Hi,

Thank you so much for this webpage. I was going to rent a home from this scam. after visiting your page I avoided this wrong decision. Thank you.

The property was in Seattle. The name of this scam was matched to the real owner of the property, Sven Reverend Andersen. I don't know why the police or FBI do not take an action to arrest this scam. anyway here is his email and is exactly as those mentioned above:

Good evening,

I want to thank you for your interest in renting my beautiful home. I personally own this property, i would like it to be well taken care of please. What are your previous rentals like? I hope you are a good person and you can take care of my property as if it were your own. Move in is ready. Rental includes the utilities which are intact, the dishwasher, dryer/washer, electricity, gas, water, fridge, sewage, trash, AC, high speed internet and off street parking, so no need to pay for the utilities as am presently in a governmental program that sponsors my utilities for a year, you only pay for the phone. Short term is monthly and long term lease is yearly maximum.

I and my wife recently traveled to Colorado for a missionary work in Saint Peters Anglican Church where our ministry is needed on demand which had given us a reason to lease the house for sale initially on a website, but no buyer  was coming forth with the asking price, so we decided to put it up on Craig's list for rent and available at $890.00. The church desperately need our help in its reformation as some of the reverend who were serving have been called upon and have gone to establish a new ministry. We wont be visiting the home until 15th of October during my vacation.

If you can't wait till we get back in town, you can walk by and have a peek through the windows to make sure my house is actually what you desire to rent. You will fill the application form below to proceed. I will inform my lawyer here in Colorado to prepare a lease agreement for us prior to your move in date. If agreement is reached, you will secure my property with a refundable security deposit. The keys are with us, as we weren't familiar enough with anyone in the neighborhood. We lived in Colorado Springs all the while, i traveled to Seattle to redeem the bid i won for a portion of land which i sold to buy this home. I am not really familiar with the neighborhood as we only lived there for a month and had to move when i got a letter of transfer back to Colorado for a missionary work. I don't know any of my friend or clique who i can dimly guarantee sending the keys of the house for a walk through inspections.  So we will need to ship it to you before you can gain entance into the house and occupy it. Do understand that a refundable deposit/damage fee of $800.00 will be put down in my account before receiving the keys from me as to secure the house after signing your lease. Note that the deposit made is fully refundable, should in case you gain entrance into the property and feel unsatisfied with your choice. But i assure you that you will love everything about this property. Here is my phone # 719-203-1525, you can reach me anytime.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION.
Property Address: 305 NW 46th St, Seattle, WA 98107
2 main Bedroom
1 Bathroom
Refundable Sec Deposit: $890.00
1st  Month rent: $800.00
Total move in cost: $1,690.00
Sqft: 780
Lot: 3,876 sq ft
Year built: 1950
No pet fee. dogs below 70 pounds & Cat allowed
Garage & Off street parking.

Reverend Sven

This jack*** just posted on Craiglist my property (which just sold)  for rent - it is the same one that the last entry above enquired about! I reported it to the FBI but I wish that I had seen all these postings before I filled out the form. Clearly a huge scam. I hope no one sends any money.

I'm so thankful for websites like this where we can spread awareness about these scams. I replied to a Craigslist posting and got this email:

Good evening,

I want to thank you for your interest in renting my beautiful home. I personally own this property, i would like it to be well taken care of please. What are your previous rentals like? I hope you are a good person and you can take care of my property as if it were your own. Move in is ready. Rental includes the utilities which are intact, the dishwasher, dryer/washer, electric stove, gas, water, full sized fridge, sewage, trash, air condition, high speed internet  and Satellite/Cable. No need to pay for the utilities as am presently in a governmental program that sponsors my utilities each year, you only pay for the phone and lawn who can mow the vicinity.

I and my wife recently traveled to Colorado for a missionary work in Saint Peters Anglican Church where our ministry is needed on demand which had given us a reason to lease the house for sale initially on a website, but no buyer  was coming forth with the asking price, so we decided to put it up on Craig's list for rent and available at $1200.00. The church desperately need our help in its reformation as some of the reverend who were serving have been called upon and have gone to establish a new ministry. We wont be visiting Baltimore until 20th of December during my vacation for 2 weeks. We could possibly meet to know more about each other.

You can drive by and have a peak through the windows. You will fill the application form below this email to proceed. if you are qualified to rent my house. I will inform my lawyer here in Colorado to prepare a lease agreement for us. If agreement is reached, you will secure my property with a refundable security deposit which will allow me to securely hold the house for you till your moves. The keys are with us, i am not familiar enough with anyone in the neighborhood. I don't know anyone who i can dimly guarantee sending the keys to for you walk through inspections. So we will need to ship it to you before you can gain entrance into the house and occupy it. Do understand that a refundable deposit/damage fee of $800.00 will be put down in my account before receiving the keys from me as to secure the house and sign a year lease, the lease can be renewed at end of the current one. Note that the deposit made is fully refundable, should in case you gain entrance into the property and feel unsatisfied with your choice. But i assure you that you will love everything about this property.  Here is my phone # 719-203-1525, you can reach me anytime

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION.
Address: 5724 Rockspring Rd, Baltimore, MD 21209
3 Bedroom
2 Bathroom
Move in ready: 1st/06/2013
Refundable Sec Deposit: $800.00
1st  Month rent: $1200.00
Total move in cost: $2000.00
Sqft: 1,006
Lot: 5445 sq ft
Year built: 1917
No pet fee. dogs below 70 pounds & Cat allowed
Garage & Off street parking available.

Rev Joan

It's soooo frustrating! It's getting to the point where it's hard to find an actual rental posting amongst all of the scammers on CL.

(Yes, I got the reply from this guy too...as well as one from a guy that says he is in Canada, but the story is similar.)

Beware anyone that asks for detailed personal information (and especially money) without having anyone to actually show the property.

This is a scam - I replied to a post on craigslist for a house to rent and I get this big long email.  I googled the address and it actually came up on Zillow.com for a home that is actually for sale.  STAY AWAY, SCAM SCAM SCAM.

Here is the email he sent me:

Good evening,

I want to thank you for your interest in renting my beautiful home. I personally own this property, i would like it to be well taken care of please. What are your previous rentals like? I hope you are a good person and you can take care of my property as if it were your own. Move in is ready. Rental includes the utilities which are intact, the dishwasher, dryer/washer, electricity, gas, water, fridge, sewage, trash, AC, high speed internet and off street parking, so no need to pay for the utilities as am presently in a governmental program that sponsors my utilities for a year, so you only pay for the phone. Short term is monthly and long term lease is yearly maximum.

I and my wife recently traveled to Colorado for a missionary work in Saint Peters Anglican Church where our ministry is needed on demand which had given us a reason to lease the house for sale initially on a website, but no buyer  was coming forth with the asking price, so we decided to put it up on Craig's list for rent and available at $790.00. The church desperately need our help in its reformation as some of the reverend who were serving have been called upon and have gone to establish a new ministry. We wont be visiting the home until 15th of October during my vacation. I will be looking forward to meet you on October if thats okay by you, let me know.

If you can't wait till we get back in town, you can walk by and have a peek through the windows. You will fill the application form below to proceed. I will inform my lawyer here in Colorado to prepare a lease agreement for us prior to your move in date. If agreement is reached, you will secure my property with a refundable security deposit. The keys are with us, as we weren't familiar enough with anyone since we bought the house on February and couldn't leave the keys behind. So we will need to ship it to you before you can gain entrance into the home and occupy it. Do understand that a refundable deposit/damage fee of $790.00 MUST be put down first before receiving the keys and hard copy of the lease from me as to secure the house for you while you go through the lease. Note that the deposit made is fully refundable, should in case you gain entrance into the property and feel unsatisfied with your choice. But i assure you that you will love everything about this property. Here is my phone # 719-203-1525, you can reach me anytime.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION.
Property Address: 180 Vincent Ave, North Providence, RI 02904
2 main Bedroom
1 Bathroom
Refundable Sec Deposit: $790.00
1st  Month rent: $790.00
Total move in cost: $1,580.00
Sqft: 884
Lot: 1,307 sq ft
Year built: 1952
No pet fee. dogs below 80 pounds & Cat allowed
Garage & Off street parking

Rev. Jason

Wanted to rent a property from him that was cheaper than market value and he replied as Rev. Robert in Colorado. Wanted the deposit so I could get the lease and the keys...

I just almost fell for this...Rev John Williams Colorado.  Yes, it was a rental property that was listed.

I think we should pay his game.....ask where we can send the money then, send him a nasty note, where was the house you wanted to rent?

is the home you wanting to rent by Rev John?

I found a house for rent in Portland Oregon and he says his name is Rev John and lives in Colorado, Oh God this is a scam....can you call this phone number of 719-203-1525 and see for me if this is the same guy that you talked to?

let me know my email is rawbird62@aol.com

Same thing here although it is a Reverend Singh and he is currently in Colorado.

This number is in a real estate scam in Long Beach California. It is used as a reply number for a Reverend Jimmy Melgoza  on a Craigslist home rental ad. House is offered below market value, you can drive by but house cannot be shown because owner is out of state, you have to give them a deposit in New York before they send you the keys. The reply email sent is written in poor English structure and grammar although everything is spelled correctly. Scam.