Is this a scam?
 

I have an ad up on Craig's List for my room to rent. The following is my semi-redacted correspondence with "Monica". (That's the name this person used, I'm just not convinced it's this person's real name.)

I have preserved all of her comments exactly, including syntax, spelling, and spacing.

All of these set off little alarms:

• "However, I don't have dogs"
  I don't require dogs in my ad. In fact, they're prohibited in my building.
• Almost done with a Masters degree and has horrible grammar
• Syntax is weird, as if being written by someone whose first language is not English
  E.g., "I would have loved to see it but am very far,but with pictures,I am glad."
  Not that being a native-speaker is a relevant quality in a roommate, but it doesn't fit the background offered.
• Says is a non-smoker more than once
• Wants me to send full name, phone number, and mailing address to a third party [red lights and deafening klaxons]
  Gee, would you like my Social Security Number and Bank Account Number as well?
• Wants me to hold the place until she arrives (and when would that be?) without having seen it
• Like I care what she looks like, assuming that picture really is her.
• The second e-mail came from a different address (don't ask me about the time stamp, I'm baffled too)

So what do y'all think?

Scam. "Dad" will send too much money and ask for a refund, and then the original check, wire, moneygram will turn out to be bogus.

Something like that.

Scam-arama.

Just a hunch.

also sprach ?

what language is that? German?

thus spake
as in "Also sprach Zarathustra"
yes, it's German

Run a mile !!

Also, I ouldn't consider anyone who won't be paying their own rent personally. It's too easy for them to say "Oh, didn't he pay you? I'll have to chase him up for you"

Strangler Lewis nailed the scam in question. You'll eventually get a fraudulent or stolen check with the hope that you cash and send money before it is caught.

Scam-a-lama-ding-dong.

"Scam, scam, scam, scam,..........."

Scambled eggs and scam.

It's a scam and it goes with what my BIL the vice cop told me once:

Me: "Are there criminal masterminds like on tv?"
BIL the vice cop: "Very few. Almost all criminals are stupid."

We can safely class your would-be housemate in this very large group.

I DON'T LIKE SCAM!!!

She may be from Scamdinavia.

Or Scam Francisco.

Or Scamburg, Germany

Oh yeah, Scam city for sure. The best thing is probably to just discontinue communications and get on with life, but if you are of a certain mindset screwing with them can provide some level of entertainment.

For example you could say that time is critical, and insist that daddy sends you a check via overnight service.... Costing them $$$. etc...

Even if it wasn't a scam (which it is) I would disqualify her for stupidity.

This particular scam almost always uses such services anyway, for two reasons.

1. Their outlay of cash to ship a check express makes people more comfortable with it. Surely, a scammer wouldn't spend the $15 they think.

2. They don't want to send their fraudulent check through the USPS and thus committing mail fraud which makes things much worse if they do get caught. (not sure if this is actually true or just believed to be true)

Loverly Scam, Wonderful Scam.

Seems on the up and up to me. I say go for it, what's the worst that can happen?

I'm not saying it's not a scam but when I got my first place my Dad was my guarantor.

I was 17 when my Mom decided she was going to follow a man to Australia and threw my brother and I out of the house on Christmas Eve. When I found an apartment I gave the landlord my Dads phone # and address as he was sending the deposits and rent for the first month. He was also willing to guarantee that my rent was paid at least until I turned 18 or graduated from High School.

So in my circumstances it was legit but this one sounds rather fishy!

I'm with CP if you're that incoherant in an email I probably don't want to live with you.

I appreciate all your responses.

I was 99% sure it was bullshït, but there was a tiny little voice inside my head that wondered if it might be legit.

That voice has been silenced. :)

Boy, I was all loaded up with a bleeding Vikings reference but this stopped me cold in my tracks! WHAT!?!?

Everyone (except Lisa) sing along:

Scam! Scam! Scam! Scam!
Lovely scam! Wonderful scam!
Scam sca-a-a-a-a-am scam sca-a-a-a-a-am scam.
Lovely scam! Lovely scam! Lovely scam! Lovely scam!
Scam scam scam scam!

Yeah, she was a lot of fun growing up with :eek:

Sadly two years later she came to visit and we went with her to Iowa and Cananda to see relatives. She abandon us in the middle of Canada. My Dad was thrilled when he got that phone call too! He wired us enough money to buy bus tickets, it's a Loooong way across Canada, and had $20 left for food for the three day trip. That was a fun time! I've never seen so many drunk Indians in my life and every bus smelled worse than an old ashtray! Some of the bus stations in the middle of Canada were beyond scary places too!

Green eggs and scam.

Whoa dude... Just noticed your avatar... Freaky hands!

Hee hee. They're just really close to the camera. It's a gripping photo.

:D

I agree that there are too many questionable issues for this to be anything but a scam.

However, especially in the sciences, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that someone with atrocious grammar would be pursuing a master's degree. A friend of mine was a TA while getting her PhD and her lab students were shocked - SHOCKED - that she would mark them down for grammar errors. And she only took points off for the really, really bad ones; the merely crappy emerged unscathed, free from the taint of grammatical improvements. Truly, an alarming number of people are convinced that written communication is simply not worth the investment.

Scam the Eagle

GC has had a slow day.

:D

ScroogeMcScam
(Couldn't resist.)
:D

Screenplay!

Scamalicious

Scampons !!

Shrimp Scam-pi

Scam-a-lama-ding-dong

Scamzilla

Scam-a-daba-do!


I'm sure you'd get paid by a money order from Nigeria.

Um, what about the question about when he would be home? Or, pictures? Have any of the pictures turned up as a rental? Or, does anyone think they may try and rent it out?

I've heard of pictures of peoples' children being used to 'sell' children to people who are desperate to adopt.

sorry...back to your scamfest........

I understand your concern (thank you), but it's a gated, multi-unit building, so that's not a huge worry for me.

The pictures on my ad were of empty rooms (bed & bath). I'd be surprised if that was a tempting thing for someone to "steal".

Good to hear on both counts. :0)

Whatever happened, btw?

Nothing. I never contacted her again and she hasn't contacted me.

That's interesting.

Am I the only one who had those thoughts?

Hmm. My kids say I worry too much.

How does your search go, btw?

Lot of e-mails, several visitors, no roommate. If I don't find one in the next couple weeks, I will be totally fücked.

Well, if you can handle a younger person, you can always put an ad up at the nearest J.C.

Jungle Cruise?

Sounds HOT!

No silly, she mean the local Jesus Christ

Oh.

Sounds HOT!

I hope you aren't fvcked. At least not in this way. :0)

Ah, some actors who've portrayed JC have been totally hot.

They make him look so beautiful.

I bet he was. I know he had a following.

jr college

Sounds HOT!

Don't you work at a school teeming with sensible, self-reliant people?

And have you no Whole Foods bulletin board?

Does Whole Foods have a HOT section?

Who works at Whole Foods?

Employees

ScAmsterdam

You guys are silly.

It is scamdalous how silly we can be

Ya think so? :p