I noticed a blog post by John Foxworthy at GoFurnished.com reminding owners of the need to be very sceptical of scam vacation rental enquiries. He gives examples of the most common indicators of these emails and I figure I’m pretty good at recognising these, since I’ve seen a lot of them over the past year or so.
So I was surprised when I fell for a first enquiry yesterday, and wanted to share it with you as it seemed at first glance to be geniune. It was the second email that raised the alarm bells though. Here’s the original enquiry:
Contact Information:
Name: >>> James Robinson
Email: >>> askingjames2000@gmail.com
Mobile Phone: >>> +447024068105
Reservation Request Information:
Desired Arrival Date: >>> Thursday, October, 16, 2008
Desired Departure Date: >>> Monday, October, 20, 2008
Number of Adults (18+): >>> 2
Number of Children (<18): >>> 0
Additional Message/Request:
Good day to you. Kindly check if we can use 5 nights (October 16,17,18,19,and 20) at your place. However,this dates are flexible but it should be within the 10th to the 29th of October.
I want you to email me the availability an cost.We are 2, My Wife and I.We are coming for our honeymoon. we don’t smoke and we don’t drink neither do we have pets.I await your swift response.
My Due Regards
I was quite busy at the time so didn’t give the enquiry much more than a quick look and returned an email to say the dates required were available. This was the response I got:
Thanks for your prompt response.I have discussed this with my Wife about this and we have agreed to use your place and as for the cost,we are alright with it.
My Wife’s employers will be the one responsible for all our vacation expenses as a wedding gift and they have promised to send you a check as soon as you have penned these dates down for us.
Kindly email me your full name,physical address, home and cell phone number so that the payment can be mailed out to you soon.We are coming
from 152 Queen’s Drive, Mossley Hill, Liverpool, United Kingdom.My cell number is +447024068105
Waiting to read from you.Have a Wonderful day ahead.
Regards,
James.
Once I got this, it was clear that it was a scam and I contacted the listing site where the enquiry came from, with a note requesting they inform their listing subscribers of the nature of the scam enquiry.
On looking back to the original, all the signs were there – I’d just not given it much attention.
- Use of the expression ‘your place’
- Offering flexible dates
- Contact details in the UK
- Using the US spelling of "check’ when "cheque" is the UK spelling
- A third party is paying (the employer)
- Poor grammar ("Waiting to read from you"
The early vacation rental scams were very easy to spot. It was often several couples (honeymooners) vacationing together, wanting ‘double rooms at your place’, for up to a month. Not too realistic. The latest ones are a little more believable in the length of rental period they ask for and the limited amount of occupants. However, the modus operandi of the scammer no doubt remains the same.
There is a whole section devoted to email scams on the popular forum Lay My Hat, and most new ones will find their way there. It’s worth a quick check if you are in any way uncertain.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for sharing this, Heather. The request for an address doesn’t phase me as we have a P.O. Box, but it is a big flag for those of us who follow scams.
I had one person contact me twice. The 2nd time, when you expect them to ask more information, they wanted our exact location to determine suitability. I remained deliberately vague (“2 km from XXX town”) as I was uncomfortable with this.
BTW
They contacted me a month later, just a few days before the time they wanted, but my children were here visiting. They lost out!
I’ve never understood why people trying to scam others can’t get the grammar correct. I always thought if I was going to scam someone I’d “dot the I’s and cross the T’s”.
Glad to hear you caught yourself before falling for it.
We posted a scam by a gentleman posting fake vacation rental ads.
http://thesociety.com/blog/traveler-tips/2008/08/does-that-vacation-rental-exist/
Thank you so much for posting this!
With a quick Google search of some exact text from an inquiry I just received (wife’s employers, wedding gift), you spared me the hassle and potential nightmare this scam might have become.
Is there any official place to lodge incidents like this? Is there anything that can be done other than spreading the word?
In any case, thanks again.
-Davide
Here is a Scam I recently recieved …
Hi there,
I want to rent your place for 15 days as i am planning on surprising my God-Son and his Bride with a vacation gift package for my inability to attend their wedding with treat,them alone while currently on active duty with United States Marine 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry out of Schofield,please check availability and get back to me immediately,the scheduled date is October 3rd thru Oct 17th 2009,(15 Days),i will need to conclude this booking early enough for them to avoid any inconvenience during there stay.
Thank you and have a nice day.
So what if you get one of these and say, for example provide them with your name/address/phone number so they can send you a certified check prior to their “arrival”??? Just saying, not that I did that or anything. gulp.