Rental Scammers Are Out There!
I received a phone call the other day from someone that came across a home that they thought was being used as a rental scam. Sure enough after looking up the ad on Craigslist and seeing it listed for sale on the MLS I could tell fairly quickly that the home was indeed being used as a scam. While I was on Craigslist I was able to find three other rental scams there were going on. Here is a screenshot of one of those rental listings.
One of the biggest giveaways that is is being used as a scam is that the rent price is dramatically below the current market price for rent in the area. Dramatically low. I do not know of a place in Utah County or Salt Lake County that you can rent an entire house, with a yard, that allows pets, for $600 a month. The listing I have posted above used the same description that was on the MLS so the scammer just pulled the photos and pasted and copied the description. I did let the listing agent know that their listing was being used as a scam so that they could take the steps to inform Craigslist.
You will also find these rental scams with hardly any information about the house other than it is for rent and probably one picture. I have also seen listings where the scammer is using term(s) that are not usually used for the area. One scam listing used the term car park. That is a term I heard a lot in England but I have never heard it used in Utah before.
So what happens next? How does this scam work?
You will reach out to the scammer with their provided information. Sometimes that will be a cell phone or an email address. In the case of the three that I reached out to last week, it was email.
I sent three emails and received two responses for two separate listings and received two responses. We’ll call them scam listing A and scam listing B.
Scam Listing A
I sent an email as follows to the email provided in the listing.
Please tell me that Blank Blank, UT is still available to rent!
Harris Mint
I then received the following email.
Thanks for your interest and inquiries about my house. Yes the house is still available for rent and we are looking for a responsible person/family to occupy and maintain the house now that we are not around. My wife and i just traveled to Georgia for a program called FAMILY LIFE AND HIV EDUCATION AND THE HIV PREVENTION FOR RURAL YOUTH PROGRAM, the program is taking place in three major countries in Europe, Hong Kong, UK . We will be away for 4 to 5 years or more that is why I have made up my mind to put up my house for rent to whom ever that will take good care of it.
Also how long do you intend to stay? How soon do you intend to move in?
FEATURES : Laundry, Electric Range, Electric Heat, Master Bedroom, Playground, Car Park.
AMENITIES: Air Conditioning, Patio/Party Deck, Cable TV, Ceiling Fans, 24 hours Internet service, Dishwasher, Firepit, Garbage Disposal, Microwave, security alarm, Pets Friendly, Refrigerator, Washer / Dryer.
DETAILS ABOUT THE HOUSE..
Number of bedrooms:2
Number of bathrooms:1
Rental price: $600 per month and security Deposit is $600(Security Deposits Refundable)
Utilities included in monthly rent
Pets Welcome.
Address:
Please get back to me with the Information requested below I could go through it and let you know if you are capable of renting my house or not.
Applicant Information
Name:
Date of birth:
Cell:
Phone:
Full Current address:
Marital Status:
Best way to reach for Emergency:
Do you have a car:
Do you work late:
Monthly Income:
Do you have kids:
Move In Date:
How long are you renting:
Reason of Relocating:
Do you have a Pet:
Do you agree to pay the deposit payment before you move in: ?
Do you have any criminal record:
Await your urgent reply. Thanks for your understanding.
Regards
Brett Lambert
I haven’t filled out a rental questionnaire in a long time and am pretty sure some of these questions can’t be asked. My responses to this request are as follows.
Brett
Here is the information you kindly requested.
Applicant Information
Name: Harris Mint
Date of birth: 2.23.79
Cell: I haven’t joined the cell phone culture yet
Phone: I don’t have a house phone.
Full Current address: 603 E South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT
Marital Status: Single but looking, do you have any leads?
Best way to reach for Emergency: Email
Do you have a car: Yes
Do you work late: If I need to
Monthly Income: $5600
Do you have kids: Not that I know of
Move In Date: ASAP
How long are you renting: Minimum of 2 years
Reason of Relocating: I want to live in
Do you have a Pet: A hamster named Harry Balzac
Do you agree to pay the deposit payment before you move in: Of course
Do you have any criminal record: No
Please tell me I’m a good fit for this house it looks awesome.
Sincerely,
Harris Mint
Scammer’s response
My Wife and I sends our heartfelt appreciation and warmth greetings to you. We went through your application and Most especially your mail, You gave us an inner peace of Mind that really got us going. Your Re-assuring mail that our home will be taken care of well as if it were yours is something that makes me want to rent to you.To sustain the Life we do not really require much. It takes only a little food,something to wear and a place to” lie down”. The rich might have an abundance of this things,and the poor may have to struggle to obtain what they need.What difference there is, however, is equalized when life comes to its end-everything comes to naught.(Eccl.9:5,6).Thus Life to have meaning and worth, it cannot and should not simply consist of things that one can acquire or possess.Whether we are rich or poor,we do not have complete control over how long we may live or whether we will even be alive tomorrow.The bible clear shows that Only God alone is the source of life and only he can grant faithful ones the real life or everlasting life without end in Heaven. You are just an accurate example of the fulfillment of psalm 23..which God has promised to make you lie down in grassy pastures and he further says :By well watered resting places He shall conduct you, verse 6 says surely Goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life; And you will dwell in the house of the lord forever and ever.I would like you to know that we are in need of tenant that would be capable of paying the Rent,is that okay now? so we suggest you come up with the refundable security deposit in order to proceed with keys and other documents so when you move in then you’ll be able to send the first month rent..
Below are the contents of the document that will be shipped to you Via FedEx mailing service to the address you gave to me in the Application Form.
Entrance and the rooms Keys
Paper/Permanent house form(Containing your reference details)
The house documentary file.
Letter of Access
Payment Receipt.
Full address and driving direction/description of the house.
I will also need you to confirm your delivery details and also to answer the below questions so as to certify my worries about you taking charge of my house:
Delivery Name:
Delivery Address:
Phone #:
God Bless You
Paul and Famil
I have since responded to this email because I noticed one big difference between our initial communication to now. Their names have changed. I mentioned that so we’ll see what they say about that. I mean other than the other obvious lies the could have at least kept up the right names.
I’m not going to continue giving them information as funny as it would be to send that package to Governer’s Mansion. I don’t think Gov. Herbert would find it all that funny. More than likely they will request I send them money in some way in order for that package to be sent.
Scam Listing B
Please send me the info for
Harris Mint
Scammer’s response.
Hello,
Thanks for your interest and inquiries about my house. The house is still available for rent and we are looking for a responsible tenant to occupy and maintain the house now that the house is Vacant. Myself and my wife just traveled to Benin Cotonou, Benin Republic for a program known as SERVING IN MISSION (SIM), you can view the link for more info:
We will be away for 3 to 4 years that is why we have decided to rent our home to anyone that will take good care of it. We tried to look for a dependable Realtor to handle the renting issue but we could not find one due to the limited amount of time we had before leaving. The initial plan was to sell the house which we tried hard to do, but the agent inflates the commission and it takes longer to sell that is why we decided to rent it out. I am telling you this in case you find the house on another website or a realtor sign because it has to be ignored, it will be taken down very soon.
I will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this house and would want you to treat it as your own because cleanliness they say is next to Godliness. It is not all about the money to be paid on rent or spent; it is all about a good maintenance culture which I want you to adopt on the property. I believe you have seen how maintained and neat my house is if from only the pictures you saw in my posting compare to the 100% comfort to be derived from it as you are an occupant.
FEATURES: Laundry, Electric Range, Electric Heat, Master Bedroom, Car Park. AMENITIES: Air Conditioning, Cable TV, Ceiling Fans, 24 hours Internet service, Dishwasher, Fireplace, Garbage Disposal, Microwave, security alarm, Pets Friendly, Refrigerator, Washer / Dryer.
Rental Price: $500 per month and refundable security Deposit is $500 (Security Deposit is Refundable) Utilities included in monthly rent because i have shares with the utility company so they makes sure it doesn’t go off for a minute..
Pets are Welcome.
Here is the address to the house:
Bedroom: 2
Bathroom: 1
Living Building Square Footage: 1,078
IF INTERESTED PLEASE FILL THE RENTAL APPLICATION FORM BELOW
RENT APPLICATION FORM.
Name (First name/ Middle name/Surname ) : __________?
Phone numbers (home,cell and office line ) # :__________?
E-mail :__________?
Best time to call :__________?
Marital Status:__________?
How many proposed occupants :__________?
List all in addition to yourself including approx age :__________?
Present Address :__________?
City/State :__________?
Will you have pets :__________?
Please describe Breed, size :__________?
Personality of pet :__________?
Preferred move in date :__________?
Intended length of lease:__________?
Do you agree to pay the payment before you move in:__________?
Earliest possible date of deposit payment:__________?
Length of previous tenancy :__________?
Present occupation :__________?
Are you a section 8 applicant
Do you work late night :__________?
Do you smoke :__________?
Do you drink :__________?
Send your picture or family picture __________?
Looking forward to a response from you with all the information required so i can have them in my file in case of issuing the rent payment receipt to you and for contacting you. Your quick response will be highly appreciated so that we can discuss on how to get the documents and the keys of my property to you via Express Delivery Services. May GOD bless you and your family.
Regards,
REV. BENJAMIN FREEMAN & JACKY LYNN
My response.
Rev. Benjamin Freeman & Jacky Lynn
That sounds amazing. You both must be very kind-hearted people. You must make tremendous landlords. I’m excited to get to know you over the next few years even though you will be so far away. Please tell me that we will be able to communicant. I want to be able to take good care of your home I can tell a lot of care has already been taken. I just love the curtains in that front room.
Name (First name/ Middle name/Surname ) : Harris Mint
Phone numbers (home, cell, and office line )#:I currently don’t have a phone but will soon!
E-mail:
Best time to call:
Marital Status: Single but looking, know of anyone I’m always up for a blind date
How many proposed occupants:Myself
List all in addition to yourself including approx age :39, hamster is 1.5 years old in people years
Present Address : 603 E South Temple
City/State :Salt Lake City, UT
Will you have pets: Yes
Please describe Breed,size :Hamster, male, the size of my hand
Personality of pet :He sleeps during the day, he is up all night, he is addicted to running and likes to poop in his bed, we are working on it
Preferred move in date :ASAP
Intended length of lease: Minimum of 2 years
Do you agree to pay the payment before you move in: Of course
Earliest possible date of deposit payment: Of course
Length of previous tenancy: 3 years
Present occupation : Internet marketer
Are you a section 8 applicant
Do you work late night:If I need to
Do you smoke:No
Do you drink: Water
Send your picture or family picture: Attached
Salutations,
Harris Mint
The scammer’s response.
Good Morning Harris,
My wife and I sends our heartfelt appreciation and warmth greetings to you. We went through your application and most especially in your e-mail, you gave us an inner peace of mind that really got us going. Your Re-assuring mail that our home will be taken care of well as if it were yours is something that makes me want to lease my property to you. We have decided to let you occupy our house as a Tenant. We have found your application very satisfactory and acceptable by my family so we would want you to go through the acceptance email and get back to us with the required information and what you feel.
The initial plan was to sell the house which we tried hard to do, but the agent inflates the commission and posted the house at a very high amount which i didn’t feel comfortable with because we could not find who was going to occupy the house based on the amount he posted the house for and due to the limited amount of time we had to leave and for our missionary program and stopped contact with the Realtor. So if you find the house on another website or a realtor sign, it has to be ignored and also we are on the process of taking it down from other websites. We are looking for a responsible and God fearing person that can take very good care of the house and the price we are offering now is far below the standard price based on Humanitarian purposes so the house rental fee was reduced by me.
We are to send the following documents to you via FED-EX to the address you filled in the Application and the tracking information of the confidential package would be sent to you so you can possibly occupy our house. Please once again, we are giving you this on trust and we do not want you to disappoint us. I and wife are promising you will love your stay in the house.
Below are the contents of the document that will be mailed to you via FedEx mailing service to the address you filled out in Application Form.
1) Entrance and the rooms Keys
2) Paper/Permanent house form(Containing your reference details)
3) The house documentary file.
4) Letter of Access
5) Payment Receipt.
6) Full address and driving direction/description of the house.
I will also need you to confirm your delivery details for the mailing of the Keys.
Delivery Name:
Delivery Address:
Phone #:
I will wait for your response and you can call me for more information.
Thanks And God Bless You.
Advice to any people out there that want to rent. IF the price of the house is too good to be true it is a scam. This scam tends to happen with homes that appear to be vacant. Google the address and see if it posted on the local MLS, Zillow, Trulia, brokerage websites etc. Most houses for sale will have a sign, some won’t, but most will. Scammers will often use words and terms that are out of place for the area. They more than likely will never meet you in person as the above two scammers were both out of state. They will say they are having issues with the listing agent and for you not to contact that agent. And do not ever, ever, ever, send money. Ever.
I don’t know if each of these scams is being run by the some person or group of people but their emails to me are very similar. Each of the email address used by the scammers was different. I mean I made a fake email up to send them message so it isn’t hard to create a bogus email address.
If you have any questions about the likelihood a home is being used as a scam reach out to a trusted real estate agent and have them look into it for you.
I apologize for any issues with spelling and grammar, etc. I didn’t edit the scammers’ emails and correct them. I pasted them as is. Some of my errors might have gotten passed through.