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 Post subject: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:54 am 
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Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 3:33 pm
Posts: 5
I'm in the process of renting rooms in my home, and created ad profiles on roommates.com and easyroommates.com. In both sites, mainly roommates.com for some reason, I have gotten interest from the following six scammers - one that has sent me a cashier's check, which I'm sure is fake.

The cashier's check was from Corporate America Family Credit Union, Elgin IL

Laura Sasa sasalaura@yahoo.com
Joy Anderson joy_anderson01@yahoo.com
Shakky Davids coolshakky@yahoo.com
Tracy Williams queentwill@yahoo.com
Vanessa Rodney vanessarodneypiz@yahoo.com
Vivian Benson vivianbenson2085@yahoo.com

They all wanted to send me money, but after the first one I stopped providing information and instead simply said "don't send me money, provide a copy of your passport and I will hold the room for you" and they just go away.

W


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:27 pm 
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Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 3:33 pm
Posts: 5
I know this won't be a surprise to anyone, but my bank did confirm with the issuing bank that the Cashier's Check is a fraud. I've heard stories of banks confirming over the phone, so my bank faxed a copy and followed up with a phone call.


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:19 pm 
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 2:05 pm
Posts: 1
[b][Hi this is new to me . but think i might have scammed to if it hadn't been for this website . I recently put an Ad on craigslist to advertise a room for rent . immediately got 6 replies ALL WERE FROM uk, ENGLAND OR. AFRICA .THOUGHT THIS WAS STRANGE . BUT THEN they all wanted to send money to secure the room . Dismissed all .but this one girl sharon Robinson . who gave me a believabler story, then she had her so called Uncle send a check. for $3500 was only supposed to be $850 then the clincher , please send the rest to her so she could pay the shipper .. Red Flag .. told her no .. can't accept the check was going to send it back . but haven't , what do I do with it ? when i questioned her .all of a sudden she doesn't answer my e mails ... good sign she is a scammer .. sweetlady7 Thanks for letting me post my story


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:55 pm 
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Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 3:33 pm
Posts: 5
Here's another name to add to the list:

Mariam Poppola mariampopoola02@yahoo.com

After telling them the room was rented, they offered me a job processing their client's checks and money orders. Played along for a while, but finally told them I was not interested.

Does anyone know why they like to use Citibank? Is there a vulnerability that they are not aware of?

W


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:44 pm 
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Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:27 pm
Posts: 3
Looks like I have another name and email to add to the list of scammers, which came through roommates.com and craigslist.com

info.johnboydtextiles1837@yahoo.co.uk
gr8tsarabarry@gmail.com
gr8tsarabarry29@gmail.com

Thanks for the info and hope this helps.


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:12 pm 
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Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:54 pm
Posts: 1
so i posted something on roommates.com cause i had a room to rent.

i found a girl that fit my criteria so i emailed her this is what she sent:



"Laura Sasa" <sasalaura@yahoo.com>

Hello

Thanks so much for the mail. I really do appreciate the breakdown details of the house ( apt. ) . I'll be so glad if you can reserve the room for me and remove the advert from Roommate.com as i'll love to rent the place and will really love to have a view of the place soon as you have it and also more info . as you have promised hopeully in your next email ,okay

Age: 26yrs plus
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
Weight: 108 lbs (50 kg)
Physique: Moderate
Body Style: Average
Activity Level: Active
Hair: Blonde
Hair Length: lil Long
Eye Color: Grey
Smoking: No
Drinking: Occasionally
Marital Status: Single
Children: None
Birth Sign: Virgo
Religion: Christianity
Languages I speak: English
Ethnicity: Native-American
Piercings: Ears Only
Tattoos: None
Education: MCSA/MCSE
Occupation: Sales Reps.
Grew up in: Dominica Republic and i am currently in Dominica Republic in south america ,But will be Okay if you can tell me more about the place and you.More about me again ,I am the neat type,I like honest,responsible,trustworthy and hardworking people while I dislike lazy,messy,uncaring people and I love pets so much
My favorite Dishes are: Barbecue, Deli, Eastern-European, Fast Food/Pizza, Seafood, Thai, Vietnamese
Physical and healthy activities: Football, Games, Dancing, Swiming and Hiking.
Music: Dance/Electronic a, Disco, Easy Listening, Pop, Rap Hip Hop, and Soundtracks.

The things i will be moving in are as follow;my X5 (BMW 2006 model) Green Gage. suite case containing my books my 24' JVC PLASMA TV and DVD Home theatre my clothes in two luggages my laptop computer (hp) and pieces of furnitures.

Kindly let me know a lil more about you... as i will like to know if you will prefer to be paid by certified bank check or United state postal money order....

Laura

SOOO!! since i had done a search on roommates and fraud lol i decided to play with her :P

To: sasalaura@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 4:28 PM

i can send you the detail of the house if you still wish, but firstly:

when will you be moving to CA?
you would be living with: a couple + baby and another female. are ok with this?
also the rent would be $1000 mon+ $250 deposit. I would need a certified bank check in the amount of $1250 only.

This is a 2 story, 4 bedroom house

Full kitchen & house privileges. The rooms are larger then the average home, shared bathroom. Utilities included(gas,water, electric). Nice neighborhood,street parking available.
Near park, basketball court and picnic area. Your privacy will be respected.

and then i got this 8) :

Thanks for getting back to me, i can see all qaulities i want in a roommates in you, and am happy to hear more about you, actualy, i ll like to secure the room down before my arrival, i plan to arrive in 7 days time after you have recieve my payment, cos i ll be coming down from Dominica Republic and i plan to stay for 12 months or more if thats Okay by you.

Moreover, I am comfortable and happy with your rent amount/move-in cost, My client to forward you a Money Order of pay, from which i will like you to deduct the necessary fee for the place, and you will help me send down the excess balance after your deduction, to my travel agent, for my airfare to the apartment.

I will need your full contact details as follow, phone number, full name and address and phone number so as to prepare the Payment. Also i will like to know the nearest airport to the house, so as to give you a call to pick me up on my arrival at the airport...

Please, kindly get back to me with answers(yes/no) to my answers;

1. Is any Western Union located where you can easily wire the balance around you?
2. Can you get the check taken to your bank, the same day you receive it?
3. Can you get the excess balance send the same day you get the check cashed?
4. Is the room in good condition?

Keep in touch

Laura..

sigh....what a brat lol so i replied with:

The room is secured. You can stay for 12 months thats not a problem. Im glad the move in cost of $1250 is good with you. However, I will not accept a check over the amount of $1250, I will not take on the responsibility of wiring/transferring money to someone else when its not my $$ to begin with. You will have to find an alternate way to get the cash to them as i stated before, i will only accept $1250 for the move in cost.

please agree to meet these requirements before i release any information to you.
1. Is any Western Union located where you can easily wire the balance around you? no
2. Can you get the check taken to your bank, the same day you receive it? yeah sure
3. Can you get the excess balance send the same day you get the check cashed? i will not accept a check in excess amount
4. Is the room in good condition? of course

hope to hear from you soon!

i sent that 2hrs ago...and still no response...awwwwwwwww.....lol

damn scammers :x


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:44 am 
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Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:19 am
Posts: 3
please be aware that many of these obviously forged cheques, some with blatantly visible typos and orthographic spelling errors HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED BY BANKS !!!! Of course within 30 or more days the forgery will bounce and the bank will decline but I know quite a lot of cases where these "cheques" have been accepted by banks!

Its a good idea to scan them and publish them!

here is one 4u:
Image


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:38 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:34 pm
Posts: 2
Alias: Vanessa Rodney
Email: vanessarodneypiz@yahoo.com
IP Address: 76.13.13.76
ISP Provider: Yahoo
Address: 701 First Ave
City: Sunnyvale
StateProv: CA
PostalCode: 94089
Country: US

Same kind of details for Joy Anderson, same person.

If anyone has been scammed you can contact the ISP and get the information for this scammer.


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:52 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:34 pm
Posts: 2
These are all likely the same person. You can find the IP address in the email header. Just type it into an IP address locator and it will give you their location. I've been contacted by several people via different email addresses and fake names. They all trace back to the same location in Sunnyvale, CA and have the same IP Address.

Here is some of the content they have been sending me:

Thanks for your response,i'm really interested in renting your room and i will be glad to rent your place..I'm such a person who like a clean environment and privacy.I need an hygienic environment as i will like to live in a healthy surroundings.However,as i won't be available to come check the place before my move in date which is 15th of January.Or if you can assure me of the room been a nice and hygienic one..

ABOUT ME
Name:Dammie Rica
Age: 27yrs
Height: 5' 9'
Weight: 78
Body Style: Athletic/Fit
Activity Level: Active
Smoking: No
Drinking: Socially
Marital Status: single
Children: no kid
Zodiac Sign: Virgo
Languages I speak: English
Ethnicity: Caucasian/White
Religion: christian

Education: MCSA/MCSE I'm a quiet and easy going person to live with. I do not have a pic presently on my system but will try to attach one to my next mail. My favorites are;My favorite cuisines: Barbecue, Chinese/Dim Sum, Deli, Eastern-European, Fast Food/Pizza, French, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese/Sushi, Mexican, Seafood, Soul Food, Thai, Vietnamese My favorite music: Dance/Electronica, Disco, Easy Listening, Pop/Top 40, Rap/Hip Hop, Soul/R&B and Soundtracks..My favorite physical activities: Basketball, Working Out, Dancing, Swiming and Hiking/Walking..

My favorite cuisines: Barbecue, Chinese/Dim Sum, Deli, Eastern-European, Fast Food/Pizza, French, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese/Sushi, Mexican, Seafood, Soul Food, Thai, Vietnamese
My favorite music: Dance/Electronic, Disco, Easy Listening, Pop/Top 40, Rap/Hip Hop, Soul/R&B and Soundtracks.
My favorite physical activities: Basketball, Working Out, Dancing, Swimming and Hiking/Walking

However, I do sell African beads,i used to buy it in West Africa and send it to Europe and U.S.A for sell and i based in Spain but now want to be selling it to the states there and based there.I am into sales of Beads and i do travell alot and i normally come to african to buy them in large quatities and travell over to Euro and Usa and sell.

Right now i am comming down to open my own private beading company and thats means i will be staying them....

I would love to know some about you.

Regards,

Your future roommate,

Dammie Rica



Hi ,
It was really nice to hear from you..To tell you more about me.I am very hard working pretty easy going and I like to just relax after a long day or on the weekends,I like to just chill sometimes I love to swim, read and listen to nice music,I am out quite a bit during the day but i love to be at home most nights.I am the clean type and I am very friendly and pretty mellow, however,i do like to laugh and have a good time.I do like to spend time in the living room atching movies or tv,just hanging out,I love cooking as well.Please tell me your daily habits like ?.I grew up in Frenso,Where did you grew up?.As for the room its really my taste and i think i will settle for it since i can not come down all the way from West Africa right now.I know that we are going to be a great roommate together.I really love the way you sound and I am sure you will never regret accepting me into your accommodation.As for the payment i am okay with the total move in cost and i will ask my Client to issue payments in Us dollars to you so that you can hold the room down for me until my arrival.I really want to move in soonest.Pls I will need the following full data from you so that payment can get to you soonest Name, contact address and the Telephone number...(Cell,Office,Home,).I will also like to know the nearest airport to our house.I will also like to know if you will be available to come pick me up at the airport and show me around or if I should make alternative arrangement.I have attached couple of my pics and i hope you wll be able to do the same.I am looking forward to hear from you soon.Thank you for your time I really appreciate it.keep in touch,
Vanessa



Hello,
Thanks for responding to my introductory mail. I would have love to come see the room myself but I am not in the state right now.I am very sure you will never regret having me as your roommate.I want to make sure that we go perfectly well as roommates.Am comfortable with the total move in cost.I have to tell you more about myself.I am a very dedicated individual who is totally committed to human development, very trustworthy and value relationship above anything..I live by the principle of,"do unto others what you want others to do to you".And because i love it when people are good to me,i always do all in my power to be good,just to get a reciprocate(smiles).I am quite a laid back person,i am the interesting type.I dont drink neither do i smoke and i love pets but i don't have any that's why i indicated no pet.I am the neat type.I love visiting new places. I love to swim, read and listen to nice music,I love meeting people I occasionnally attend parties ,I love community work, love to be around children too,I am the clean type and I am very friendly.I am 28 years old.My dad is an American and my mom is from the west Africa.I live in the USA,CA ever since I was born because my mom also live with my dad in the USA but I lost my dad some years back and my mom went back to the west Africa to stay there since she likes African culture.I am currently with her now in west Africa.I have been here for a while with her but I am not really comfortable here.I am not use to there ways of life here and I am really coming back to the state asap.I have my own bussiness,I sell textile and fabrics material,In fact that is our family bussiness,that is what my mom is into as well and I promise to pay my rent and any other bills in time.I am very neat and cleaning of the environment wont be a problem for me.I really want to have a comfortable place upon my arrival. Have a nice day and hope to hearing from you soon.
Vanessa


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 Post subject: Re: vanessarodneypiz@yahoo.com
PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 5:47 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 5:27 pm
Posts: 1
This person aka, Vanessa Rodney, also was trying to scam me. It all sounded very weird and "she" was in a huge rush to supposivly move in. I did have an other potential roommate so I told her first come first serve and I would get back to her. Haven't heard from her and thought it was weird considering she wanted to move in so fast so I Googled her name and I got directed here. I just cant believe what pathetic boring lives people must live to find the time to go to such an extent with so many people for what really isnt all that much money. I got the same email that is above.....


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 1:38 pm 
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Site Admin/Co-Founder

Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 10:09 pm
Posts: 2921
Quote:
I just cant believe what pathetic boring lives people must live to find the time to go to such an extent with so many people for what really isnt all that much money.


The really sad thing is that this is their full-time job, so yes it might be a little bit of money from you, but if they get enough of these a week the amounts really start to add up.

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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 5:25 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 5:21 pm
Posts: 1
Hi,

Just got the Dammie Rica emails and, thanks to this site, stopped the communication but putting a copy of your messages in with the reply about the check being sent.

Thanks to you all for warning everyone.

Gina


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:33 pm 
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Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:04 pm
Posts: 1
Laura Brown emailed me that she would rent my room from roommates.com. There were pictures and everything. The details seemed kind of sketchy, though. When she told me she would send a check for $3500 when the deposit and rent totaled $850, I figured it was a scam. Why would she trust me when she doesn't know me? She said she was a microbiologist from UK and currently in Africa. I asked her to Skype me and only send a check for $850. I don't think I'll hear from her again.
I was scammed by another scam once and promised myself it would never happen again. It was someone I met in person and the details of his story were sketchy as well. He had answers for every question and I bought into the scam, hook line and sinker. I lost $1K and the price of an airline ticket but learned a lot.


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 Post subject: Re: Six more roommates.com scammers
PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2010 3:24 am 
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Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2010 3:17 am
Posts: 1
Soooooo thank goodness I listend to my warning flags and researched and found all your posts. I have one to add.....



Hi,

I'm really interested in renting your room and i will be glad to rent your place..I'm such a person who like a clean environment and privacy.I need an hygienic environment as i will like to live in a healthy surroundings.However,as i won't be available to check the place before my I will be moving in next week.Or if you can assure me that the room is clean and nice.
ABOUT ME
Name:Patt Green
Age: 29yrs
Height: 5' 9'
Weight: 123
Body Style: Athletic/Fit
Activity Level: Active
Smoking: No
Drinking: Socially
Marital Status: Single
Children: No kid
Zodiac Sign: Virgo
Languages I speak: English
Ethnicity: Caucasian/White
Religion: Christian
Education: MC SA/MC SE
Occupation:Sales Representatives
I'm a quiet and easy going person to live with. I do not have a pic presently on my system but will try to attach one to my next mail. My favorites are;My favorite cuisines:Barbecue,
Chinese/Dim Sum,Deli, Eastern-European, Fast Food/Pizza,French, Greek,Indian, Italian, Japanese/Sushi,Mexican, Seafood, Soul Food, Thai, Vietnamese My favorite music:Dance/Electronic , Disco,Easy Listening, Pop/Top 40, Rap/Hip Hop,Soul/R&B and Soundtracks....My favorite physical activities: Basketball, Working Out,Dancing, Swimming and Hiking/Walking..My favorite cuisines: Barbecue, Chinese/Dim Sum, Deli, Eastern-European, Fast Food/Pizza,French, Greek, Indian, Italian,Japanese/Sushi, Mexican, Seafood,Soul Food,Thai,Vietnamese.My favorite music:Dance/Electronic, Disco, Easy Listening,Pop/Top 40, Rap/Hip Hop,Soul/R&B and Soundtracks.My favorite physical activities:Basketball, Working Out, Dancing,Swimming and Hiking/Walking I will love to know more about who my roommate is in details.

I await your response...

Regards

Your future roommate,

Patt.


To which I replied awesome told this person a lil bit more about me but nothing major and then recieved this







I can see all qualities i want in a roommate in you, and am happy to hear more about you, actually, I'll like to secure the room down before my arrival.

Moreover,I am comfortable and happy with your rent amount/move-in cost, My Financial Supervisor will send you a Certified Cashier's Check Of $2,500 of pay, from which i will like you to deduct 1month rent Plus utilities, and you will help me keep the excess balance after your deduction of the room fee.when i arrive i will make subsequent payment thereafter,I will hire a shipper that will be shipping my luggage to the house.

I will need your full contact details as follows,

Full name
Contact address & Zip code
phone number so as to prepare the Payment

I will like to know the nearest airport to the house, so as to give you a call to pick me up on my arrival at the airport...

Patt.


So thank you all for caring enough to post...


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