person was just like above. In the reply email I got from the scammer, name had suddenly been changed to Suvi Koskinen, quite normal finnish name. In the second email, her name was Amine Suvi Bajar. Hmm.

I got as far as almost making the deal with this person until I found this website and was quite shocked how similar all these stories are... I suppose the old saying "If it's too good, it's not true" fits here. Informed Suvi Amine Koskinen Bajar whatsoever that the deal is off, good luck finding someone to rent the house.

[Mike]

Same story in Berlin. But they were stupid enough to mention the address of a fancy Berlin hotel as the address of the apartment. So, the name and e-mail involved are Hanne Braidy, hanne_braidy@hotmail.com

DO NOT TRUST hanne_braidy@hotmail.com DO NOT TRUST

Hello Mikhail,

Thank you for your interest in having my place for rent; it has 2 Bedroom and 2 bath and fully equipped kitchen and it's situated on: Luisenstraße 19, Berlin 10117, Germany.
I have moved to London, United Kingdom, about 4 months ago, with my husband, when I accepted my new job. I decided to keep the place because I wanted to have a comfortable and familiar place to stay when I will get back so I decided not sell it, I will just rent while I'm London. It may take up to 5 years. I will solicit for your absolute maintenance of the place and want you to treat it as your own.
The money are not the main problem I am looking for a responsible person that can take care of property. 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 600 EUR including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, 2 parking spots, air conditioning). You can move in the apt 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 like into the pictures.

Best Regards
Hanne

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Mikhail,
I am very happy that I speak with such a reliable person. I have a very busy schedule at my office and I really can't come to meet you. I can deliver you the apartment keys by mail and you can visit it. The rent period is between 2 months and 5 years.
The deposit will not be necessary. We will use the services of Money Bookers, who will be in charged of payment and the delivery of the keys.
Here's my suggestion:
* To start this transaction i will need to know your full shipping information, full name, full shipping address to proceed with this deal .
* A soon as I got your e-mail I will go to Money Bookers to deposit the apartment keys on your name and address. Then they will send you a e-mail with a payment invoice for 1 month rent.
* Your money will be kept by Money Bookers in their safe account.
* A soon as Money Bookers will receive the money from you, they will send me a e-mail for confirmation.
* I will proceed with delivery of apartment keys.
* You will receive the keys of apartment, visit it and e-mail me if everything is okay
* After I get from you the acknowledgment that my apartment will fit to you, I will contact a local notary for the rent contract.
* I will send you, by mail, the original contract for signing.
* You will sign the contract and keep one contract for you and one contract you will have to mail me back to London.
* After everything is complete you will have to e-mail Money Bookers to confirm that all is okay so they can transfer the money to my bank account.
I hope you will agree with my suggestion.
Also here you can find out more about the security of these transactions made through MoneyBookers https://www.moneybookers.com/app/help.pl?s=escrow&l=DE
Cheers!
Hanne

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I decided to ask a question to the person 'cause I suspect it is a fraud. But I gave an address (fake, that is, not mine) to do not scar the fraud off. =)

Dear Hanne,

I agree with your suggestion. It sounds reasonable. Here is my
shipping information:

***************************************************
***************************************************

But I have a couple of questions to you.
At first, do you have a German bank account? I think it will take an
additional payment
to transfer money to an English bank account, so your German bank
account would be much more
convenient for me.

The second question is more, well, subtle. How do you trust me? What
if I am a fraud and
is going to sell, say, all the furniture and to disappear then? How are
you going to verify me? Of course,
I am not a fraud but this is important for me. For example,
can we talk with you by phone?

Thanks in advance!

Aloha,
Mikhail

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Mikhail,
I have deposited the apartment keys to MoneyBookers office. Here is the copy of the invoice that I have received from them. Please reply me to know if you have been contacted by MoneyBookers and when you are able to make the payment so the shipping can proceed. You'll receive the keys next day after your payment is confirmed, so do not forget to send the payment details to MoneyBookers.
Also I call you before you visit the flat to give you some details about location.
I've put into the envelope the flat keys, 2 cards for intercom and 2 copy's of the contract.
About the contract, I've let blank the rent period field for you can fill it. Also if you agree to rent the flat you have to sign the contract and send to me one copy through email or mail, but I think is more easy to send it through email.
I have an german bank account, so the rest of rent payments you can send it there, you have my account details on the contract.
Also I trust you to be a honest person. I know that is not a good quality of mine to trust an unknown person, but I've got my safety measures with MoneyBookers and I'm sure that you will complete this deal and rent my flat.
I wait for your email
Cheers
Hanne

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Hanne,

I went to Luisenstraße 19, Berlin 10117, Germany just to double-check if the location is convenient for us or not.
I found there just a hotel, which is called "Arte Luise Kunsthotel'. Did you write me the correct address? If not,
please send me correct one.

Thanks in advance!

With best regards,
Mikhail

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Mikhail,
The building is close of the Arte Luise Kunst Hotel, and is the same address. The entrance to the hotel is making through the same corridor with the building.
Please advise when your payment can be done for the MoneyBookers Agent, and if you received the invoice from they.
Cheers
Hanne

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The invoice of payment was sent me from service@moneybookers-rentals.com. Of course, I've not paid. I'm still thinking what to reply to the last her e-mail. =)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All Berliners, BEWARE OF THE FRAUD!!!!!

[Ivana]

Beware of:

First name: Hanne
Last name : Braidy
Address : 87 David Lee Point
City : London
PostalCode: E15-3LF
Country : United Kingdom

Agent details:
First name: Geoffrey
Last name : Marshall
Address : 44 Teignmouth Road
City/State: London
PostalCode: NW2 4DX
Country : United Kingdom

[Edewit]

Well, 'Hanne' nearly had me as well. With the same apartment in Berlin.

I didn't wire money yet, and now I sure won't.

Please note the Moneybookers agent I was told to bank money (via Western Union) too is a different one:

First name: Cletis
Last name : Trafford
Address : 22 Fryent Crescent
City/State: London
PostalCode: NW9 7HH
Country : United Kingdom

Google maps shows this adress to be a house, not an office of any kind.

The fact that I suddenly had to wire money through Western Union made me weary. Googling Hanne Braidy brought me here.

Also, as I tweeted about it, Moneybookers tweeted in return, advising me to contact security@moneybookers.com to be certain.
No need anymore, I know yet it is a fraud. Back to the househunt here.

[Edewit]

Just to make sure:

I spoke about a Moneybookers agent in my post above. Clearly this is someone representing himself to be from Moneybookers, while he in fact isn't.

I am not saying any harmful words about Moneybookers.

Also, reading the whole topic, Mikhail and I received the exact same emails.

[delbh]

I will write in portuguese some conversations because the fraud was in Brazil and this way people over here could read and understood better.


Mantive conversas com uma suposta proprietária de um imóvel que mandou mensagens já existentes na internet que solicitam a transferência de dinheiro (mensagem supostamente enviada pela MoneyBookers) para um agent da MoneyBookers.

Eis as mensagens e não caiam na conversa desse povo!

Primeira mensagem:
Hello,
Thank you for your interest. My name is Jessica Brendon and from the internet add, you could see, i have available the apartment located in: R. Saint Roman, 480 - Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22071-060, Brazil. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathrooms, 1 kitchen and 1 living room.
I am looking for someone to live in it, as soon as possible, because my company has won the auction for a project, in construction, for a building that will rise up in London, England / United Kingdom . I am a civil engineer, so my accommodation period in London will be about 4 - 6 years. The renting period is from 1 months upto 1-8 years. As a result of this I want to rent, for this period, at this price and also to find the perfect person for my apartment. I`m the owner of the apt and it's like in the pics.
The apartment is furnished, but 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 R$850 (for the whole apartment) including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking, air conditioning, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator). You can move in the apt in the same day when you receive the keys. 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 I will look forward to hearing from you soon.
Jessica Brendon
P.S. Please tell me if this is what are you looking for and reply my only if you are truly interested in the apt.

Segunda mensagem:
Thank you for your reply but the matter is that I'm in London / Uk already. Like I have inform you before, the price you shall pay for one month of rent will be R$850 + R$850 security deposit (R$1700), with no extra taxes to pay.I must have one month rent + security deposit from you. The money, I want to recive it monthly to my bank account, so I hope it will be no problem 0for 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=EN
Let me know if you are interested please because I really need to take care of this matter.


Terceira mensagem:
I want to inform you that MoneyBookers will hold the money until you will confirm to them that you like the apt and keep the keys. If you don't like it, you only have to return the keys to them after they will refund the money to you and they will deliver the keys back to me on my expense.
I will need to inform you the steps about how this service works and how we can make it happen. You will only have to deposit to MoneyBookers Service the first month of rent + security deposit - R$1700 - so they can proceed with the shipping, and you can receive the keys and the contract.
Like I said, I will pay for a 2 days delivery so you will receive the Keys and the contract signed by me right away. I will explain to you step by step how this will work:
1 - To start this transaction i will need to know your full shipping information, full name, full shipping address to proceed with this deal .
2 - I go to the MoneyBookers Office and leave the Keys and the contract in your name as the intended receiver.
3 - MoneyBookers will check the envelope to see if everything is OK with it and also the legal papers that will come along with the Keys.
4 - MoneyBookers wildelivery notification to let you know they have the Keys and the papers in their custody, in which you will be told that they have the Keys and that they checked it.
5 - At this point you will have to go to a WesternUnion Agent Location and make a money transfer deposit on the MoneyBookers agent name in London / UK assigned with this transaction for the amount we agreed, the total amount you shall deposit is for the first month of rent.
6 - After you make the deposit you will have to send the infos about the money deposit to MoneyBookers (MTCN#, sender's name and address)
7 - MoneyBookers will verify the payment informations and if everything is in order they will deliver the Keys and the contract to you .
8 - After you receive the package, You will go and check the apt and in 2 days you must contact them and tell them if you keep the apt or not, if everything is in order you will instruct MoneyBookers to release the funds to me.
If you don't like the apt they will send your money back and you will send them the keys and the contract to them to return the package back to me on my expense.I will pay MoneyBookers Service for the shipping and you will pay WesternUnion for the Money Transfer fees.Now i must know for sure if you agree because here are a lot of peoples interested to have this apartment rented and i want to know for sure what i must tell them. If you agree what i suggested i will tell them that my apartment is already rented and i will keep it for you. If you agree then i must have all the shipping details so i will be able to make all the arrangements for the MoneyBookers delivery.
very Important: WesternUnion is just a methos of payment , they are not authorized to give you any information about this transaction for your security.You just have to do a normal money transfer to a person (moneybookers agent).Only MoneyBookers has access to this transaction for more security.
Thank you for your interest and wait news from you.

Quarta mensagem:
hello,

i deposit the keys and contract at moneybookers.

you receive the confirmation??

Quinta mensagem:
hello,

moneybookers have many transaction and i want for close this deal soon.

go tomorrow at the office western union and deposit the money at moneybookers agent and in 2 days you will receive the package on your address.

you have 15 days for see the apartment and if you not like you will receive the money back.

complete the payment tomorrow and you will have the deal!

thank you,



Email utilizado: jessicabrendonj@hotmail.com

Nome e endereço de quem eu deveria mandar o dinheiro:
First name : Gregor
Last name : Huster
Address : 180 Hampstead Road
City : London
PostalCode: 8NW1 7AW
Country : United Kingdom