ScamVictimsUnited.com

Hey guys and Gals, So I have been reading about the roomate scam because I just had the same thing happen to me. My boyfriend and I decided to post an add for a roomate on Craigslist and a couple of other sites, well it was funny because it didn't take but a few hrs for us to recieve hits on the room. This one girl in particular which I thought was pretty nice emailed me and this is what she wrote:

Hi,
I'm ,female 26 yrs from Berlin,Germany. I speak English and German fluently,I amcurrently working with the International Labour Organization (ILO).in Berlin.I amon a program supported by German Government i am searching for a place to stay.I will like to know much about the room and i would really want to secure the room before my arrival, more so to know if it would be possible for me to pay for the room before my arrival, i will like to know the total amount of the room in month with the utilities included. All these vital information are very important for me to know before submission of my proposal to the Organization.The Organization
will be paying all the fees and the source of the money will be money order.
The following information will be needed to get the payment to you.
(1) Your full name as it will appear on the payment.
(2) Address
(3) phone number

Anxiously waiting for your quick response.
Regards

I didn't think anything of it because I thought that people had roomates from other countries all the time. Kind of like foriegn exchange students or something like that. I thought it would be cool to meet someone new and maybe learn about a different culture. Well we began responding back and forth through email only. I thought its was kind of fishy though that in her first email she was already asking for my adress and everyhting to send the payment when she didn;t even know anything about me. Obviously my gut feelings weren't strong enough because I pursued her as being my roomate. Well she sent me an email with a tracking number for the payment. I looked it up and the payment was to arrive today dec. 16th. When it finally showed up I opened up the package and a check fell out. I immediatly called the number of the bank on it and the lady I talked to told me that I shouldn't do anything with it because it was conterfiet. I decided to do some research because this is the next email that the girl sent me:

Hi my future roomie,

How are you doing?hope everything is going on fine with you am so excited to meet you soon,thanks for your sincerity you are so great to me i really appreciate that from you. May God bless you beyond your expectation (Amen). I'm really happy that the payment delivered,right now go and deposit the check in your bank and get some amount for the room and the shipping fee.
I've spoke to my shipping agent operation manager that my stuffs should be paid in advance and move immediately, he made me to understand that the delivery officer is not presently available he left for USA to deliver their client's consignment, i was so shocked cause this the right time i need the movers.But i was able to get him and he promised to help me ship my stuffs for me But i was told that they have to get their service Charge before delivering my stuffs and my car into my future home which is your place.Cause there payment policy had been changed.And they also assured me immediately after they receive their service charge the shipping logistics will take effect.I will be coming by next week, i will get my flight ticket on Thursday i will forward my flight initerary to you so that you will know the time of my arrival.Please arrange for my picking up at the airport but i want the car and the stuffs to be moved immediately so that there wont be any delay.
Please get the money today deduct $500 for the rent and deposit fee and $50 for the add taken off the site i will be paying for the subsequent month.
All you will need to do is to go to the western union outlet or location near to you and send the money ($3000)cash to the shipper that will move my car and my stuff immediately he get the money.

Shipper's name....Vuong, Linh
Address..............1918 Henry Avenue
City..................Oakland
State................CA
Zip....................94603
Country..........USA
As soon as you have the money sent, get back to me with the following info:

1...Sender's name and address.
2...Receiver's name and address.
3...MTCN(10 Digits refrence #)
4...Total amount sent after deducting the western union charges.
5...The secret question and answer.(Who makes me happy) ans (Jamie)

I will appreciate if you get the money sent to him soon cause i have informed him that the money would be sent to him any moment from today, he said the shipping will take effect immediately after he get the payment. I will be waiting to read from you about the westernunion informations so that i can forward it to him to pick up the money.
Thanks and have a productive day you are so great and i really count on you.I will get back to you as soon as i get my flight ticket so that you will know the exact time
of my arrival, so that you can pick me up please dont let me down, arrange for my picking up at the airport ok i really count on you, you know i have nobody out there
except you. Please get the room ready for me.

Thanks and have pleasant day.
Can't wait to meet you in person

So it seems as though I was supposed to take this check and cash it or whatever and then mail it somewhere else in the US. Only I looked up the adress and there was no match. Then I checked the business on the check and it wasn't affiliated with the business that she had said she worked for. So I emailed her and told her that I no longer wished to go any further with this. I am mailing the check to the bank that was on the check as the lady asked me to. I just can't believe how sick people are out there. I now know not to trust just anyone. But I do have one question does anyone know what exactly these people get out of doing this? Should I be worried about my adress being out there for her?

This sounds almost verbatim the on and off emails for over a month...exception...job "she" did. Glad you did not fall for it. What they get out of it: Your money, someones money and the need not to earn a living other than to take your hard earned money. I have been warned by my banker to stay away from craigslist, unless it is a local person renting, same with roommates.com. Not only can Banks like Wells Fargo fall prey to their checks being counterfeited, but also Cashier's Checks as well as Money Orders. I was never asked to refund or send some of the payment to the shipper of furniture and car, until I returned from bank with having given the check to them for investigation. I then on arrival home, had an email asking me to send the shipper's fee to an address having nothing to do with location of the move. Needless to say, it is a counterfeit check, I would never have sent back a dime until it cleared, in the event this person was the person they claimed to be.
God only knows who they are, but it is a shame, we have this to deal with in addition to our own problems leading us to need a roommate to begin with. I hope that a simple address and or phone number can't allow them to access your credit and or steal your personal information. No DOB or Driver's License number, or SSN...They need that, Otherwise, you have just caught them before they caught you. Good Luck finding a real person with real values. I can likely guarantee you this was the same scam. Involved Berlin, but "she" resided in the States, wanted to move south...blah blah blah..Still, sounds very much like the same person. I hope there is something we as citizens can do beyond report to this board. In my case, I have left the check with my bank, and will follow their advise as to reporting to any authorities I might be able to provide information to. Doubtful, but who knows, someone somewhere will let their guard down and get caught. Good Luck