This is what I received after replying to an Apt posting on craigslist. I was skeptical at first but figured that there was one way to find out.
Hi there,
Thank you for your interest. From the craigslist add, you could see, that the apartment located in: E 7th St & 1st Ave, New York, NY, 10003 (Manhattan) . It has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen and 1 living room (1500sq feet).
I am looking for someone to live in it, as soon as possible, because my company has won the auction for a project, in construction, for a building that will rise up in Liverpool, United Kingdom. I am a humanitarian officer involved in projects that includes orphans,orphanages,with heart related diseases in children between the ages of 4-10yrs, so my accommodation period in UK will be about 4 years.
The renting period is from 3 months upto 4 years. As a result of this I want to rent, for this period, at this price and also to find the perfect person for my apartment. I'm the owner of the apt and it's like in the pics.
The apartment is furnished, but I have the option of sending all my furniture into storage if you want to bring your own (no extra costs). The rent for 1 month is $900 US (for the whole apartment) including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking, air conditioning, fireplace, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator). You can move in the apt in the same day when you receive the keys. The only problem is that I'm the only person who has the keys but I hope that we will find a solution.
Thank you for your interest and I will look forward to hearing from you soon.
Good luck,
Aurelia Reich
P.S. Please tell me if this is what are you looking for and reply my only if you are truly interested in the apt.
Cats & Dogs OK...
I replied and the scammer sent me the message below. This scam seem similar to the type of one that they run out of Nigeria where a national offers to give you a huge cut of his fortune to move the money first. The catch is you have to pay fees etc up front first.
Good day,
Thank you for your reply but the matter is that I'm in Liverpool already. Like I have inform you before, the price you shall pay for one month of rent will be US$ 900 , with no extra taxes to pay. The money, I want to revive it monthly to my bank account, so I hope it will be no problem for you to wire the money to my bank account. The apartment is ready for you, you will need only to receive the keys and the contract to check it, and see if you like it.
Obviously we need a way to complete this deal, that will allow us to make sure we receive what we are after. In order of that I have found a way for us to complete the deal safely and fast, and in this way you will receive the Keys in less than 2 days, if you move fast as well. The solution is provided by a company called TNT which is similar to FedEx, DHL or UPS, which will handle both payment and delivery of the Keys.
I have found a procedure that will allow you to pay for the rent of the apt only after you will receive the keys of it and through this way you will see it and decide if you will stay in the apt or not before I receive my payment. Please click on the link bellow to the TNT website to see how we can complete the deal safely and fast directly from the website of the
company where the procedure is explained: http://www.tnt.com/express/en_us/site/home.html
Let me know if you are interested please because I really need to take care of this matter.
Aurelia Reich
Lee
ridgewood, New York
U.S.A.