BEWARE of scammer Anita Staples

A warning about a scammer using the alias Anita Staples appeared on Craigslist Paris recently.  The same scam has been running on Gumtree in Cape Town. Here’s the pitch:

Hello 

Thanks for your email response. The apartment is still available for rent for €450.I inherited the apartment from my late Husband.I lived in the apartment Only Because am Single,am a Teacher in (Paris) so they transfer me to West Africa Teach a University.i Teach French,Spanish,i will there for about 3 or 4Years .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, since i am not residing there for now.I left behind some Facilities and electronics which you have to pay for the subscription, and a 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, My 

Computer Connected with Internet Access Also the keys to the condo are right here with me, and the lease document. Which i can send to you after all necessary agreement has be accepted. Also i will like you to know that the rent charges is not really the issue , but your absolute maintenance of my 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. 

1 BEDROOM apartment : 

Private Location 

Newer Carpet 

Marble Floors in Kitchen and Bath 

New Paint 

Complex Amenities Include 

Laundry 

Laundry room 

Parking 

Assigned 

Terms: 

Lease Terms: month to month 

Ready for move-in now! 

Property Information Type: Apartments for Bedroom 

1 Bedrooms 6th floor, very sunny and quiet, with wooden floor. Large living room (leather sofa, glass table + 4 chairs and plasma TV). One medium-sized rooms with double bed. There is a small one room that is connected to the kitchen and it has an individual bed (good for guests, however it does not have enough privacy for permanent use). Kitchen of origin (not reformed), but fully equipped and with vitro ceramic. Large bathroom of origin (not reformed) with washing machine. The living room has a small balcony facing an indoor patio. Lease Availability: 

Immediate Lease Terms: How Long 

Application Fee: 

Deposit: €450 

Rent: €450 per month 

Policies Pets: 

Call for details Smoking: 

Exterior Outdoor: Parking: 

-1 Dedicated Parking Spaces Community: 

Handicap Accessible 

Access Gate 

So if you are interested in the apartment you get back to me by 

filling the Rent Application Form below okay, 

RENT APPLICATION FORM 

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)How many months contract?: 

10)your picture and your wife picture? 

LOCATION & AREA 

This apartment is perfectly located for both shopping and cultural activities: the chic and trendy Bon Marche department store is just a few steps away, as well as the Saint Germain des Prs church and the trendiest shops in Paris… 

Have a coffee on the terrace of the Caf de Flore, lunch at Brasserie Lipp, and then why not go and relax in the famous Jardins du Luxembourg (park in the heart of Saint Germain des Pres) that are only 50m away(you can even book a tennis court!) Discover the city on foot,  or why not rent a velib’? (Paris bike rentals) 

Address: 21 rue de Fleurus, Paris 75006, France 

Nearest Metro / Subway: Saint Placide – 50 Meters 

Nearest Airport: Orly – 20 Kilometers 

Accommodation located in city, leisure area, old town, near 

restaurants & bars, near cultural interest, near historical interest, near tennis courts,jardins du luxembourg, saint sulpice, saint germain des prs, near shopping area ! 

Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt for you and 

contacting you.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you, please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words, you know that, we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand, so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this. 

Best Regards. 

Yours Faithfully 

Mrs Anita Staples 

+(234)-808-898-9656 & #+0112348088989656…

Slick Web scammer leaves Bend man out $3,600

By Zack Hall / The Bulletin (Bend, OR), January 08, 2009 

Ed Harman is a trusting person by nature.

So when a person claiming through e-mail to be a doctor in England said he was moving to the United States and wanted to rent Harman’s southeast Bend townhome that Harman had placed on Craigslist, the 65-year-old longtime Bend resident believed him.

It was a mistake that cost Harman nearly $4,000.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

New Scam Out Of Africa Rents Homes On Craigslist

by Rick Sallinger, cbs4denver.com (Denver, CO), December 2, 2008

DENVER (CBS4) ― Some homeowners in the Denver area have seen their houses offered for rent by someone else on Craigslist. It’s another in a series of scams that appear to be based in the African country of Nigeria.

Builder John Kurowski’s real estate agent got a call from someone who spotted an ad on Craigslist. One look at the price in the ad and it was clear it was a scam. The ad listed the price as $1,300 a month for a five-bedroom, incredibly charming home. But the real owner, Kurowski, never placed such an ad.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

BIG RED FLAG: Request for payment via Western Union

The number of fake rental scams on Craigslist and other online classifieds continues to grow, with new aliases appearing daily. But while the names may change, the methods are always the same.

These thieves, mainly based in Nigeria, the U.K. and the U.S., are out to steal your money and your identity.

They use yahoo, ymail, rocketmail, fastermail, live, hotmail and gmail, and they also post ads under anonymous craigslist addresses. They frequently change their aliases.

They use photos stolen from other property advertisements or from home furnishing catalogues or hotel websites.

They use fake names, often stolen from Facebook profiles or networking sites. Often they assume the identities of previous victims.

What they all have in common is that sooner or later you get a request to transfer funds via Western Union, Moneygram or some other wire service.

NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, WIRE MONEY AT THE REQUEST OF ANY PROSPECTIVE “LANDLORD” VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM OR ANY OTHER WIRE SERVICE.  EVEN IF THEY TELL YOU TO WIRE THE FUNDS TO A FRIEND OR RELATIVE’S NAME “TO BE SAFE,” IT’S A TRAP!

NEVER SEND A SCAN OF YOUR PASSPORT OR OTHER ID. THESE THIEVES WILL USE YOUR IDENTITY TO SCAM OTHERS.

The IP addresses being used to perpetrate these scams worldwide include the following:

Nigeria Multi-links Telecommunications Ltd:  82.128.0.0 - 82.128.127.255

Nigeria Assigned to Lagos Dial-pool customers:  41.219.247.0 - 41.219.247.255

Nigeria Afrinic: 41.204.224.0 - 41.204.227.255 and  196.29.216.0 - 196.29.223.255

Nigeria Choizcom 83.229.69.128 - 83.229.69.191

Nigeria SurfSpot Communications 81.199.176.128 - 81.199.176.255

United Kingdom Skyvision Holdings Ltd: 78.0.0.0 - 78.255.255.255

United Kingdom Tertiarydns Internet Solutions And Security Consultants: 91.186.10.0 - 91.186.10.65

United States Sterling Bringcom Inc 204.16.124.0 - 204.16.127.255

Gilat Satcom Range 81.199.52.0 - 81.199.53.255 and 217.21.64.0 - 217.21.95.255 (have a look at Gilat Satcom’s rap sheet here).

.Tertiary dns

PLEASE WRITE TO CRAIGSLIST (USE THIS LINK) AND EXPATRIATES.COM (contact@expatriates.com)

AND ASK THEM TO BAN THESE IP ADDRESSES FROM ACCESSING THEIR SITES!

REPORT FRAUD TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION (EFCC).

For a few general tips and tools on how to protect yourself from apartment scams in Paris (and elsewhere), click here.

Good luck in your search for an apartment.

Stay safe!

SCAMMER ALERT: Mr James Ben

The following scam ad appeared on Craigslist Paris today. AVOID!

EUR800 / 2br – 2 bedroom apartment for rent (paris)

Reply to: mr_james.ben01@yahoo.co.uk
Date: 2008-07-24, 5:15PM CEST

2 edroom apartment is available for rent in the central part of paris, it is close to the nearest metro station, it is well furnished with dvd, dish washer, oven, stive, gas cooker, 24hours access to internet. for more information on the apartmnet do contact me via : mr_james.ben01@yahoo.co.uk

[also posts a variation of this ad, same or different photos, using alias annah.smith85@yahoo.com or james.ben_apartment@yahoo.com]

FLASH: scammers Pastor Carter Curtis, Stave Batt and Bruce Maurice all the same person

All three e-mail from IP address 91.186.10.10 in the U.K. If you google this address, you’ll find plenty of other scams perpetrated by this individual, who also runs scams on dating sites under maswel_polly2000@yahoo.com, richard_scott60@yahoo.com, and mikedavis4god@yahoo.co.uk, among other email addresses.

NEW SCAM WARNINGS: David Halls, Judith Halls, Karret1

A parishousingscamwatch reader writes:

Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:10:51 -0400
Subject: Several Scams on Paris Craigslist

I am sorry to add to the list of scammers on Paris Craigslist, but I am trying to find a flat to rent there for the next year and I almost sent money to one of the three scammers I encountered.  I knew the deals seemed too good to be true, but I was hoping I had just gotten lucky.  DO NOT BELIEVE THE WEST AFRICA SCAMS!!!  Also, in Paris, a flat of 30 sq. meters goes for like 900 Euros/month, so when you read about anything that’s like 70 sq. meters or more in size and goes for 450 to 600 Euros a month, that is a huge red flag.  I’ve also noticed these scammers use gmail addresses frequently and they’re all claiming to work on a mission of some sort in West Africa.  If the pictures of the apartment look like they are from a magazine, they are!  It’s ridiculous. 

 
Read more here:

ALERT: Scammer tenant Sandra Roland

Regular scammer Sandra Roland writes from IP address 196.29.219.198 in Nigeria, and she doesn’t conceal her location. Strangely, she’s always looking for a room by the end of month — all year round. This one’s most certainly a cashier’s cheque (overpayment) scam. If you’re looking for a tenant, don’t choose Sandra Roland.

Hi,
Hello to You overthere and how is your weekend going? I saw your
advert that You have a room available for rent and i am interested in
knowing the availability of the place and i will also want to know
more about the neighboourhood ,the place and the utilities
included…?
I am sandra Roland,a Medical Humanitarian Nurse ,and ve been involve since the past 8 years,taking care of the motherless babies,Homeless one and all of that,I am still kind of young because i just turned 27yrs old…I Can speak both english and french.,i love to live with clean people,caring,responsible,neat type. I’m 5″7′ straight,and i am in West Africa Nigeria now ,I will want to move by the ending of this month depending on the availability of the room ,I speaks english fluently,so we have no barriers I’ll let You know more about me if i am to rent this particular room that you have to offer
I will be anxiously waiting for your next email
Kind Regards

This “medical humanitarian nurse” also goes by a multitude of other aliases, including Staci Martin and Alicia Smith, Jeni Walcot, Tracy Fields, Diane or Dianne Jackson, Linda Quach, Melanie Bunton, Christine Burke, and Whitney Brainard. The scam involves counterfeit checks or cash.

More scammer emails:

Jessica Williams (jessy.adams01@gmail.com) aka rosewilliam900@yahoo.com
joy smith (joy378_4love@yahoo.com)
joy badmus (joybadmus222222@gmail.com) aka macdanny78@yahoo.com
Rose Michaels (dkoyi@yahoo.com) aka rosesmich0101@yahoo.com (Deji Orunkoyi)
janet scott (janetscott002@hotmail.com) aka caledw@yahoo.com
Sandra Philips (sendavidmark@ymail.com) aka nicholas_strunk@yahoo.com (Spokeo search here)
susan smith (smith.susansmith.susan4@gmail.com) aka alesiasuarez@yahoo.com (Allycakes)
Room Needed (tracey_johnson23@yahoo.com)
claire_pretty2009@yahoo.com (cbill27@gmail.com) aka misspeppersteak@yahoo.com
Natasha Kish (remedix2001@yahoo.com) aka kimshama1@hotmail.com (Ahmed Oresanya)
Kate Morgan (larrymihceal1@gmail.com) aka kissymorgan@rocketmail.com
Sandra Smith (sandra_sdcreation@rocketmail.com) and sherrycdlady@gmail.com
Rachel Roberts (realbabysf@hotmail.com ALSO Rachel Roberts (realemploy3@yahoo.com)om)
Okcana Odinstova (okcanaodinstova@gmail.com)
Kathia Bulicheva (kathiabulicheva@hotmail.com)
Benita Williams (delefamurewa@yahoo.com) (Dele Famurewa)
SUZIE DONOSO (Goodlovegood8@aol.com )
Kate Colan (room.y@hotmail.com)
Aimee Tiare (aimee_tiare@live.com)
Dylan Banza (dylan.banza112@hotmail.com)
Margret Smith (margretsmith17@yahoo.com) & Margret Smith (chloedeissler0011@hotmail.com)
Martha Logsdon (martha.logsdon@live.com)
Celine Watson (celgel777@gmail.com)
Sherry Adams (sherryadams036@yahoo.com)
Brittany Robert (brittrobbaby@yahoo.com)
REINA BENTLEY (temmiebiz@yahoo.com)
Dylan Banza (vivi4ever20@yahoo.com)
gladysmicks300@gmail.com aka: Glady Suarez aka: petworthhousemate@yahoo.com
andrewe_rr51@yahoo.co.uk – Andrew Ramons
Sanjay Gupta (qiacolonyi@yahoo.com)
Sonia Williams (soniawilliams18@gmail.com)
Reina Bentley (reina_bentley1@hotmail.com, temmiebiz@yahoo.com)
Rose Travis (rosetravis1979@gmail.com)
Helen Danison (helendanison@aol.com)
Jaylene Gupta (qiacolonlyfe2@gmail.com)
Lizzy James (cambelcooper@gmail.com) aka Cambel Cooper

Big Red Flag: request for payment by Western Union

Fake ads and fake landlords. Every day, scores of them appear on Craigslist Paris. Some are so slick they’re almost impossible to recognise. Others are so sloppy they have scam written all over them. These con artists are based mostly in Nigeria, the U.K. and the U.S. They use yahoo, live, hotmail and gmail addresses and frequently change their aliases. What they all have in common is that sooner or later you get a request to transfer funds via Western Union or some other wire service. Don’t do it. You’ll never see that (bogus) apartment, and your cash will be gone for good. For a few tips and tools on how to protect yourself from apartment scams in Paris, click here.