I also received an email after placing an apartment wanted ad on craigslist.com:
Hi,
My name is Alma Rosa.I am 48 years old and i am an european . i was
just about registering on
http://www.craigslist.com when i saw your
advert.from what i saw i think its best i get in touch with you,heres is a bit
about me.I come to the states often mostly for business purposes cos i
deal mostly in
jewelry my company name is CEECO JEWELS. I supply
watches,bracelets,wedding rings and jewelry to stores in the states and europe .Infact
that is my family business cos we are from Canada. I bought a house last
year in {Woodside} cos i love it there, here is a link to view pics of
the house
http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l31/myskow/ ,it is peacefu,
wonderful house and with a loving neighbourhood. Unfortunately my
father passed away on the 18th september 2006 of the month and as the only
child of my father i have to go and take care of the his jewel business
in Canada and i realised that it will be very difficult to supply goods
to my clients again in the United states while am away and it will
definitely cost me a lot to come over to receive payments cos they pay
mostly in checks and money orders .So to run the business from there it
will be difficult and will be impossible especially the aspect of payment
and i dont also want to lose my clients or customers there . So what
i intend doing is that i am looking for some one to stay at my house
free of charge .... .
I dont want to sell the house cos i just bought it and its a
wonderful piece with luxury. I am simply looking for someone that is honest
and trustworthy and clean for two reasons 1. to maintain the house when i
am away and 2.To help me receive payments from my clients within the
USA on my behalf in his/her name and have it cashed and have the funds
wired to me here thru money gram transfer . you dont have to pay me a
dimme for the
accommodation. its just for the purpose of keeping my house safe and
my business going on in the United state.and if you wanna keep this
assignment as a job let me know so i can allocate 5% on each payment that
you receive if at all you dont wanna live in the house or if you are
far from the house..
The house is a great one with clean bathrooms,walk in closet, A gym
,All rooms and living room furnished with electronics . If you want i
can email you more pictures and if you are interested let me know It is
a very lovely house and there is no way you wont like it.If you are
interested in handling my business in the state and keeping the house
neat, please send me your full name and address with your phone number so i
can have my lawyer make the necessary background and security check ..I
am in Ontario now and will be awaiting your swift response. thanks
Alma Rosa
I knew this smelled suspicious the instant I read it. Luckily I placed the "jewelry store" name in google and found this post. I am so glad you guys are putting this information out there. It is pathetic that these people are preying on people who are in need. They should know there is such a thing as karma.