Book with Confidence Edward Shehan Fake Apartment Listing Palo Alto California
I'm writing to report an apartment scam in Palo Alto, CA. I suspect that the scam is based outside of the US as the person had an accent and broken English, though I don't know for sure. The website has around 8 different listings in the San Francisco area and Florida.
It looks very legitimate and includes physical addresses that match the online photos. The person we talked to was very thorough including a rental application, lease, parking details, etc.
They even provided their bank account info, which is as follows: Wells Fargo, Edward Shehan, Accnt #: 9196885199, Rtn #: 055003201. Their phone number is (640) 835-3214. Website: bookwc.com. We paid them $4200 and do not expect to get the money back, but simply want to alert others of this scam.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Linda
Kerrville,Texas,
United States
THANK YOU
#6Consumer Comment
Fri, May 15, 2020
I came across the identical properties but a different picture of the "owners" with same name of "Ed Shehan" and was very interested though the prices seemed too low. I started looking around to see if it was for real and found your report. You saved me time and money! BTW, the website I found it under is called "remitrent.com"
Valerie
Berkeley,California,
United States
same thing happened to me
#6Consumer Comment
Mon, April 20, 2020
I fell for the same scam by this guy..... the property was in oakland though and he used craigslist.... were you able to get your money back?
Jim
Beverly Hills,California,
United States
This is an Old Scam
#6Consumer Comment
Thu, December 05, 2019
I mean this con has been around since before the internet. The names are fake and the criminals are out of your or anyone's jurisdiction. Letting people know about something like this would have been OK provided you didn't put anyone's name because the identities are probably stolen.
Years ago, I found an out of state classified ad like this for a place nearby a university where I live. I thought the ad was ridiculous, so I drove by just to check it out. Of course, the monthly rental was 4X what was advertised and the tenant, who had no intent on leaving, had no idea someone was doing this. Neither apparently did the actual landlord. So not only is the identity a fake, the places you saw on the site, may have not even been for rent.
The internet is not a safe place for things like this.
Truth108
Palo Alto,California,
United States
Information Posted
#6Author of original report
Wed, December 04, 2019
The information posted here was simply what was on the fake website. I suspect it was a combination of fake names and photos found of the internet (not the real scammers, simply photos of people made out to be the property owners).
I posted this for people to be aware of this fake listing, not to slander the people in the photos who I'm sure know nothing about their photo being used for scamming.
Jim
Beverly Hills,United States
Idiot
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, December 04, 2019
So you proceed to put a picture of someone and their name on a website claiming they ripped you off when you aren't even sure the person scammed you. Here's a clue - it wasn't. You just slandered someone on the internet who used their name as a disguise so you'll never be able to trace who or what they are.
What someone did was to put together a website (you can do that for a low price) and entice people to rent places at maybe half of the going rate to rent. The scammer sucked you in (all via a phone and a website) and then they ask you how many months would you like to put down on the place.
You paid $4,200 and the website disappears. Just to add to it, the place where you sent your money is not in Palo Alto - you can tell by the ABA routing number. You sent your money to a Wells Fargo in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The scam has existed for quite a while. The way to avoid this scam is to actually meet and tour the places you would like to actually live in. You'll find the pricing for the rental is at least 2X-3X higher than what you saw on the internet. Next time, try not slandering someone when you aren't even sure who it was you were really dealing with.