And you don't even have to send cash!

I found this in my mail this morning and just thought yah... yah... yah...

Being that this spam mail will reach out to however many gadzillions and may find it's way to some people who have been harmed through a scamming, I can see where those people might still be innocent enough to believe that this email may have some validity. In that way lies madness, folks ~ don't even go there.

And, if there are others who receive it, knowing damned well that they have never been scammed online and who see this as a chance at a cash grab? Then, honest to gawd, I have no pity for ya because you're just as big a thief as they are ~ what on earth were you thinking?

Ref: YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED !!‏ (Thanks for the news bulletin but, no, I have not.)

From:	BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION (bhcscottdewar06@msn.com) (Is it just me or is it a bit peculiar that the British High Commission would be using an msn email?)
	You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as junk (Too straight ~ I don't know this person and it is junk.)
Sent:	June 29, 2009 12:39:22 AM
To:

OFFICE OF THE BRITISH COMMISSION

(British High Commission or British Commission ~ make up my mind. Which is it?)

Aguiyi Ironsi Street,
Central Business District,

Abuja.

(So ~ for your information, the correct address *and* email for the British High Commission in Nigeria is :

Dangote House
Aguyi Ironsi Street
Maitama District
Abuja
Telephone: +234 (9) 413 4559-64 (6 lines)
Facsimile: +234 (9) 413 4565, 413 3888
Visa: abuja.visa.correspondenceunit@fco.gov.uk
Trade: commercial.abuja@fco.gov.uk
General: information.abuja@fco.gov.uk )

Attention Please

(Oh do pay attention ~ really. You might miss any part that might actually make sense. I used to read legal government documentation as part of my job and even I'm agape. What follows here is a magnificent torrent of bullshit, bafflegab and sheer nothingness where they actually don't say a damned thing. Not only that, they have managed to do it using incredibly bad grammar, punctuation and spelling which would have any real clerical worker producing the tripe sacked for being functionally illiterate.

Somehow I doubt the British High Commission would issue such a pastische of embarrassments as any kind of official correspondence ~ unless the 'High' in the title refers to them being 420 friendly in which case that would explain things...

Personally I think the scammer who composed this marvel of fiction spent a little too much time sucking on the hookah, ya know?)

You are listed and awarded for payment during the last UN. Meeting on how to tackle issues such as scams, get back to us as soon as possible for the immediate payment of your compensation funds. On this faithful recommendations, I want you to know that during the last UN meetings held in Abuja, Nigeria, it was alarmed so much by the rest of the world in the meetings on the lose of funds by various foreigners to the scam artists operating in syndicates all over the world today, in other to retain the good image of the country, the president of the Country (What country?) in collaboration with the UNITED NATION is now paying 104 individuals and victims whose names where chosen randomly to maintain good relationship among nations. (104 out of thousands and thousands? Wowww....)

Due to the corrupt and inefficient banking systems in Nigeria, (as opposed to the corruption that enables the scam industry to flourish) the payments are to be paid through (Mr. Robert Scott Dewar) BRITISH COMMISSION, through their funding streams such as the Strategic Programme Fund (formerly GOF), Public Diplomacy Project Fund, Bilateral Programme Budget and Returns & Re-integration Fund also under funding assistance by the Central Bank of Nigeria. (Hunh? would be an acceptable comment about now.) According to the number of applicants at hand, 84 proved victims has been paid, half of the victims are from the United States, Europe and Asia, we still have more 20 left to be paid the compensations.

Your particulars was mentioned as one of people to benefit from this compensation, you are hereby warned not to communicate or duplicate this message to anyone for any reason for whatsoever, (Why? Why all the cloak and dagger? You'd think if they were righting a wrong that they would want the world to know about it) You will receive your compensations payments via an ATM cashable at any ATM center around your country. I shall feed you with further modalities (I think 'feed you with further modalities' is their word for ladeling out even more bullshit directions designed to suck you dry.) as soon as I hear from you. In reply, confirm your:

1. contact telephone number
2. Delivery address.

Respond with Your Personal information including your phone number.

Regards
Mr. Robert Scott Dewar

(Well, that's my crap limit for the day ~ I think I'll just move the horse manure out to the garden where it might actually do some good.)

Constructing castles in the air, no doubt...

There's so many landlords transferring to Nigeria to work that I am surprised to hear that they have unemployment problems there. Except in the crusader and missionary fields ~ they have *got* to be up to their hindquarters in those by now.

I am so sorry for late response,it was due to my job,i have been busy here working..Good to hear from you and thanks for having interest in my place and is available for rent anytime..Well before we proceed what really happen is that i am renting out this place because of my transfer to West Africa for work..

I think i should tell you a little about my self:I work as a Construction Supervisor under Constructing Company in Roberts Construction Company,Toronto you can view the site at http://www.robertsconstruction.ca/ but i have just been transfer to Kel Constructing Company in Nigeria you can as well also view site at http://www.kelconstruction.net/

I left Toronto with hope that i will be coming back in 2 month's time,but right now the company have told me to stay for 2 years under contract with them,so thats why i have made up my mind to put up my place for rent in Toronto to whom ever that will take good care of it..And i will be coming once in a while to check on it and to see how is taking care of.

So get back to me for more information..Also how long do you intend to stay???? and when its the best time for you to move in????

Here is the address of the place:135 High Park Ave, Toronto, Ontario

FEATURES:

OUTSIDE

Barbecue
Sauna
Parking

INSIDE

Kitchen

American Kitchen
Fridge & Freezer
Oven
Microwave
Dish Washer
Crockery & Utensils

LIVING ROOM

Sofa Bed
Fireplace
Table & Chairs

BATHROOM

Bath Shower
Hair Dryer
Towels

EXTRA FEATURES

Internet Dial Up
Internet Broadband
Cable/Satelite TV
Stereo/Radio System
DVD Player
DVD/Music Collection
Telephone
Fax
Washing Machine
Safe
Ironing Board
Work Desk
Bikes
Bed Sheets
Central Heating
Air Conditioning
Hydro

The rent is $600.00 monthly and all utilities include in rent..

About seeing the place: I want to let you know that i am married with kids and since i am going to be here for a long time thats why i decide to bring my family down here and most of my friends over there were in the same profession,they all travel out for work as well...So i dont have any body left over there who can show you inside of the place thats why i put the pictures for you to see what you are renting..

I came here along with the key because i never knew that i am going to put my place for rent,until i get here to know that i am going to be here for 2 years,so thats why i decide to rent it out..I have the key here with me,i am so sorry for this but i want to assure you that you will so much like the place.

Well you can easily go there to the address and check out the place and the area but the issue is that you will not be able to check inside of the place.. So since i am not in Toronto for now so i want to let you know that am going to ship the key and the documents of the Place to you through the address you will provide for me below on the application form..The key will be ship through DHL COURIER SERVICE and it will be home delivery..

Below is the question that you must answer to qualify for the rent of the apartment

RENT APPLICATION FORM

1)Your Full Name?
2)Your Full Address?
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)Your contact number.?

This is my phone number if you will like to talk on phone +2348022770533,Just dial the number like that and you get intouch with me right away..also you can leave message when i am not home.Well i will appreciate if we can do this by email because i am always busy at work..

Do get back to me as soon as possible so we can move further

Have a Lovely day ahead

Thanks

John Raynold
Constructing Supervisor
Kel Constructing Company
140 Allen Road
Ikeja, Lagos,
Nigeria 23401
http://www.kelconstruction.net/
+234-802-277-0533

Things you can do to help...

This came in my mail today and I thought I would post it cuz it's a pretty basic question:

How could I contribute to the e-mail list of "nefarious characters"? Because I am looking for a flat in Geneva I have found some.

I tried sending this response but it came back as undeliverable so here it is:

Post them in the comments section as the information shows up in search engines. And, sooner or later, I go through all my notifications and add them to the online lists. :)

Thank you for taking the time to do this. I hear that housing in Geneva is a tight market and I know having to deal with scammers is annoying. I hope you find the home you are looking for soon! :)

Folks, if you're reading here it's likely you're checking up on rental information and bravo for doing so ~ it's a wise decision.

So listen... If after checking information out you come to the conclusion that it's a scam and the information isn't already on this site, post a comment with information as to emails, names, etc... If you don't want to do that here, post on your own blog or where you choose but be public ~ I uncover a lot of information doing searches.

Tell a friend ~ oh heck, tell two. The more consumer information that is shared, the wiser the consumers, don'tcha think?

Report to the site where you found the information that it is a scam and ask them to tell you what they will do as a follow-up. Report the email to the providers such as Yahoo, Google, etc... and, again, ask them to let you know what they did about it. Contact your local political representatives and ask them what is being done to address the issue of internet crime and the responsibility of corporations used by the scammers to actively deal with the problems.

Or not.

As you choose.

Let me hold that for you ~ Part Two

Once again Intrepid Renter has flushed out something interesting enough to post here.

I think we've already established in our prior post that PayPal, Gumtree and Findaproperty.com aren't going to be the kinda resources to hold your money while you wait for an opportunity to inspect the apartments expecting to receive the keys from an absentee scamlord. Nor is it wise to think that wiring funds to a 'trusted' source through Western Union or Moneygram and sharing the pick up information with aforesaid scamlords should be considered a sound business practice.

One of the readers who sent us information on scammer Vivien Pippen mentioned that the scamlord had provided a tracking number and, while adding it to the list, I kinda thought 'hunh?'. Well, wait long enough and it's amazing what becomes clear.

Thanks again, Intrepid Renter! (Name, address and phone number changed to protect the stealthy.)

On Fri, Apr 3, 2009, Diplomatic Swift Courier Company (swift-courier@diplomats.com) wrote:

Dear Intrepid Renter,

We are writing from the Accounting Department of DIPLOMATIC SWIFT COURIER located in WEST AFRICA. Transaction Informations are listed below for your review and confirmation:

LANDLORD (SENDER'S) TRANSACTION INFORMATION

NAME OF LANDLORD: DAVID FERGUSON
ITEM DESCRIPTION: HOUSE PROPERTY DOCUMENT INCLUDING HOUSE KEYS
RECEIPT ORDER NUMBER: RHJ0784CA
TAX:2% (PAID)
SHIPPING CHARGES: (PAID)

TENANT (RECEIVER'S) TRANSACTION INFORMATION

NAME OF TENANT: Intrepid Renter
ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY NAME: NOT AVAILABLE
SHIPPING DELIVERY ADDRESS: Just About Anywhere
PHONE NUMBER: 000 000 0000

DIPLOMATIC SWIFT COURIER COMPANY'S POLICY (ACT CODE DCS0786WA)

* THE ITEMS ARE REGISTERED WITH US TODAY AND WE ARE WAITING TO CONFIRM THE DEPOSIT PAYMENT FROM YOU BEFORE WE PROCEED WITH THE SHIPMENT OF THE PACKAGE TODAY.
* IMMEDIATELY WE VERIFY THE DEPOSIT PAYMENT, THE PAYMENT WILL BE ON HOLD WITH US UNTIL YOU RECEIVE THE HOUSE PROPERTY DOCUMENT INCLUDING HOUSE KEYS.
* WE WOULD ONLY RELEASE THE MONEY TO THE LANDLORD UNTIL YOU CONTACT US TO DO SO.
* IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN PROCEEDING WITH THE LANDLORD AFTER YOU HAVE RECEIVE THE HOUSE PROPERTY DOCUMENT INCLUDING HOUSE KEYS, WE WOULD RETURN THE WHOLE AMOUNT BACK TO YOU.
* YOU WILL BE RECEIVING THE PACKAGE IN 2 DAYS DELIVERY FROM THE DAY OF SHIPMENT.

HERE IS THE DETAILS OF THE AMOUNT ($1200) TO BE TRANSFERED TO OUR ACCOUNTANT'S INFORMATION GIVEN BELOW VIA WESTERN UNION/MONEY GRAM TRANSFER........

Receiver's name: AYINDE ROTIMI
Address: 11 Kofo Abayomi Street
City: Victoria Island
State: Lagos
Country : Nigeria
Zip code : 23401

Text Question : Who is the Greatest???
Answer : Almighty God

Afterward We will require the following information from you:
(1)WESTERN UNION MTCN OR MONEY GRAM REFERENCE NUMBER (10 OR 8 DIGIT NUMBERS RESPECTIVELY)
(2) ACTUAL AMOUNT TO BE RECEIVED BY THE RECEIVER,
(3) SENDERS NAME AND ADDRESS


Check online for a Western Union/Money Gram Outlet that are located around you at:
WESTERN UNION: www.westernunion.com
MONEY GRAM : www.moneygram.com

Yours Sincerely

ACCOUNTING REPRESENTATIVE
HERBERT LYLES
DIPLOMATIC SWIFT
TEL+234-01-7433077

In his neverending quest to ensure that he understood absolutely everything correctly, Intrepid sent this polite enquiry:

Could you direct me to your website please?

And their response was:

Dear Intrepid Renter,

Here is the Website: www.swiftcouriers.com

Note: Once the package arrive, you will be contacted by our Agent so that you can view Inside the apartment and tell him if you like it or not.

Get back to me, once the payment has been made so as to get back to you with the Tracking details.

Thanks and Best Regards

ACCOUNTING REPRESENTATIVE

HERBERT LYLES

DIPLOMATIC SWIFT

TEL+234-01-7433077 {8:00AM - 6:00PM DAILY}

Now, if you look up www.swiftcouriers.com, you will find Swift Couriers ~ apparently they have been abused by scammers before because they even have a warning posted on their home page regarding Lottery/Prizes/Awards. I don't suppose this is going to amuse them much either.

Whereas, if you google DIPLOMATIC SWIFT COURIER.... Well, let's just say that the results are not gonna be pretty.

All I can say is do your homework, folks ~ do your homework.

And NEVER, NEVER, NEVER pay so much as a nickel up front for a set of keys to view an apartment no matter what guarantees, etc... an absentee scamlord tries to gull you with ~ it is not worth the grief of losing your hard-earned money!

April 10, 2009 ~ Another reader has been kind enough to let us know that they are now using the name TRANNEX SWIFT COURIER for the same crappy scam.

Picture this...

There are some photos used by scammers I see over and over and over again which I'm just kinda sick of seeing at all. I thought I would post a few of 'em just for the heck of it.

I'm also throwing in the odd one from current scam ads before I get tired of seeing them too. :)

If you find yourself looking for an apartment and see these photos, flag the ad for deletion and keep looking. I don't doubt that the accommodations exist somewhere but never where you or I will be renting.

Let me hold that for you!

Intrepid Renter was at it yet again last week (he's such a scamp!) and received a response from yet another of our would be 'scamlords' regarding a place in Halifax.

I may have sprained a brain cell or two trying to follow the convoluted sell job Scamlord was extolling but, thanks to Intrepid Renter's posting, you can now check it out for yourself...

This is the ad:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
$1000 / 2br - 2BEDROOM/2BATH
Date: 2009-03-23, 8:02AM ADT

2 bedroom, 2 baths with washer/dryer, garage,with extra parking,washer/dryer, a fully equipped kitchen and the kitchen is not only great for a cook but also elegant for entertaining.Available now.

And this is the response:

"hank you again for your email. Let me ad some other details.
There is also one parking space available. (Keep reading to find an astounding event below.) I accept pets (cats and dogs) in the apartment. (That lets me and roomie out ~ he has a goat!)
You will have in the apartment 2 br and one livingroom. It is furnished and also with all appliances in kitcen and bathroom.
If you have furniture or if you do not want to use my furniture I will remove mine and you will bring your own.
Right now i am in San Diego US, i will be here for the next 5 years with business, i am looking for a serious person to move in the apartment right now and for long term and that is why i am renting for this great price. I cannot come to show you the apartment so the transaction will be done via an neutral company : PayPal.
It is located at : 2717 Gladstone Street Halifax NS B3J 3E5
2 Bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, 2 closets, over 1760 sqft, all bills included in the monthly rent of 1100$ .First month's advance, $1100 deposit. The monthly rent includes all utilities and amenities fees.
I will need your details where to send the apartment keys and rental agreement: Name, Address, City, Zip. I have nobody in Halifax that can show you the apartment, i am now in San Diego for the next 5 years, i can only rent the apartment using a third party neutral company: PayPal Transaction, they are the leader in payment transactions,offer Purchase Protection, recommended by eBay, accredited by the Better Business Bureau. They will hold the deposit from you until you have inspected the apartment, so you can take a look before committing to a lease. The keys and paperwork can be delivered at your address .
The transaction will be done via one of the most trusted names on the internet: PayPal.
PayPal is the nr1 option when paying on ebay, they are the lead merchant for credit card payments over the internet, the are accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and offer Purchase Protection .All this can be verified and is 100% legitimate. (The dude is a veritable PayPal fan club, isn't he? Should almost get an advertising commission...)
They will be the guarantor for our transaction, so when you will send the deposit, they will hold the payment details until you have inspected the apartment. You do not have to commit to a lease if you do not want the apartment and in that case the deposit will be returned back to you the same day.
The apartment is very close, in walking distance to local transport, bus etc. has just been renovated, totally finished, flexible lease, is nice, clean, quiet, has all the facilities and the utilities anyone would need including electric Utility, Cable TV, 2 PARKING SPACES (It's a freakin' miracle! One has morphed into two!), Air conditioning, high speed Internet, workout facility, well behaved pets are allowed. Maintenance problems will be resolved by a specialised company and i will be billed for any maintenance work that is done. You can also rent the apartment with your furniture, i have a spacious room in the building's basement where the furniture from my apartment can be stored, in case you want to bring your own. (Love how this guy can't make it to Halifax to show you the suite ~ and apparently not have anyone else do it ~ but he can have furniture whisked around at your whim.)
The rent is for the whole apartment NOT just a shared room. This is not a sublease, etc, i am the OWNER. (I am the walrus ~ koo koo ka chew!)You can rent the apartment furnished and unfurnished.
Please tell me a bit more about you, i am looking for someone quiet, serious and responsible."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Intrepid Renter: PayPal does not "hold deposits." This loser just wants your money. (Oh, IR! Tell me it ain't so!)

Which brings me to something awfully similar....

I like reading the forums at Gumtree.com (Great Britain's answer to Craigslist). (Love the Brits ~ they are a vocal lot.) Anyway, a couple of months ago, I noticed that a lot of the scamlords they were turning in had come up with another twist to the lemon:

'Really appreciate your words in assuring to pay me if you like the Flat.I understand you quite okay.However,i do not want to stand on people's promise of paying me cash or cheque when we meet again because i have met with time wasters.I was discussing with my colleague about the idea on how i will be so sure that i will not be coming down to London on a futile exercise and she advised that we can work out something via Western Union Transfer.

She made me to understand that she has used it a couple of times for renting out her room if she is not around. She said that western union can actually hold the money as an evidence and surety that her tenant will pay her at least for the first month and deposit.She explained that you can visit any Western union outlet and transfer the money IN YOUR FRIEND NAME as the SENDER and RECEIVER will be in YOUR NAME.-You will use his/her name as the SENDER and AFTER viewing and you are okay with the flat,we both can go back to withdraw your money from western union close to my flat as she said she has done transactions this way before.

I do not want you to have the feeling that i am asking for money BEFORE you see what you are renting because i know that payment is meant to be done AFTER you have seen the Flat and okay with it.-The reason why you have to be receiver is basically to give you the confidence that your money is still in your name and to make sure that your money is still safe since it is still in you name as the receiver as you are the only one who can collect it with a valid ID,maybe with a passport or drivers license.

So in order for me to also be on a good side,you can go ahead and make the transfer since you have the money ready,let me know immediately you do the transfer so that i can know how to squeeze out time to come and meet you.But i will have to rely on your honesty and truth that you have actually make the payment before i leave here to come down to London to see you.What evidence will you give me so that I can be sure that you have made the payment? I was made to understand that you can Send me the (Sender name, Receiver name and MTCN) to confirm here online on www.westernunion.com if its there before making my way.

I was also made to understand that western union takes some charges for the transfer and i am telling you that i will return back to you the full transfer charges whether you decide to rent the flat or not when we meet,ok?After doing the transfer,then i will have to leave here and be with you in London to meet you immediately.

Please,understand that i am NOT asking you to pay me BEFORE you view the flat as payment is to be done AFTER viewing.'

(For those of you who find yon scamlord's language a bit convoluted, the basic premise is that you send the money in the name of whomever you choose and then send him the very information required to pick it up. Which he won't do, of course, cuz he's probably a very upright, kind, honest and God-fearing person... Right?)

Just for your bemusement, here are a couple of variations on the 'let the middleman hold the money' theme:

'If we decide to proceed with this transaction, I will have to contact the Gumtree and provide them all the necessary information, so they can start the process right away. You will receive from Gumtree an invoice and the contract . All the bills are included. After you recive the details you have to send the deposit wich is for 1 month and also the rent for your first month to the Gumtree Trust Agent from United Kingdom via money transfer because this is the moust fast and easy way of payment.

You will have 48 hours to send the payment if not the contract will be forward to another tenant.

The keys and rental contract will be delivered at your address in no more than 3 hours after the payment is done. You will be given a 3 days inspection period from the day you receive the keys and contract at home. If you decide to hold the apartment, then you will have to authorize Gumtree Team to release the funds to me, and the transaction will be completed. If you will not be satisfied with the apartment, you will be able to send the keys and contract back through the same service and ask Gumtree Team to return the funds to you,but I am sure you will love the apartment and you will keep it .

Click here to read about Gumtree policy .If you AGREE with this and If you wish to proceed with the renting, please provide me your full name,telephone number and address so I can initiate the deal through Gumtree Rental Services right away.'

(Something tells me that the provision of this service is gonna surprise the hell outta the people running Gumtree!)

Or:

'If we decide to proceed with this transaction, I will have to contact www.findaproperty.com and provide them all the necessary information, so they can start the process right away. I will need your full name and address for that. You will receive a notification from FindaProperty.com shortly after that, together with all the instructions to follow and the invoice as well.

Regarding the payment, you will be instructed to deposit the money(£600+500 -deposit) to a FindaProperty Agent from United Kingdom. They will hold and insure your money until you check the apartment and decide if you want take it or not. That is how their buyer protection policy works. As far as my concerns, I will be glad to know that FindaProperty has the possession of the money during the delivery period. That is my insurance.

As soon as the funds have been deposited into their account, they will immediately start the shipping process.

The keys and rental contract will be delivered at your address in no more than 24h. You will be given a ten days inspection period from the day you receive the keys and contract at home. If you decide to hold the apartment, then you will have to authorize FindaProperty to release the funds to me, and the transaction will be completed. If you will not be satisfied with the apartment, you will be able to send the keys and contract back through the same service and ask FindaProperty to return the funds to you.'

(Just believe me if I tell you that they will be just as astonished as Gumtree to find out that they have expanded their services!)

I'm sure, after reading these examples, that you have figured out that the best person to hang onto your money until you have seen the accomodation (and satisfied yourself that you are dealing with the appropriate person) is you or someone you would trust with your life.

If you have found all this too fascinating but require just a tad more convincing, might I suggest you google 'fake escrow services'. I found 114,000 'hits' when I did and, by the time you get to it, there may be more!

Stop and think ~ if it looks like shit and smells like shit, then it's pretty much a given that it is. Flush 'em out!

Be careful out there!

STOP! DON'T DO IT!!!

Folks, sorry for the flashy thingie but I think that people really need to be aware of this and to think about what sort of personal information they are depositing on the internet or sharing with total strangers.


Intrepid Renter wrote me today to say: 'Here's an interesting new scam. New to me, at least.'

He had sent an inquiry regarding a rental ad on Craigslist asking for a bit more information and this is the response he received:

From: Steve m (steve3162@gmail.com)
Date: Tue, Mar 24, 2009
Subject: House for rent?
To: (insert Intrepid Renter's email here)

Hi, Thanks for the interest in our rental It is still available . Unfortunately we take measures to ensure that we are choosing the best tenant possible. We make each applicant go through an application process and the first part of the process is to complete a credit check. http://www.quickfreecreditreport.org We require this ahead of time Please do not send me your credit report! We are only given your name, email address and whether you have had any evictions in the past 5 years to determine your renter eligibility. This is the only information we are interested in. After you have completed the credit check we can set up a tour date and time thanks for your interest. The way it works is that I am teamed up with the website http://www.quickfreecreditreport.org when you do the credit check on there website it notifies my e-mail that its completed and I automatically send a e-mail with my cell phone number the address's to all the houses 25 to 30 pictures depending on the place pictures of the houses. once you complete it and get my cell phone number call it and we can set up a walk through at the location in the book :)

Ok, folks ~ read my lips!

DON"T DO IT!!!!
THEY ARE SCAMMING YOUR INFORMATION!
CAN YOU SAY "IDENTITY THEFT"?

There is no way I can stress enough not to send any more than the most basic information (ie: name) to any prospective 'landlord' until you have arranged for a meeting. Mind you, I suppose telling them how many people and pets might inhabit the place and when you want to move is innocuous enough. However, I have seen copies of some scammer's 'application forms' asking for far more information than any landlord has a right to know.

Do you have any idea how much of your personal information is on your credit report?

No? Well, perhaps it's about time you obtain a copy. In North America anyway, you can request a free copy from either Equifax (in 14 countries through North America, Latin America and Europe), Experian or TransUnion at least once a year (and you should!). If anyone from other countries has more information on how to do it elsewhere, please feel free to add a comment.

Meanwhile, I have taken this information from the Equifax.ca website: (https://www.econsumer.equifax.ca/ca/main?forward=/view/common/template.jsp&body=/view/education/credit_ed.jsp):

Below is a list of the major sections found in your credit report:

• Personal Identification - Includes key identification information, such as your name, address, date of birth and Social Insurance Number (SIN)
• Consumer Statement - Allows you, the consumer, to add a brief comment about any information in your report
• Credit Information - Provides details of your credit accounts and transactions and shows if payments are being made on time
• Banking Information - Includes information on your bank account and NSF cheque history
• Public Record Information - Contains information about secured loans, bankruptcies and/or judgments
• Third-Party Collections - Contains information about any involvement with a collection agency trying to collect on a debt
• Inquiries - Includes all organizations or individuals that have requested a copy of your credit report in the past three years
• *Note: Mortgage information - Details about your existing mortgage(s) may appear in your credit report. Mortgage information is not used to calculate your credit score since it is not reported by all lenders.

(Note: For those of you from the US, substitute Social Security number for SIN. In other countries, I would imagine it would be whatever is used as your national ID number.)

I did a little noodling around on quickfreecreditreport.org and definitely didn't like what I was finding. Feel free to look around yourself but you can always start at:

http://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/freecreditreports360.com where some of the most recent comments about the site are:

• January 24/09: Dangerous fraudulent and scamming website. Not only should it be rated here but it should be reported to www.ic3.gov for criminal activity.
• March 21/09: You can't get any of the services they offer, even if you do pay. I had to go to my credit card company to get my money back. Balance protection insurance (or whatever they call it) is well worth the money.
• March 24/2009: Scam all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yah, sounds like just the people I wanna deal with!

With all due respect to landlords who need to protect themselves, you cannot have carte blanche access to my credit history with so much personal information attached and the current trend to turn it over really distresses me. (By the way, do you know the more 'hits' or queries recorded on your credit report actually lower your credit score?)

If I were on the hunt for a new home, I would get my own copy, black out the information no landlord needs to know and offer it for inspection (but not copying) in a personal interview. If they object to that, I would keep on looking. (Yah, yah ~ I know housing markets are horrifically tight in some areas but the more people who resist giving their life histories away, the better chance of coming to a reasonable agreement.)

Please, please, please, please ~ be careful out there!

April 13, 2009 ~ info found in a news report from the US on KYTX-TV (http://www.cbs19.tv/Global/story.asp?S=10147558).

Beware of inexpensive apartments advertised by Katie Brooks Properties aka Katierentals.com (katie@katierentals.com). You will be advised that they have had many applications and, in order to be considered, you will be asked to submit an application which also asks for your credit report. You will be sent an URL for www.my-credit-score-now.com which will actually take you to a scam site at www.GoFreeCredit.com.

It is all meant to rip off your personal information for identity theft. DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER/SIN NUMBER TO ANYONE NOT ENTITLED BY LAW TO REQUEST IT!!! And that means virtual strangers online in particular!

Up-date:

May 5, 2009 -

I have been advised that they are now also using an URL to a site www.credithistoryreference.com. (My WOT alert glows a bright red on this site ~ avoid it!)