I received an email just like this one about an ad on craigslist exactly like this one. It was about a furnished apartment in San Rafael and the couple wanted me to wire money through Western Union to Ukraine to Emmanuel Lamberton. The emails in this post are identical to the ones I recieved. I went to the address they provided me and spoke with one of the neighbors who informed me that neither of them owned the apartment and to not waste my time or money.

Hi, there.
Be careful, everything indicates that Kimberly Lamberton is a scammer! I live in Cambridge Massachusetts and I've received the next mail from her. Take a look for yourself.

Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 02:03:21 -0700
> From: kimberly_lomberton@yahoo.com
> Subject: RE: About the room you rent - $550 Room for Rent - $550/mo all incl. (Cambridge)
> To: xxx@hotmail.com
>
> Thanks for your message. I'm Kimberly Lamberton.The apartment will be available for as long as you are willing to rent .My husband and I own the apartment, we both had an accident few months ago, I'm currently disabled and I'm currently on a wheel chair.I had to relocate back to our other house in Texas,USA,that's why the apartment is vacant.Moreover,are you very clean,kind and easygoing?because my husband and I spent a lot on our property,so we want someone who can take care of the apartment.Kindly let me know as soon as possible because we need someone who is reliable to occupy it. ? The apartment has the following features below:
>
> ? Central heating
> ? Large living room with wooden floor and dining room table
> ? Fireplace
> ? bedroom with full size bed and TV
> ? Kitchen with dishwasher
> ? Bathroom with bath, new washer and dryer
> ? Separate toilet
> ? Private entrance and hall
> ? Desktop PC, Internet connection are included,
> ? Utilities & Parking included.
>
> Pets acceptable (deposit required) . References needed if possible.So, Hope you are okay with the rent per month get back to me asap because we need a tenant urgently.If you are interested.I want you to remember that I'm in Texas,USA and the keys and documents are here with me, so you will not be able to see inside the apartment, you can only view from the outside. I will send the keys and documents to you via FedEx and you will receive it within 48hrs.I will send keys and documents to your present home address you will provide in the application form.Let me know if you are willing to proceed.View the pictures of the apartment in the attached file..Write back so I can send you the rent application.
>

Kimberly Lamberton said she was also deaf and couldn't speak on the phone but her husband Emmanuel Lamberton could ;Good hearing from you that you are promising us that our apartment will be well taken care off , and I really appreciate your expression. I am after the good care of my apartment, I am willing to rent the apartment to you for as long as you want.We are willing to rent for as long as you are willing to stay. The rent includes all tax & bills included..

I had an accident which affected my hearing and my legs , I am currently on a wheel chair right now, I do not use a phone that's why I am always online, But you can reach my husband on his Us number he roamed it (985) 262-3506. If you are interested, you can fill out the rent application below and get back to me as soon as possible

                                    *******RENT APPLICATION FORM*******
                                                (Private & Confidential)
Also, Please let me get these answers.
1) Your Full Name
2) Present Full Address
3) Phone Number
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) Age
9) Occupation?
10) Citizen of which Country?
11) When are you ready to Move in ?
12) When are u planning to leave the apartment ?
13)  How many months rent can you deposit upfront
14)Occupant picture

Looking forward to hear from you with all this details for approval so that I can have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt in your name and contacting you .Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the documents and the keys to you, Please we are giving you all this transaction is based on Trust & Honesty and again I want you to stick to your words, We are putting everything into Gods hand, so please do not let us down in this property of ours and God bless you more as you do this.

Thanks so much and have a nice day."

Kimberly Lamberton had sent me a message after replying to her Craigslist ad here in Vermont. For a 1bedroom apartment all utilities included, including electric. She said due to an accident that she is unable to speak on the phone but that her husband can. They were living in Vt but after the accident they moved in with family in Texas. She said that I struck her as "an amazing person and trustworthy" to rent her fully furnished apartment. I would have to send 550$ for deposit and 550$ for 1st rent. After I send the money western union she would send documentation and keys FedEx or DHL to my old address. I asked for at least a copy of the lease because I said this feels like a scam. She sent a descriptive lease agreement, e-signed by her as a PDF. Is this a scam? I believe it is but can they really send a PDF "Agreement Lease"?

ic3.gov

The FBI's website for online crimes. Report it-What every1 should do to get these scammers :/

EBFF VCJG  NFGNH

Same deal.. rented a house in Killington for presidents weekned this year, got there after depositing $750 in a Bank Of America account and the address was to a golf course.  Info below.  Bottom line, if the price seems too goood to be true, it is!  Guys name was STEVEN GRAHAM.  Called from one of those Magic Jet numbers every time- used (512)213-2477 and (858)222-4508.


Email from him....
Thank you for your patronage,we do have availability for your dates,the house is located at 212 East Mountain Road #B7,Killington VT 05751 USA,we charge $200 per night,it's one of the best you can get around here,to hold your dates you are to pay 50% of the total rental fee plus refundable security fee of $200 that will be returned to you at your departure if there is no damage at d end of your stay and the balance of the rental fee paid upon your arrival,discount applies from customer's with 7 days stay and above, all Taxes , Bills , Car park Bills has been handled ,please check below for  details and the price quotes,

No of ROOMs ; # 3

NO OF BEDS ; # 5

NO OF BATHS ; # 4

CAR PARK SPACE; # 2


                                              PRICE QUOTE'S

3 NIGHTS = $600 . %50 DEPOSIT = $300 . SECURITY FEE = $200 . DISCOUNT = $50

DEPOSIT PAYMENT = $500

BALANCE UPON ARRIVAL = $250

All you have to do to hold your date is to pay a 50% of the total rental fee, plus the Refundable Security Fee which is $300. which will be given back to you at departure if nothing is damaged during your stay, Once you have made the payment I will issue you a receipt confirming your payments. our cleaners would come at intervals under your request to clean and attend to your needs. .I will send you our Terms, Condition, booking form and agreement as soon I have your reply to know you are interested in booking

Regards
Steve

This is the info to the Bank of America account #:

Account Name : Miguel Rivera Gonzalez


Account/no : 09439-47783


Routing/no: 122000661


Bank address : 2260 S Harbor Blvd, Anaheim, CA 92802


Bank name : Bank of America


It's a shame that so many of these scams are out there, and it looks like these same waste-of-life people are doing it over and over again.  Im sure there are many legit rentals on here but don't use Craigslist.  Seriously, its not worth the risk.  Use certified ones like VRBO.com or Homeaway.com.  

Good luck and go with your gut instinct!!!

And this is their reply:

I agreed with you, But we don't allow anyone here until he or her arrival date, To secure the rest of the clients inside the apt. That's why we have our good reasons that if you love the apt then you must pay the %50 deposit since you Google the address and have some pictures of the apt on Craigslist, I don't think you should have anything to doubt about. We only accepted Money Gram for now because we currently working on our pay pal account. Let me know when you are ready so that i can send you the booking agreement form a long with payment info. Receipt will be issue out to you as soon as we do confirm your payment.


Yea, DEF SCAM, THANKS AGAIN FOR POSTING!

Thank you for posting! Looking for a rental for friends coming into town to visit me (there is 4 of them and they can't stay with me). I got the EXACT same email from Bridgett in San Diego.

I just wrote her back and said, "Actually, I live in San Diego and this rental is for friends coming into town. I would like to come by and see it first - when can we arrange this?"  Should be interesting if I actually GET a response!

-Erika

http://nashville.craigslist.org/vac/3512034831.html

This is another one of their scams. She is going by the name Bridget Brackins this time.

Hello Again,

Thank you for showing interest. The apartment is available for the dates chosen. I am sure that this is one of the best apartment you can get around at this reasonable rate. But I cannot guarantee the hold of the apartment until you book for it. You are required to pay 50% of the total rental fee and a Refundable security fee of $200  to enable me hold the apartment for you,as there is rush for the apartment at this time.The apartment is $50  per night. Check the below quotes for the cost of nights you intent to stay in the apartment.


Address: 444 Elmington Avenue Nashville, TN 37205

5      NIGHTS =   $250

%50 DEPOSIT   =   $125

SECURITY FEE  =   $200

All you have to do to hold the apartment is to pay a 50% of the total rental fee, plus the Refundable Security Fee which is $200.  which will be given back to you on the day you departing from the apartment,  Once you have made the payment I will issue you a receipt confirming your payments. There are also door men and cleaners who would come at intervals under your request to clean and attend to your needs.This also does not attract any extra charges. You get to notify me of the exact time you will be arriving in TN to make arrangement to pick you up. There is no extra charges for this also. I will render this service for free.I will send you our booking form and agreement as soon I have your reply to know you are interested in the apartment.

Regards
Mrs. Bridget. (bbapt40@aol.com)--that is the email address she/he/it/they are scamming from this time.

that was the email i got back after I told her what dates we were looking for. It was for CMA fest and we grew suspicious when the rates did not increase. My friend that is going emailed her to discuss the payment options and when she was told to do a money gram she immediately became suspicious and googled the name. I'm so glad she did because this website came up with the same exact scam! When I found out and told her no thank you. She says "why you no interested anymore"

http://nashville.craigslist.org/vac/3512034831.html

This post is one of those scams. I received the exact same email from "Mrs. Bridget" when I inquired about the availability for CMA fest. I thought it was too good to be true when the rates didn't increase when I told her what dates I would be there since all other rentals had an increase in rent rates. Luckily when my friend emailed her to book it she told her to wire money via money gram because their paypal account was down. My friend (victim to an internet scam recently) was suspicious and googled the name and found these websites informing us of the scam. Thank you all for posting! It saved us alot of money. I also reported it to craigslist. But does anyone know another website or agency I can report to? I tried the federal one but it kept timing out on me. Thanks!P4DS

hi

How do you know it is a scam? Did you try to book the apartment in Austin? Not saying it isn't so, just wondering how you know for sure. I was thinking of asking her to meet me there.

This Mrs. Bridget sure manages a lot of houses. Thanks for the scam diligences - this thread saved me from a disaster.

------------------------

Hello,

Thank you for showing interest. The apartment is available for the dates chosen. I am sure that this is one of the best apartment you can get around at this reasonable rate. But I cannot guarantee the hold of the apartment until you book for it. You are required to pay 50% of the total rental fee and a Refundable security fee of $200  to enable me hold the apartment for you,as there is rush for the apartment at this time.The apartment is $50  per night. Check the below quotes for the cost of nights you intent to stay in the apartment.

Address: 3501 South First Street Austin, TX 78704.

12     NIGHTS =   $600

%50 DEPOSIT   =   $300

SECURITY FEE  =   $200

All you have to do to hold the apartment is to pay a 50% of the total rental fee, plus the Refundable Security Fee which is $200.  which will be given back to you on the day you departing from the apartment,  Once you have made the payment I will issue you a receipt confirming your payments. There are also door men and cleaners who would come at intervals under your request to clean and attend to your needs.This also does not attract any extra charges. You get to notify me of the exact time you will be arriving in TX to make arrangement to pick you up. There is no extra charges for this also. I will render this service for free.I will send you our booking form and agreement as soon I have your reply to know you are interested in the apartment.

Regards
Mrs. Bridget.


Bridget Brackins
bbapt40@aol.com

Maui apartment scam from "Mrs. Bridget"

Thanks to everyone here...I came across this thread after getting what I felt was a suspicious reply from this craiglist post about an apartment in Maui. Here is the reply - similar to all of yours.  Stay away!

-----------------------------
Hello,

Thank you for showing interest. The apartment is available for the dates chosen. I am sure that this is one of the best apartment you can get around at this reasonable rate. But I cannot guarantee the hold of the apartment until you book for it. You are required to pay 50% of the total rental fee and a Refundable security fee of $200  to enable me hold the apartment for you,as there is rush for the apartment at this time.The apartment is $50  per night. Check the below quotes for the cost of nights you intent to stay in the apartment.

Address: 411 Hobron Lane, Honolulu, HI 96815

7      NIGHTS =   $350

%50 DEPOSIT   =   $175

SECURITY FEE  =   $200

All you have to do to hold the apartment is to pay a 50% of the total rental fee, plus the Refundable Security Fee which is $200.  which will be given back to you on the day you departing from the apartment,  Once you have made the payment I will issue you a receipt confirming your payments. There are also door men and cleaners who would come at intervals under your request to clean and attend to your needs.This also does not attract any extra charges. You get to notify me of the exact time you will be arriving in HI to make arrangement to pick you up. There is no extra charges for this also. I will render this service for free.I will send you our booking form and agreement as soon I have your reply to know you are interested in the apartment.

Regards
Mrs. Bridget.


Bridget Brackins
bbapt40@aol.com

Thanks for the information about the character "Brett Rogoff". We have just nearly got scammed by him. Once again thanks!

I was trying to book a rental place in Austin Texas, and I found on Craigslit  the following post:

$50 / 2br - 1900ft² - Glamours Relaxation Apt In TX (Austin)

The apartment is outstanding in having bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, high quality wood and wrought iron furnishing and all German kitchen facilities. Separate air conditioning in each of the two bedrooms and the living room. Extra heavy doors secured by three bolt locks and calling from front door with remote opener. A pleasant and practical abode while in Cannes, be it on business or for leisure, its has all the amenities such as A video player and DVD player are provided. Free High Speed Internet.

Note: the post included pictures


Compare to other rentals $50 is a very low price, I was already suspicious but I decide it to send an email anyway.  This is the response I got from Mrs. Bridget.

hank you for showing interest. The apartment is available for the dates chosen. I am sure that this is one of the best apartment you can get around at this reasonable rate. But I cannot guarantee the hold of the apartment until you book for it. You are required to pay 50% of the total rental fee and a Refundable security fee of $200  to enable me hold the apartment for you,as there is rush for the apartment at this time.The apartment is $50  per night. Check the below quotes for the cost of nights you intent to stay in the apartment.

Address: 3501 South First Street Austin, TX 78704.

3      NIGHTS =   $150

%50 DEPOSIT   =   $75

SECURITY FEE  =   $200

All you have to do to hold the apartment is to pay a 50% of the total rental fee, plus the Refundable Security Fee which is $200.  which will be given back to you on the day you departing from the apartment,  Once you have made the payment I will issue you a receipt confirming your payments. There are also door men and cleaners who would come at intervals under your request to clean and attend to your needs.This also does not attract any extra charges. You get to notify me of the exact time you will be arriving in TX to make arrangement to pick you up. There is no extra charges for this also. I will render this service for free.I will send you our booking form and agreement as soon I have your reply to know you are interested in the apartment.

Regards
Mrs. Bridget.



Bridget Brackins
bbapt40@aol.com


TOTALLY SCAM PEOPLE.

Oh my goodness! We were almost scammed also!  We were trying to book a vacation at Killington Vermont and found an available condo ski in/ski out that seemed almost too good to be true!  Got a little fishy with the email correspondence with several different names and then he asked for the money to be wired. That's when I googled his name and found this site!  He is still using Robert Munei and the address he used is in Adelanto, CA. The phone number he texted from was 207-619-3410.  Wow, I can't believe this guy is still getting away with this!  We reported to Craigslist, but I hope this investigation will go further!  Unbelievable!  I guess when it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Thanks to all of you for previously posting which confirmed our suspicions!  You saved us, so I am posting this in hopes to warn someone else who is unlucky enough to encounter this guy.

Guy is trolling Folly Beach ads on Craigslist.  Thanks for all your post.  I about made a mistake with this A$$
Hello****

Thanks for booking with us, Attached booking and agreement form... Which you have requested for in order to make reservation with us.I want you to fill it and email the Reservation form back to us asap so that we can make the reservation for your chosen date. You will make a total deposit payment of $365 to the owner .......... Refundable security fee plus %50 required for the reservation of the rent...........The deposit payment will be transfer to the owner of the property Bank Account information, Here is the owner information you will send the property rent to......i will be at the property location one hour before your arrival time to hand over the key to you and check you in .

How to complete the payment? Follow these instructions:

Acct Name, Crystal L. Clark.    
Acct #  84578846 ABA
Routing #103112976
Bank address: Arvest Bank, 502 S. Main Mall Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103-4425
Receiver's Name and Address

Please kindly get back to me immediately with the payment information given to you while deposit is transferred to the owner so i can prepare your receipt asap, please remember to print and come along with the payment receipt that i will attach and forward to you after Confirmation of deposit.

Notice: Is only when payment has been transfer to the owner before we can secure your reservation dates.

Once the owner deposit is confirm , You'll receive your Receipt immediately to confirm your reservation for your chosen date.

Thanks for making reservation with us.
Regards

was it Mathew Chris or Richard?

I can't believe I am reading this.  I found this post while looking for a cleaning service today online.  I own the condo located at 1004 Bourbon and have since 2007.  At the time you are discribing I was even living there full time.  I can't believe that this scam is/was going on and that my condo was involved.  I am glad you figured it out before you came down to New Orleans or I would have been very surprised when you showed up.  I also found my condo listed for sale today online.  What is going on in this world?

So sketchy! I set up a paypal account and had almost transferred money when I found "Keith Simmons" as an alias on this site, THANK YOU everyone.

I received several emails to set up a vacation rental in Bethany Beach, DE. Then received a very official rental agreement form, no typos or anything amiss. Very tricky! Except then the rental property address wasn't filled in, he refused to tell me even the street name, and then I was supposed to just forward money into "Sassyjo62@yahoo.com" followed by a request to transfer to "Curtisswart@sbcglobal.net"

The rental form had:
Owners Name: Linda Brady
Agent Name: Keith Simmona

while the email address used was:
keith simmona <Simmons.homerentals01@housemail.com>

This has been so upsetting and it didn't even work, I really appreciate the people who have contributed to this site.

So glad I checked into this!
The crook has added a new/different address:

Name : Robert Munei
Address : 11345 Essex Ct.
Adelanto, CA 92301

I'm stringing this guy along he has a rental listed at York beach Maine, I said send me the agreement he sent an agreement for Santa Monica, then emailed and said that was a typo. So I'm going to send $1 Western Union. Who knows where the guy or girl is from could be anywhere, I just want to f*#k with him now and lead him on. They have a lot of time on their hands to be the crooks they are. I also asked to give me his phone number just in case my wife has any questions....Turn the tables on them that's all.

Thanks to all of you for your posting of this fraud.  Today I almost wired him $700 for an ocean front unit in Laguna Beach Calif.  So glad my daughter checked this site.  The rental agreement he sent me looked sooo real and sooo up front.  The language and spelling in the emails were like some of
thoes scams from some foreign country.  Be careful people or you will lose your hard earned cash.

Thank God for this site. I almost sent this a hole money for a Laguna Beach rental. As of 6/27/12 he is using the name James Jackson and having western union sent to
Name : Robert Munei
Address : 11503 Charleston Street
Adelanto, CA 92301
619-356-6634

What a piece of crap!

I was searching for a home to rent in the Santa Barabara area and came across an ad for a luxurious home for $400 a night. I knew it was too good to be true but emailed him and received the following response from a James Jackson:

Thank you for showing interest. The property is still available for the date chosen. I am sure that this is one of the best property you can get around at this reasonable rate but i cannot guarantee the hold of the property until you book for it. You are required to pay the full rental fee and a refundable security fee of $200 to enable me hold the property for you as there is rush for the property at this time. I will issue you a receipt confirming your payment. You get to notify me of the exact time you will be arriving in to make arrangement to pick you up. There is no extra charges for this also. I will render this service for free. I am an agent.We accept Bank Deposit as for of payment I will send you our booking and payment form as soon as i have your reply to know you are interested in the property.

Property Address :  4840 Sandyland Rd Carpinteria, CA 93013.

2 NIGHTS   = $800 inclusive of tax and cleaning fee & discount fee
SECURITY:$200    (Will be refunded when you Checking out)
TOTAL DEPOSIT: $1000

I wrote him back for his phone number and received  the (619) 356-6634 number. Googled it and as I had suspected it, he is a fraud. Sad thing is I found the legitimate rental agents and told them and they said, yes this happens often and despite them telling craigslist, craigslist is not doing a thing about it. I was a big fan of craigslist but craigslist's lack of seeing its responsibility and acting as a major vehicle in fraud, prostitution, sale of stolen goods, thefts, and other such crimes and doing something to address these issues makes me stay away from craigslist.

Any luck with the FBI. He scammed me too for a home in La Selva Beach...Here's his email....

Thanks for your interest. Attached to the mail is the Rental Booking and Agreement Form. I want you to complete and return it back to me via e-mail as soon as possible. The total deposit amount to confirm your reservation with us is $500 which will be wire via Western Union to the owner. Proceed to locate to any nearest Western Union location or visit C.V.S store to send the deposit..I will be at the property 30 minutes before your arrival to check you in and handover the keys to you.

Below is the Name and Address to send the deposit.

Name : Robert Munei
Address : 11503 Charleston Street
Adelanto, CA 92301.


Kindly get back to me with the deposit payment information below so that l can prepare and forward your receipt to you immediately.

Sender's Name............
Sender's Address.........
MTCN#.............
Amount............

Once the deposit is confirm, you will receive receipt immediately to confirm your reservation for your chosen date. I look forward to read from you soon.

Thank you
MICHEAL
619-356-6634

That address that you quoted is the same address that someone wrote in about (1212 Boubon St.)  Check the above posts.   I would not send any money!!!

I've been looking into this rental (1212 Bourbon  St New Orleans, LA 70116) and I'm a little doubtful of craigslist. Have you had any development in this? Did you end up going?