Time for a new house, time to search for ads. Too many ads. Room wanted, room offered, bedsit wanted, bedsit offered. You can even flip out. Then you suddenly remember you are subscribed to Italiansoflondon, a kind of website all the Italian people living in London can rely on. You decide to give it a go. You insert your “room wanted” ad. You wait. Few hours after, the first answer: they have a stunning double room expressly for you!
The sender is a 23 y.o. girl from Switzerland. She’s good enough in Italian to find your English ad in the website, but not that brilliant to answer in your common mother tongue. She says she has 2 rooms available. She points out that it’d be wonderful to share the flat with you!
You ask for more infos. After all, you can give it a go. You’re in a desperate hurry, you have to find an accomodation asap and you can’t be any fussy.
Details and pictures are forwarded to your email account. It is a wonderful house, situated two steps far from Green Park Tube station. Bedrooms have en-suite, kingsize bed, air conditioning, cable TV and last, but not least, all the bills are included in the price. A flat in Mayfair for just 400 pounds a month? Exciting. Appearing at the window in the early morning drinking your coffee and saying ‘Hello!’ to Her Majesty the Queen? Priceless!
Already enough defiant, after that message I became totally mistruthful. It was as bright as the sun that they were trying to involve me in a fraud. Briefly, Jane Doe had done a cut-and-paste from some hotel’s website.
I felt quite offended. If only she was more shrewd and her advertisement a bit more likeable, I wouldn’t notice anything until she asked me for the advance deposit. If I didn’t notice anything, I wouldn’t google her name and discover that a Salome Bally actually exists and actually comes from Switzerland, but in any single website I visited she was just a name in empty files. Her Facebook account, supposing it’s really hers, has only 17 friendships with not likeable Swiss surnames. Moreover: if the house was that stunning, why had she been putting ads on Internet since last August?

With the datas I gathered in my hands, I asked my future, would-be housemate why the rental was that low – according to the quality of the house itself and to Zone 4 shacks prices. Her answer couldn’t be more imaginative: her dead dad wanted it that way. Dot. “Right”, I thought. “Let’s try to catch her redhanded, let’s try to make her ask for the Western Union money transfer!”. I was totally sure it was a fraud, in fact. They had tried to involve me in a similar swindle already in January. A rich family coming from India, supposed to be part of the Royal entourage, was searching for a full-time nanny. They had been living in Asia for years and had now to come back to UK. We had been writing for weeks. Everything seemed to go as it should go: pictures exchange, personal details, infos about my working experience, about my future duties, and so on. They even gave me the address of the house in Kilburn they would occupy once back in London. The house was under renovation, but would be ready in weeks. Then they suddenly asked me to become an active part in their return plans. I would have followed the renovation works and paid for the furnitures. To do that, I had just to gave them my bank account details, so that they could send me a cheque and do a bank transfer with the money I needed for the carpenter. It was a sharp waking up: I suddenly focused it was just a fraud. All my hopes of living in a nice house – I was supposed to be a live-in nanny – getting a good salary – 300£ a week – abruptly broke down. I was pissed, more than ever. I reached the street of Kilburn they had chosen as their new home address. There there was a crumbling, rotten house with a poster in the front garden. I called the estate agency number written on the sign. They told me that that house hadn’t been even viewed, yet.
Mindful of that experience, I had no doubt that the luxury house the dead dad’s 23 y.o. daughter was proposing me was as stinky as a 3-motnhs old rotten fish. Nonetheless, the language she used changed from message to message. It was a quite variegated English. Exactly what had happened with the assumed rich-family-searching-for-a-nanny I described above.
I decided to gave to my future “housemate” a false name and the real address of a mancunian commercial neighborhood.
The answer she gave me straight after was exactly what I expected to read from her: wonderful, Rania, pay me a deposit via Western Union and we’re done! There was also a couple of attachments in the email: a sort of receipt of the Council Tax and a scanned copy of her Swiss ID card. The first one had been clearly touched up. The second document was incredibly likely.

Emails exchange still goes on. While Salomé is trying to swipe me, I’m searching for advices about what I have to do now and how I should behave.

____________________________________________________

[Italians of London - Showcase message from Salome]

Hello, I read your advert for an apartment in London. My name is Salome Bally from switzerland. I have 2 rooms available in my flat. You can get back to me through my email. (salomexxx@hotmail.com) Or join me for a Live chat on MSN messanger (salomexxx@hotmail.com). I would be glad to have you as my Flatmate soon. Salome

——————-

Hi there!

Thank you very much for answering!
I’ve been in London right today (what a pity I didn’t succeed to check my mailbox before!!!) and I’ll be there again on Monday or Tuesday.
What kind of rooms have you there available? Do u have any pics?
Looking forward to hear from you!
Have a nice evening,

Juana

——————-

Hello,
Thanks for making more inquiries about my flat
The details of my flat are explained below and the pictures attached and believe you would admire and love it with a passion and would be very interested to Live in the Flat.

Salome

——————-

Hi Salome and thank you so much indeed for the pictures!
House and furnitures sound really interesting, but I hope you’ll apologise my small question: how can such a nice house be so cheap, being in the full centre of London?

Kindly,
Juana

——————-

Hello Juana,
thanks for the mail and the interest in my flat.
The flat is cheap because that was my fathers instruction before he died.
Try to send me your full name and address so that i can email your tenancy agreement form and the refundable security deposit payment details to you so as to make the reservation.
Hope to read from you soon.

Salome

——————-

[Let's start with the bullshits now!]

Hello!
My real full name is Rania Maria R. Don’t be scared, it’s Spanish but just because of my father!
I’m using a friend’s mailbox at the moment, she was the one who posted my ad. Sorry for not being clear since the beginning!
My present address is M3 4JH, New Elm Rd 54, Salford, Manchester. If you should need anything else, please, just tell me!

Rania

——————-

[...and he/she takes the bait.]

Hello Rania,
I really appreciate your interest in my flat and you would not be disappointed.
I know you would have contacted many Landlord,i am not forcing you to rent from me but i would advise you to make sure you rent the room from a Landlord that send her identity to you.
I also attach my identity and flat bills with this mail.
I attach your Tenancy agreement form,you would sign the form by signing the space provided by putting your name and date.
As regards the payment you will need to go to any Western Union Money Transfer agent closer to you or the agent Location below.when you get there you will request for a Money transfer slip to fill.When filling the Western Union money Transfer slip,You would use your name as the sender and my name (SALOME BALLY) as the Receiver so that i can make the reservation for you.You will now get back to me with the information you use to fill the slip.After making the transfer,you will write me back with the Western Union Transfer details including the 10 DIGITS REFERENCE NUMBER so as soon as i have it,i will confirm and issue a receipt for you to bring along with you when coming to the Flat.You would also email me with your Phone number,your flight details and your identity to identify you at the tube because i would be at the tube station take you to the flat.
Here are the details you would use to fill the slip.

INFINITY SERVICES
1ST FLOOR
74 PORTLAND STREET
MANCHESTER
LANCASHIRE
M1 4GU

——————-

Hi Salome and thank you so much indeed for being quick and for sending me all the documents needed!
I’m supposed to be in London next Monday. It will be great if we could arrange a meeting and maybe have a tea, don’t you think so? Just let me know if and when you will be available and I’ll try to manage my time so that we could meet.
In the meantime, I will provide you with the deposit. I’m going to check Western Union opening times – by the way, thank you also for sending me their address!
Is there anything else I have to do before coming to see you? Shall I bring some other documents with me? How will I pay my monthly rental?

Have a nice day,

Rania

——————-

Hello Rania,
Thanks for the mail and the interest in my flat. [again?!? - e.n.]
You would pay the rent monthly or weekly depending on your conveniences.
I would expect your mail with the details of the deposit payment so that we can arrange the viewing.
Hope to read from you soon.

Salome

——————-

Brilliant!
Monthly will be better, if that is ok for you. In that way I could pay just on a specific day and you’ll be sure to get the rental in time and just once a month. Does it make sense for you?
I have already booked my train tickets, I’ll be in London on Monday morning. Would you be available for a viewing in the late morning or early afternoon?
I’m terribly sorry, but I didn’t succeed to go out and do my WU transaction. I’ll give you the deposit on Monday, in case we’ll succeed to meet and you’ll decide to accept me as your housemate.
I’ll be waiting for your answer, meanwhile I wish you a pleasant evening!

Bye,
Rania

——————-

[Emails exchange goes on. Two emails, one at 5.17 and one at 5.40am of 8/11. I didn't reply, of course. People usually sleep at that time of the night... unless it is daytime in the place where she writes from. But she/he definitely has a great imagination!]

Hello,
Thanks for the mail and the interest in my flat.
I really understand your concern as regards viewing the property but i have been involved in two cases that made me regret allowing a viewing without a deposit.
Firstly,i once left my work and came home to show the flat to a lady who was interested in my flat and she eventually did not rent the flat and i lost my job because my boss was angry because i left the office during work hour.
Secondly,guy came to view my Flat last week and stole away some of my belongings and almost Raped me in my flat. Because of these two reasons my Lawyer advised me to take some measures so that i am rest assured that any one that would come to my flat to view must pay the security deposit so that if they come they would be well behaved.
The deposit is refundable immediately after the viewing. similarly,i would send you my identity and flat bills.
Hope to read from you soon with the tenancy agreement form and payment details so that you can make a reservation for the room and we can arrange the viewing on monday.
You can join me for a live chat now on MSN messanger. salomexxx@hotmail.com

Salome

.
Hello,
Thanks for the mail and the interest in my flat.
You can make the payment of the deposit at any of the location below as they are open for business on sundays.
Send me a mail as soon as you proceed so that i can send you the receipt you would bring along when coming for the viewing tomorrow.
Hope to read from you soon.

Salome

[I won't reply anymore. When will she stop? We'll see.]

____________________________________________________

List of documents she sent as a ‘proof’ of her identity:

* Salome Bally’s ID card (removed on 08/01/2011 after the real Salome kindly asked me to take it off the Internet)

* Council Tax receipt

* Tenancy Agreement file

Pics of her house:

* Double bedroom 1

* Double bedroom 2

* Kitchen

* Livingroom

* En-suite (equipped with a telephone, just to be near your friends in the most intimate moments)

———————-

I’m waiting for further contacts. I’m positive they’ll come. Meantime, all emails’ headers show this IP address:

41.189.6.244

A Nigerian IP. Emails I received from the happy-rich-family-moving-back-to-UK-by-Julie-Singh had been sent from Nigeria, too. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Maybe those things always come from there because it is a country far enough from GB and, in the same time, enough safe to allow fraudtsers to operate without even being identified.

If the house actually existed, they wouldn’t have to send me documents in advance. If the house actually existed, the first thing to do would be to show it to the interested people without asking them for an advance deposit via Western Union. If the house actually existed, that Salomé B hadn’t to proof her identity sending me a scan of her ID card – which I fear to be real. Stolen or disguised, it doesn’t matter.
What they use to say, “Do not give money in advance for a house you haven’t seen yet and without signing a contract!”, is more real than ever, in that particular case. Unfortunately, few people are enough shrewd to remember it. Personally, I have allerted IOL webmasters. We have to stop those foxes from disturbing IOL service with upsetting requests that would cost users time and money. I’m pretty curious to know what is going to happen next. After the nanny and the royal flat fraud, let’s see what they’ll invent to succeed to steal me 500 pounds.

______________________

Just a quick reminder about our Governement’s advices regarding rents and deposits:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/BuyingAndSellingYourHome/RentingAHome/DG_4001366

______________________

A couple of websites where they talk about this post:

http://www.flatmaterooms.co.uk/blog/flatshare-fraud-scams/beware-of-flatshare-scams/

http://www.italiansoflondon.com/index.php?articoloid=&sezioneid=2&view_annuncio=7781

______________________

New scams attempted few weeks later:

http://www.drawy.net/index.php/2009/11/affitti-in-gb-quando-la-truffa-e%E2%80%99-dietro-l%E2%80%99angolo-parte-ii/?lan=english