I responded to an ad on CL for a 2 bedroom apartment. On the inexpensive side, but not the only one this cheap, and rent can be relatively cheap in San Diego these days (at least, compared to the Bay Area, where I’ve lived the most). Anyway, this is the response I got from the guy. Sure sounds 419-esque, doesn’t it? I emailed him back asking again for the exact location (neighborhood and address) and asked him how long he would be gone and planning to rent out the house. I didn’t email the info he asked for. I know that not all of his questions are strictly legal, since you can’t discriminate based on religion, so you shouldn’t be asking about it on the application, but that’s not my concern…Anyway, I suppose the scam is that he’ll ask for my information in order to run a credit check…I am going to flag it on CL depending on his response to me. If he seems annoyed, I’ll flag the post. If not, we’ll see…Here’s his response to my email inquiry:
*Hello ,
Thanks for your email and it is my gladness to hearing
from you.I am the owner of the house you are making
enquiry of.Actually I resided in the house with my
family,such as my wife and my only daugther before and
presently we had packed due to my transfer from my
working place and now situated in the West Africa ,
and presently my house is still available for rent for
$850 including the utilities.
Moreso Now, i went for a Crusade in West Africa and i
will like you to get in touch with me for more
discussion as i am with the keys and the document to
the house.Pls i want you to note that,i am a kind and
honest man and also i spent alot on my property that i
want to give you for rent,so i will solicit for your
absolute mentenance of this house and want you to
treat it as your own,is that taken,it is not the money
the main problem but want you to keep it tidy all the
time so that i will be glad to see it neat when i came
for a check up.I also want you to let me have trust in
you as i always stand on my word.if you are interested
in renting this flat i will like you to fill out this
form below…
RENT APPLICATION FORM
Also,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?
10)Are you born again?
Please i will like you to get back to me as soon as
possible so that i can let you to know the next
procedure.
That’s all I need to see to know it’s a scam. I don’t know what his game is, but it doesn’t matter. Flag the shit and move on. And for the love of God, don’t give him any kind of personal info.
I didn’t give him personal info. What’s funny is he’s already emailed me back, all eager. Wow, that’s my first scam on craigslist. I’ve used it for everything from a date to activities to free stuff to jobs to apartments. Ha, Crandall Spondular. Hmmm, I think it might be fun to mess with him. I just sent him this:
Hello,
Well I have a lot to do. I am very busy as I just came into some money (inheritance) and I’m trying to figure out what to do with it all. Did you say you are going to West Africa? I wonder if you could bring some of my money to a good friend of mine in Togo. I would wire it but I don’t trust those agencies. When are you going to West Africa?
I nearly fell for a similar one on Gumtree in the UK:
The first part of the correspondence was all about how precious the flat was to “Ann”. Then I was to be sent the keys on spec - but a spec which involved me parting with £750 (my bolding)… I don’t think so.
Also, there is no record of any Ann Slima on the whole of the internet.
is as far as you need to get before you can be pretty sure it’s a scam. The rest (particularly the West Africa part—jeez, the more sophisticated scammers have at least figured out not to admit upfront that they’re African) simply serves to erect a mammoth billboard with bright neon letters, several stories tall, spelling out SCAM, corresponding to the smoking word SCAM that’s being burned into your forehead with a cattle brand.
My wife (a realtor) gets this kind of crap all the time in response to listings on Craiglist. They never mention anything about the specific property they’re ostensibly interested in, and often arrive within a couple of minutes after the listing is posted.