My current tenants’ lease is about to end, so the property is advertised as being available shortly. Below is an email exchange with a possible customer. I just hit “send” on my reply to him. I’ll post whatever he writes back later.
With regards to the property I am inquiring about, I will like to get some more details about it, I am currently in the Uk and I am Relocating down to the US to do a survey for my employer ( MMH Insurance Group (UK), as we are about to open an office in the state, so due to my non presence to inspect the Property, I will like you to give me the below details:# I need full details including address of the property and pictures if available for the place.
# Monthly rentals/security deposits.
# If utilities is added to monthly rent.
# When the property would be available.
# Mail me the total move in cost.
# The Picture of the apartment. I await your response soon.
Regards.
I replied with the information he sought. Here is where he went Nigerian on me:
Good Day, Thanks for the details on the Property, I am satisfied and will like to go ahead with the renting process, I will like you to go ahead and reserve the property for me.So I will be needing the following informations so that the check for payment of the deposit $1375 can be processed and posted to you soon.
Name:…………
Address:………….
Phone number(cell and land):…………
I want the 12 month lease to start on the 1st June 2008, I will also want to notify you that I have in the mean time arrange with an interior decorator who will be handling the purchase of furnitures, entertainment system and other appliances that I will need in the property, theywill as well be incharge of moving down my luggages down to the states. So the check of $5,700 will be sent over to you which is a relocation grant by my employer, and all you need to do is deduct the deposit $1375 and you will forward the rest to the Decorators so I can have the place all prepared for my arrival. All applications and lease will be signed as soon as I arrive.
Also for familiarization I Am Mike Jones, I am 31 yrs of age, a British citizen, married to a lovely lady, with a daughter (Family staying over in the UK), I work with MMH Insurance Group (UK), as a loss adjuster agent, I am a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker also i don’t keep pets.I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as a tenant with you.
I await the details.
you can reach me at this number +447024045677
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Dr.Joseph Williams.
34,TIVOLI GARDEN SE185PD
UNITED KINGDOM
EMAIL:mortalrain01@yahoo.com
Regards.
————————————————
Here is my reply email:
Dear Mike Jones-
Got your reply. You are full of shit. How is the weather in Nigeria today?
You are not from the UK. I’ve been there, and its residents are wrinkly old white men who smoke pipes and use correct grammar every day. They don’t capitalize the first letters in the words “Family” or “Nonsmoker.” Or refer to themselves as “reserved in Nature.” They don’t move down their “luggages” or buy “furnitures” either. They also don’t try to spend $4325 renovating a property in which they will be RENTING. You sound like a Saturday Night Live “Bad Idea Jeans” commercial. Or a garden variety dumbass. Neither is becoming to you.
I also don’t believe that your current landlord is a physician referred to as “mortal rain.” That doesn’t even make for a good CB radio handle or aviation call-sign. It’s retarded, just like you are.
If you want to give me $5700 so that I can give your “Decorators” $4325, go right ahead. But it better be cash money buried under a volcanic glass rock that doesn’t belong in a Maine hayfield by the tree where I proposed to Pretty Bride. Otherwise, shine my balls, buddy.
My wife got an e mail , very similar to the ones posted here.
We have a condo to rent in San Diego
What exectly this scam works
Pump all your personal information, then …….
:o(
I have had several scamers contact me each time I posted a house for lease on craigslist, I even got the guy to send me the check, reported it to the FBI and never opened the FED EX envelope, which originated in Georgia. Boy, was he MAD. That one couldn’t get his name straight, Dr. Smith Cole, in one e-mail, then he’d sign it Dr. Cole Smith in another.
Here one e-mail he sent, but the last one he used some pretty foul language. It was a hoot.
From: Smith Cole
Hello,
Thanks for the mail,I will like you to deduct your rent funds and send $3,122 to the furniture company through Western Union Money transfer tommorow morning.
Here is the Western Union Information to send the money to
Name Harry Diaz
Address 1250 AVONWOOD CT
City LUTZ,
State FL
Zip code 33559
Just make sure you have the money send to them today so that they can shedule date and time for the furniture delivery at the apartment location and i want the furnitures to be deliverd before my arrival.Do get back to me with the Western Union Information that you used to wired the money to Harry Diaz .
Now, the property he supposedly wanted to LEASE is in Washington State .
Another one had this e-mail address, but I didn’t bother to pull his chain, I just told him the house was not available. fred.seligman01@live.com
The enquiry I got today is from:
Steven cathier
and when I googled his name, I got this website so someone else has heard from him.
Keep being smart and checking out these flakey requests. Also, googling the names of the people help unearth the scams. Dr. Smith/Dr. Cole showed up on several other scam reporting sites.
Who knows, this new Steven might even be the old Dr. Smith/Cole.
Keep the faith. Not all people are bad and some really need to rent your property, for real. Just make sure you meet them fact-to-face. 😉
I forgot to mention that Fred Seligman also claimed to be from the UK, was a professional nurse, planning to be transferred here, needed me to handle furniture shipping, payment, etc.
No one has mentioned his name here, but I though I should in the event that someone does a search on him, as well.
Note: BTW, even if you get the check and write up the scam for the FBI, they won’t even contact you about it.
They might if you go through with the scam, deposit/cash the check (which is bogus), and wire the money to the third party. I supposed it is only considered fraud if you lose any $$.
The FBI never contacted me. I kept the check and never even opened the FED EX envelope, but I used the FBI web site to copy and paste all the e-mails I’d received and did make a report.
No reply and it’s been 9 months, NADA.
Tips about a Western Union wire:
You will lose all the money you wire including the costs for the wire, but you can report the scam to WU. They like to know about these overseas scams and sometimes they will block a specific name, and/or address, from receiving WU transfers in the future , but only if you report it.
If you charge the amount on a credit card for convenience, you will also be dinged a fee from your credit card company because it’s considered a CASH ADVANCE. Don’t bother to call and complain, it’s non-negotiable. You will pay the fee or incur a late charge.
I learned this as I was scammed on e-bay a few years ago, because I was trying to purchase a gift for my daughter.
He e-mailed me and told me I was the second highest bidder on a ring and the first bidder backed out. It was supposed to be in Romania. So I paid, all excited about it, then he contacted me and said his wife had sent two rings. I said I didn’t want two rings, and that I wouldn’t pay for a second one. I never even saw the first one.
I suppose some people fall for the second part of the scam, but by now I’d found out that I was not a second highest bidder on the ring, that the guy who got it really did get it.
Fortunately it was less than a $100 dollars, but it taught me a hard lesson.
The e-bay scammers pray on people who have only one or two purchases and are new to the game. I don’t think they list your purchases any more because of this.
So many people were scammed they had to change their method of operation. I talked to a rep from e-bay after I made my Spoof report. I used to get 3 or 4 spoof E-mails from e-bay every week. I quit using it because of that.
The bottom line is NEVER wire money to someone you do not know, ever, for ANY reason.
If you do there are huge fees for the wire and once it’s gone, you cannot get it back.
May you learn by my mistake.
Now they are claiming to be employed by LINK Ins. Company. Same letter almost word for word.
Thanks for the details on the Property, i am satisfied and will
like to proceed with the renting process,
i will like you to go ahead and reserve the property for me.
So i will be needing the following informations so that the check
for payment of the deposit of $3150 can be processed and posted to you soon.
Name:………….
Address:………….
Phone number(cell and land):………….
I want the 12 months lease to start on the 1st Nov 2008, i will also
want to notify you that i have in the mean time arrange with an interior
decorator who will be handling the purchase of furnitures,entertainment
system and other appliances that i will need in the property,they will as
well be in-charge of moving down my luggages down to the States.
So the check of $7800 will be sent over to you which is a relocation grant
by my employer, and all you need to do is deduct the deposit $3150 and you
will forward the rest to the Decorators so i can have the place all
prepared for my arrival. All applications and lease will be signed as soon as i arrive.
Also for familiarization I Am Robert Tedrow,I am 32 yrs of age,a British
citizen, married to a lovely lady, with a daughter (Family staying over
in the UK ), I work with LINK INSURANCE GROUP (UK), as a loss adjuster
agent,I am a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker also i don’t keep pets.
I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as a
tenant with you.
I await the details.
you can reach me at this number +447024099236
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Anthony Scott
17, TIVOLI GARDEN SE185PD
UNITED KINGDOM
EMAIL:honyescott@yahoo.co.uk
You can also call my employer at the number below to verify employment.
(Ivan Samuel +447024017745)
Cheers
Hello everybody.
I googled a phone number mentioned in an e-mail I just received and found this page.
Funny thing, they sent you e-mails regarding rent. And in my case they wanted to hire me. I replied to a job posting on craiglist and received this e-mail.
But the phone number was suspicious: +447031956870. And absolutely no info about company. So now it makes sense 🙂
Hello everyone ,
Appariently they are using this line i didnt copy everything but be aware of this
MMH Insurance Group (UK), as a loss adjuster agent, Iam a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker also i don’t keep pets. I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as atenant with you. I await the details.you can reach my at this number +447024099779
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Dr.Joseph WIlliams.
34,TIVOLI GARDEN SE185PD
UNITED KINGDOM
EMAIL:josephwilliams2xxp@yahoo.com Regards.larry williams191 swan lanecv2 4ge Coventry
yeah i just recieved an e-mail from sam mike with the exact e-mail format.
I’ve been receiving the same nonsense email from this guy today regarding a property that I have for rent, and want to say thank you to all of you who have posted info about this scam. Thanks too for making me laugh! Good luck with your property rentals. :o)
PS I’m sure that several names are being used by this guy or group but just FYI the emails that I’ve received today are signed with the name Grey Grundy. The rest of the emails are identical to the same silly illiterate mess that you’ve all mentioned.
I got the identical email on Craisgslist boston.
So, did he end up shining your balls?
The name I got was Robert Tedrow.
tedrobert22@yahoo.co.uk
Just got the same email for a house I have advertised from a Peter Benson
I put a for rent ad in CraigsList, Kansas City, and got a similar inquiry. The name was Ray Paul.
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I sent the scammer a link to this blog. Do ya think it understands enough english to understand what it means?
same emails from John Peterson RTH Insurance Group from UK
Thanks for saving me time and frustration.
Good post
Got a similar email. Replied to my craig’s list posting within hours.
Thanks for the details on the Property, I am satisfied and will like to proceed with the renting process, I will like you to go ahead and reserve the property for me. So I will be needing the following informations so that the check for payment for the rent can be processed and posted to you soon.
Name:…………
Address:………….
Phone number(cell and land):…………
I want the 12 month lease to start BY december or january 2008, I will also want to notify you that I have in the mean time arrange with an interior decorator who will be handling the purchase of furnitures, entertainment system and other appliances that I will need in the property, they will as well be in charge of moving down my luggages down to the states. So an overpayment check of $7,500 will be sent over to you which is a relocation grant by my employer, and all you need to do is deduct your calculated amount for the rent and you will forward the rest to the Decorators so I can have the place all prepared for my arrival. All applications and lease will be signed as soon as I arrive.
Also for familiarization I am Roy Rollan I am 45 yrs of age,a British citizen, married to a lovely lady, with a daughter (Family staying over in the UK), I work with KRS Insurance Group (UK), as a loss adjuster agent, I am a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker also I don’t keep pets.
I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as a tenant with you.
I await the details.
you can reach me on this number +44704 578 0701
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Dr Richard Rowe
12,TIVOLI GARDEN SE185PD
UNITED KINGDOM
Email: adeniyiagbolade@yahoo.com
yes, hilarious. I got the same email from Soke Mike. Also, found your blog while searching for KRS Insurance Group… so funny. I may copy your reply and send it back to him. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your info! Just so everyone knows, I got a similar email today from “John Peterson” “johnpeterson1000@sify.com” saying he works for “RTH Insurance Group (UK)”.
Thank you so much for your website! After receiving a suspicious email, we googled “MMH Insurance Group”, and found your site. The emails you have posted here are almost IDENTICAL to the one we received. Thank you again!
The email we received was for our apartment in Wyoming which we advertised on Craigslist. It is from:
Allan Sharp
MMH Insurance Group
34,TIVOLI GARDEN
SE18 5PD,UNITED KINGDOM
Another variation – Herod Jin (same name as before) sent me a check for $4,000 including some sum for redecorating. His email was
“herod jin [herodjin@googlemail.com]“
I received the following email.
—–
Good Day,
With regards to the property I am inquiring about, I will like to get
some more details about it, I am currently in the Uk and I am
Relocating down to the US to do a survey for my employer ( MMH
Insurance Group (UK), as we are about to open an office in the state,
so due to my non presence to inspect the Property, I will like you to
give me the below details,
# I need full details including address of the property and pictures
if available for the place.
# Monthly rentals/security deposits.
# If utilities is added to monthly rent.
# When the property would be available.
# Mail me the total move in cost.
I await your response soon.
Regards.
—–
I replied, thinking, man, this guy can’t read the ad? I received the following email in response.
—–
Hello ,
Thanks for the details on the Property, I am satisfied and will
like to go ahead with the renting process, I will like you to go ahead
and reserve the property for me.
So I will be needing the following informations so that the check for
payment of the deposit $1410 can be processed and posted to you soon.
Name:…………
Address:………….
Zip code…………….
City…………………..
Phone number(cell and land):…………
I want the 12 month lease to start on the 16th December 2008, I will
also want to notify you that I have in the mean time arrange with an
interior decorator who will be handling the purchase of furnitures,
entertainment system and other appliances that I will need in the
property, they will as well be incharge of moving down my luggages
down to the states. So the check of $5,500 will be sent over to you
which is a relocation grant by my employer, and all you need to do is
deduct the deposit $1410 and you will forward the rest to the
Decorators so I can have the place all prepared for my arrival. All
applications and lease will be signed as soon as I arrive.
Also for familiarization I Am James Buffert, I am 41 yrs of age, a
British citizen, married to a lovely lady, with two daughter (Family
staying over in the UK), I work with MMH Insurance Group (UK), as a
loss adjuster agent, I am a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker
also i don’t keep pets.
I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as
a tenant with you.
I await the details.
you can reach my at this number +44 70457 29267
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Dr.Joseph Williams.
34,TIVOLI GARDEN SE185PD
UNITED KINGDOM
EMAIL:josephwilliams2xxp@yahoo.com
Regards
–
James Buffert
Saint Hill Manor
East Grinstead
West Sussex, RH19 3HZ
UK
—–
I feel bad if the guy actually exists. At any rate, I stopped responding and sent any emails from him into the garbage. Thank goodness I used an email account just for spam!
Mine is exactly the same scenario——Steve Weller, KRS Insurance Group (UK). Discraceful and extremely disappointing. The e-mail he used was steve.weller60@gmail.com
OH WOW!! i did a search for “KRS insurance group uk” and found your blog! he sent me the SAME email… i posted a property up on craigslist. the email he used was titibelly1755@gmail.com. titibelly itself shouldve been a red flag. thanks for letting the people know!
Happened to me too, thanks for posting this. He used “KRS Insurance Group (UK)” in his email to me.
Same for me. Titus Bell was his name-o. I found it interesting that someone with the email address titbellly1753@gmail.com would actually email someone regarding renting a property.
I got the same email and has suspicions from the very start, this confirms all my suspicions. THANKS.
Why can’t scum bags learn to work for a living instead of trying to scam hard working responsible people?
I was contacted by TITUS BELL virtually the same email. Thank you so much for the information. We just put a bid on another house and have never rented out before.
I got one today from Titus Bell from KRS insurance in the UK – I was confused when he offered me money to give to the interior decorator to buy furniture to rent my fully furnished condo in portland.
I got an email from “titus bell” with email address of “titbellly1758@googlemail.com” asking if my rental was still available and this was the response I got after I told him “yes”.
Did research on the company name KRS Insurance Group (UK) thru Google and found this blog and others!! Thanks for your posting!!
“With regards to the property I am inquiring about, I will like to get
some more details about it, I am currently in the UK and I am
Relocating down to the US to do a survey for my employer ( KRS
Insurance Group (UK), as we are about to open an office in the state,
so due to my non presence to inspect the Property, I will like you to
give me the below details,
# I need full details including address of the property and pictures
if available for the place.
# Monthly rentals/security deposits.
# If utilities is added to monthly rent.
# When the property would be available.
# Mail me the total move in cost.
I await your response soon.
Regards.”
SO, I sent him this response!! Be very CRITICAL people!! They’re out there!!
“Sure, Titus! While I’m at it, I might as well send you my bank accounts number and password and oh, also my retirement accounts number and access codes!!
Your email has been forwarded to the FBI, Google, and Craiglist and other websites and bloggers’ sites dedicated to scum bag scammers like you!! Don’t worry, one or all of them will eventually track you and your “friends” down to give you the information you requested with accommodation and then some!!
Google is ALL over you! And so is other search engines.”
Got the same email. Wasn’t aware it was a scam until I saw the “UK” and googled the company. Thanks for posting this! Damn Nigerians!
Thanks so much for this posting! Got this exact same email from “Larry Williams” I’m so glad I googled “MMH Insurance Group” before getting scammed!
My fiance and I just had it happen-guy said name was Herod Jin – we had an ad for house rental on Craigs List-Reported it to legal Dept.
Thanks.
Just got a similar e-mail from a Grey Grundy with the e-mail address: greygrundy@sify.com
This is the email I got today. Same crap. different company.
Hi , Concerning the property I am inquiring about, I will like to get some more details about it, I am currently in ENGLAND and I am Relocating down to the USA to do a survey for my company ( Kingsbridge Risk Solutions (UK) Ivy house,8 – 10 HighStreet,Twyford,READING,RG10 9AE), as we are about to open an office in the state, so due to my non presence to inspect the Property, I will like you to provide me the following details,# I need full details including address of the property and pictures if
available for the place.
# Monthly rentals/security deposits.
# If utilities is added to monthly rent.
# When the property would be available.
# Mail me the total move in cost.
I await your response soon.
Regards
Got the same email from a certain Steve Weller. Stop this men!!!!!!
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