# I can't wait for the next e-mail! (Craigslist scam) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 26, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-wait-for-the-next-e-mail-craigslist-scam/469647 "2008-10-26T17:04:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-wait-for-the-next-e-mail-craigslist-scam/469647/1 "2008-10-26T17:04:15Z")
So, Friday afternoon, we were refreshing our rental ads on Craigslist, and the receptionist noticed this too-good-to-be-true house rental and sent it to me. The first two paragraphs come from a typical market listing for a pretty nice house, the last… well. You know. > [@](#): > > 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, outdoor kitchen cabana, bocce ball court, outdoor fireplace and > separate and spacious luxury guest junior suite. Walk into the main house where antique > chandeliers from Tuscany and Mexico compliment wider wood planks, limestone and Mexican > tile flooring. Balconies, patios, decks and gardens cascade down three flat levels of > glorious outdoor living. Hand carved fountains, pillars and fireplaces make this home > one like not other. > > Stroll out of your master bedroom onto your private balcony to watch the hawks fly above > the valley, or the squirrels play in your massive oaks. In the kitchen, cook on your new > Thermador stove and serve friends and family alike right from the fabulous concrete > counter that encircles the workspace or lounge in the family room and gaze out through > ornate picture framed windows. The dining room surrounded by windows looks out on a > redwood grove. On the lower level two bedrooms and two baths each with their own special > features. One bedroom has a beautiful deck, the other a private bath made of stucco. > > the house is very clean and its located in a great location, i only need a responsible > and understand person whom will feel the same way am feeling for the house because its > cost me so much before i could get this kind of place. any one that is ready to rent > which is not post dating renting should contact me or if have ant date of moving let me > know first > > • cats are OK - purrr > • dogs are OK - wooof > • Location: victoria > • it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests Of course, I immediately sent off an email enquiry with my use-for-dodgy-stuff email address. So far, the correspondence between us has been fairly amusing, though likely pretty typical. No one, I repeat, no one, is going to rent that kind of house in Victoria, furnished, utilities included, for $1150.00. Maybe they would have done much better to advertise it at a higher rate. I wonder how well the scam is working? The same house description appears on Craigslist (often removed pretty quickly) and other like sites all over North America, and also Paris and Madrid. I finally got an address for this supposed listing, and thanks to [maps.live.com](http://maps.live.com) can confirm my “concerns”. (I shouldn’t pass along the information that one can generally view addresses pretty well with such sites–I don’t want to give the scammers more information or tools. I may have slipped up there, though, alas). It sure took a lot to get an address out of them, and they still haven’t provided the supposed attached pictures of the interior. > [@](#): > > I have a few questions before I send along the application. > > 1. The description says “watch… the squirrels play in your massive oaks”. I don’t see any oak trees in the yard of the property. > 2. It also says “The dining room surrounded by windows looks out on a redwood grove.” I don’t see a redwood grove in the map view of the property, and we do not actually have redwood trees in Victoria. > 3. The house apparently has an “outdoor kitchen cabana, bocce ball court, outdoor fireplace and separate and spacious luxury guest junior suite.” I don’t see that in the picture of the property I was able to locate on a satellite map. > > I am a little concerned that the description of the property does not match the house at the address you’ve given me. Can you explain? I know it’s wrong to play along, but I couldn’t resist. They will likely tire of me by the end of today. I am bummed that I think I gave away the notion of viewing the property on a satellite map, though. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-wait-for-the-next-e-mail-craigslist-scam/469647/2 "2008-10-26T18:52:16Z")
Looking at my own residence it’s obvious that the images are several years out of date. The redwoods and massive oaks undoubtedly grew in since the pictures you’ve seen were taken. And don’t worry about it, I doubt that we have many of that sort of scammer frequenting SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-wait-for-the-next-e-mail-craigslist-scam/469647/3 "2008-10-26T20:26:19Z")
The same scam is going on in England,residential properties in the nicer parts of London are being advertised for low rents. Apparently the scammers ask for a deposit and a months rent in advance and then are never heard of again once the moneys been transferred.