Some unfortunate stories

Another Scamwatch reader wrote on 20/03/2009:

Yeah, I just found out that I’m the latest victim. Ferrari Stephany Jose totally scammed us out of several hundred Euros. Her fake story involved a dead father, a mother in London, and a lawyer in Spain. She was completely cordial and nice via email and had perfectly believable, nice photos of her flat. I can’t believe this happened, but it did.
DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH FERRARI STEPHANY JOSE.

 

A Scamwatch reader wrote on 1803/2009:

I was just scammed out of $2,000 by Olivia Hilary. I wish I had checked this site first. Please let me know if there is any recourse for this. Should I contact the Paris authorities? I don’t know what to do.

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These international fraudsters are aggressive and persistent. Here’s what one reader had to say about a scammer encountered on expatriates.com:

 

I initially contacted him thinking it was legit. I realized by the response that it was fraud. They post all over the world. they did just here inCanada in SEVERAL different cities as “Rev” (hahaha) Chicago Godwin… I strung him along for DAYS acting like I was interested.. in the end he had the nerve to call me SEVEN times from a Sudanese number and actually DEMAND I go to Western Union even though I told them I KNEW it was a scam and had contacted the police! Unbelievable!! I of course hung up and haven’t heard from them since.

 

This warning recently appeared on Craigslist.  

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EUR50 Bed and Breakfast Scam (Paris)

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Reply to: hous-809443590@craigslist.org 

Date: 2008-08-24, 12:24AM CEST

Hi! I just got back from paris where I had rented a room in a bed and breakfast through Craig’s List. When I got to the address, the place was actually owned by a French couple. The police were familiar with this guy–Sean Kirkham–because apparently I was the third person that week with the same story AND he has stolen a fair amount of money from an adjacent bank. So…be careful! I’m attaching the ad below!

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The original scam ad:

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EUR50 / 3br – Amazing Bed and Breakfast in the Heart of Paris!! (Paris, Ille-de-France)                

Reply to: hous-809017685@craigslist.org  
Date: 2008-08-23, 9:56AM CEST 

We are a small bed & breakfast, just three rooms. We offer Free Internet access (cable & wireless – bring your laptop along), separate bathrooms, and a full continental breakfast (buffet) included. We provide you with towels, bathrobes, hairdryer, tourist maps, … and a warm welcome. 

The Main bedroom boasts a queen-size bed, a 20-inch flat screen TV, DVD player and sound system, and unique architectural details like a natural stone wall and a quaint Romeo and Juliet balcony that overlooks the lush courtyard. 

The price is 50 Euro per night (one person) or 60 Euro per night (two persons). Reductions are possible when staying more than 3 nights. 

 

A recent warning on Craigslist:

 

Never rent from Laurie Paucot she is a scammer!!!

Reply to: hous-784770681@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-08-07, 1:50AM CEST

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Never rent from her. If she e mails you dont respond, she has scammed me and many others!!! Beware!         

A poster on Craigslist wrote:

BEWARE 400 Euro Apt. from Mary Arteta

Watch out for anyone named Mary Arteta offering an apartment or room to rent. I flew from the USA to Paris only to find out that I had been ripped off… 

 

A warning posted on routard.com in April 2008:

Arnaque au logement sur CRAIGSLIST

Bonjour à tous, 

J’ai récemment failli être victime d’une très grosse arnaque sur CRAIGSLIST concernant les logements à New York. En effet je suis étudiant et je vais devoir aller 3 mois là-bas. J’ai donc contacté une personne qui avait laissé une anonce sur CRAIGSLIST (très peu fiable) pour un T2 à 700$ par mois toutes charges comprises en plein coeur de Mannhattan (231 West 29th Street 10001 NY). 
C’était une offre très alléchante et j’ai donc répondu en disant que j’étais très intéressé. 

Lire la suite ici.

 

This warning appeared on Craigslist Paris and expatriates.com in May 2008:

WARNING!! WARNING!! WARNING!! 

I have been the victim of fraud from an ad posted on expatriates.com and Craigslist. I have lost $2,500 and caution everyone to take care!!

It was a very elaborate scam – the passport that was emailed to me was real but stolen, the official documents were photoshopped, the signatures forged and the contract was extremely thorough (my solicitor even approved it).

I have been going through ads and flagging the scams – there are a LOT on here, please be careful!! Anyone that asks for Western Union or similar wire transfer is a scammer – DO NOT AGREE TO IT!! If, like in my case, you do transfer the money via Western Union, there is no hope of retrieving it. Western Union get a commission for all transactions, fraud or not, and they DO NOT HELP in any respect!!

The following are fraudsters!!!
• Ann Clare Collings
• Tara Collings
• Clare Collings
• Sandra Roland
• Nedved Henrick
• Laurie Paucot
• Chloe Hourde
• Anna Liffey
• Diette Clemence
• Chelsea Bluessports
• Mr. Smith Rolland
• Sarah Doyle
• Laurent Bizet
• Williams Harry
• Hilton Kurth
• Jean Loux 
• Herrerias Stephanis 
• Mary Arteda 
• Alexandra Martine 
• Sarah Hansen
• Marie Millecamps
• Edouardo Martel

They email from the following addresses:
• cc_llings@yahoo.com
• hilkurt_ryte@yahoo.com
• clare_colli88@yahoo.com
• acli_paris@yahoo.com
• w_harry112@gmail.com
• herr_step88@yahoo.com
• bibanke000@yahoo.com
• alex_88_001@yahoo.com
• sarrah_hansen_555@yahoo.com
• mm_2_sm@hotmail.com
• paris_flat_venge@yahoo.fr 
• louxjean@yahoo.com

Be sure to check the IP address…this will tell you which country the email is coming from. In your email program somewhere it will say “Show Full Header” or something similar. This will provide all details from the sender up the top of the email when you open it – find the IP address (it will look like this – 90.208.149.203 – and sits at the bottom of the header next to “Received by”) and do a search on http://whois.domaintools.com/. 

Also be SUSPICIOUS of emails from gmail!!! In gmail, the IP address of the person sending the message doesn’t come up in the header and therefore you are unable to track it. Other IP addresses do show up but they indicate where the email is routed to before being sent to you. Gmail comes up as California, but more often than not they originate in Nigeria.

BOTTOM LINE – Treat everyone as guilty until proven innocent, ask lots of questions and realise that these people have no shame – they will stop at nothing until they get your money!!

BE SAFE!!

Another post on Craigslist:

SCAM perpetuated: EUR1000 3br in center of Paris (Paris)

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Reply to: see below
Date: 2008-06-09, 2:16PM CEST   Others have already pointed out that the name Debbie Philips is being used as part of a housing scam targeting people seeking housing in Paris. I’m writing this to add some more updated information, as I’ve been targeted by this same “person” recently (no damage done, thankfully, just information gained by querying the “woman”).                     

I’ll post the text of the emails we’ve received below, but first some basic details. For us, she used the address 5 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, which may exist (there is an apartment at 6 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau). The pictures show rooms with windows that I have never seen in Paris (others on CL have agreed). The woman claims that the apartment is on the 4th or 5th floor; however, there are trees visible out the window, and there are no trees or parks anywhere near the apartment’s supposed location–so no way one could see trees from it. Additionally, the offer is far too good to be true. A fully furnished and equipped 3-bedroom (not just 3-room) apartment in that neighborhood of Paris should go for around 3000 euro a month, I estimate–the 1000 euro/month asked for is either completely naive or a total scam. 

Other things also don’t add up–the overwhelming amount of too-personal information the woman gives, the strange “fact” that she has apparently spontaneously decided to rent the flat after rapidly leaving France for the US, but has conveniently left everything completely furnished and equipped, the fact that she’s trying to rent it from afar via CL rather than using one of the numerous rental management agencies that exist in Paris, and then the fact that she uses a very American name yet makes English mistakes that native speakers, even those who write poorly, don’t make. 

All this aside from the obvious, that this is a complete stranger using the mask of the Internet to solicit, from overseas, 1000 Euro for a flat that renters can’t visit or even verify the existence of. 

That said, here are the emails “she” has sent, so you all can judge for yourself. My suggestion: be very wary, use a bit of logic/deductive reasoning, and, as other people have said, don’t wire money to someone you don’t know, especially for something whose existence you cannot verify. 

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The emails (and 4 of the 7 photos we were sent): 
from Debbie Philips 
date Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 11:54 AM 
subject Re: 3 bedroom flat 
mailed-by googlemail.com 

Reply 

Good to read from you on your interest on my apartment, which i am leasing out for rent 

Presently the apartment is still very much available for rent.Just to give you a little low down about the apartment. I resided in the apartment with my only daughter melissa and my late husband whom i inherented the apartment from, before we relocated my country in United State. Due to my new job offer at the Valley Medical Center – Renton, Washington.And also i am about to get married to my fiance in less than three months from now. 

The full Accomodation is for available 1000euro per month, which i also think is fair enough for such location, i just need someone with an open heart, love and clean to occupy the apartment and put all my worries off concerning the maintenance of the apartment for now. Since i am not residing there for now. 

As i told you earlier in the apartment listing. The accomodation comprises of 3 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, living room. These are some of the measurement of the apartment.Reception room 17′0″ 16′0″ ( 5.18m x 4.88m , Kitchen 13′0″ x 11′0″ ( 3.96m x 3.35m ), Bedroom 1 13′0″x 11′7″ ( 3.96m x 3.53m ), Bedroom 2 12′10″ x 10′5″ ( 3.91m x 3.18m ), Bedroom 3 9′8″ x 7′8″ ( 2.95m x 2.34m , Bathroom 6′10″ x 5′10″ ( 2.08m x 1.78m ), Guest WC 5′0″ x 2′10″ ( 1.52m x 0.86m .Facilities and electonics like satellite TV and internet connection, and a sony DVD player, air conditioning, alarm system. The kitchen is fully equipped with all necessary cooking utensils, a refrigerator-freezer, four-hob and oven, microwave, dishwasher and washing machine. 

Also the keys to the apartment are right here with me. Which i can send to you after all necessary agreement has be accepted and signed into lease. Also i will like you to know that the rent charges is not really the issue , but your absolute maintenance of the apartment, because that is the only valuable property my late husband left behind, and it also took him so much time and money to put all those facilities in place, so i wouldn’t want an violation of my property if finally rented by you. 

The Apartment is situated at rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, fifth floor apt 5, 75001, Paris, France. Nestled in the 1st arrondissement a mere 200 metres from the Louvre Museum and a short walk away from the Palais Royal, via the historic covered shopping arcade Vero Dodat, and close to St Germain and the Notre Dame, crossing the authentic Place Dauphine. And also note that ultilities bills are not inclusive, As you will have to settle the bills personally at your convenient time. Which shouldn’t be a problem if we later reach an agreement.And presently for now, i have no outstanding bills. So you would be starting the lease with a clean slate 

The minimum lease term is three months, but a maximum of two year with a possibility of extension. 

Kind Regards, 
Debbie. 
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from Debbie Philips 
date Sun, Jun 8, 2008 at 1:12 PM 
subject Re: 3 bedroom flat 
mailed-by googlemail.com 

Reply 

Hello , 
Thanks so much for your time 
Regarding the inspection, there is no one there with the keys over there as i told you earlier, so i think you can only go and see the apartment if you don’t mind, if the location is suitable for you This is the complete address to the building 5 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, fourth floor apt 5, 75001, Paris, France. And also the pictures of the inside are what i gave you. I do know your worries and how you feel at this point in time. As it wasn’t my fault, as i was suposse to lock up the apartement at the time i was leaving for the united state. 

And i never had any intension of renting it out. It was just my fiance who suggested i should lease the apartment, since i am always worried about the maintenance of the inside as there is no one presently there to monitor it. So finally my tenant can always keep it clean and send me feedbacks. 

Let me know what to you feel at this point, as there are other inquiries coming in. If we can start the screening exercies regarding references and personal information, if you are well comfortable with the renting arrangement. And hope you have a wonderful time. 

Cheers, 
Debbie

 

 

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