Real estate scam alert on vivastreet
Solved/Closed
diane
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Isa -
Isa -
Hello,
The scam I am going to talk about has already been mentioned in various posts, but I wanted to make sure my message did not get lost in the shuffle, so I created my own discussion thread. Why do I not want it to get lost in the shuffle? Because I believe it is of public utility, and by reading it, some people will escape the crazy scammer who is currently active on vivastreet (and maybe other sites as well). I recently responded to a very tempting ad offering a rental apartment (straight out of a decor magazine) of 76m² for the modest sum of €380. That should have raised a red flag, but attracted by the ad, I contacted the so-called owner, who claims to live in London and cannot come to show the apartment. The person pretends not to master French (to this day, I am convinced that the scammer is French) and suggests communicating in English in future emails. A very good first contact, in a second email, she explains that she has arranged for me to visit the apartment with a real estate agent through ExpressImmo London, but that I would need to transfer two months' rent to her bank account, a sort of guarantee for the agency that will send the keys to my home. At that moment, I had doubts but I still believed. This apartment was my dream; in such cases, I think one can easily blind oneself. To be sure, I did some research and came across a forum on this site and understood everything. This scam has been widespread on the internet for several months and the scammer is still at large. I reported it on the government website, but I don't know if it will help catch him. Currently, several fraudulent ads are being published on vivastreet in cities like Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, etc. Of course, the scammer changes the address and the script each time, but to be safe, NEVER accept a payment in advance. That's it, I hope I have helped some people, just as I was helped when I came to this forum.
The scam I am going to talk about has already been mentioned in various posts, but I wanted to make sure my message did not get lost in the shuffle, so I created my own discussion thread. Why do I not want it to get lost in the shuffle? Because I believe it is of public utility, and by reading it, some people will escape the crazy scammer who is currently active on vivastreet (and maybe other sites as well). I recently responded to a very tempting ad offering a rental apartment (straight out of a decor magazine) of 76m² for the modest sum of €380. That should have raised a red flag, but attracted by the ad, I contacted the so-called owner, who claims to live in London and cannot come to show the apartment. The person pretends not to master French (to this day, I am convinced that the scammer is French) and suggests communicating in English in future emails. A very good first contact, in a second email, she explains that she has arranged for me to visit the apartment with a real estate agent through ExpressImmo London, but that I would need to transfer two months' rent to her bank account, a sort of guarantee for the agency that will send the keys to my home. At that moment, I had doubts but I still believed. This apartment was my dream; in such cases, I think one can easily blind oneself. To be sure, I did some research and came across a forum on this site and understood everything. This scam has been widespread on the internet for several months and the scammer is still at large. I reported it on the government website, but I don't know if it will help catch him. Currently, several fraudulent ads are being published on vivastreet in cities like Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, etc. Of course, the scammer changes the address and the script each time, but to be safe, NEVER accept a payment in advance. That's it, I hope I have helped some people, just as I was helped when I came to this forum.
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Hello, having to pay two months' rent just to visit an apartment, that's something, right?
See you!-
More than okay, we will pay the two months' deposit (one month now, by the way) upon signing, a scam-free site => http://www.net-vente.fr. In any case, to limit them, I have restricted access from certain countries where scams often originate.
- Hello, I take the liberty to address you and say that I respect and accept this irony, because to you it seems so foolish, but you see, there are certain people who, like me, have been scammed out of 1200 euros, and that certain circumstances in life and others have played a role in the foolishness of this scam "as you so well understand," so I must admit that this kind of reflection, more than just and "appropriately said," gives rather misplaced judgment towards those who have been victims.
Best regards
mm_13
AND I would not allow myself to give you the details of my life and others, because I could not bear any pity from you, and it is true that it is quite late to respond, but this deserves reflection.
Sincerely
mm_13
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And the same for Lyon, she goes by the name Veronique BEAUBOIS! Irish and Widowed!
Below is the email she sent me:
Hello,
My name is Veronique Beaubois, I am a 35-year-old widow and a doctor, and I have a 17-year-old daughter (we have a webcam so you can see us on MSN when we are at home). I inherited the apartment at 9 Rue de la République 69001 Lyon from my husband in 2009 when he passed away in a car accident, but I have never lived in this apartment because it was his business apartment. I returned to Belfast, Northern Ireland where my family is. I tried to sell the apartment but couldn't get the price I was looking for, so my daughter and I decided to rent it to some nice people.
The apartment is exactly as you see it in the photos, fully furnished, but I have the option to send all my furniture to storage if you want to bring your own (no extra charge).
The rent for 1 month is 650 euros (for the entire apartment) and includes all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking space, etc.).
The rental period is a minimum of 2 months up to 5 years.
You can move into the apartment on the same day you receive the keys. The only problem is that we cannot leave Ireland due to my job.
Maybe you have the option to come here to pick up the keys, and this way we can get to know each other better. If you cannot come, you do not need to worry, I have arranged to rent the apartment from here, with a British agency that will take care of this matter for me (no additional cost for you).
I do not speak French well, but you can call my daughter at 0044 289 581 0139, she speaks French fluently. If she does not answer, leave a message or give me your phone number and she will call you back as soon as possible.
If we cannot meet face to face, I insist on seeing the people who will rent our apartment at least on a webcam in a video conference on MSN. So please add the Messenger address vero_beaubois75@hotmail.com for a chat.
Best regards,
Veronique Beaubois, DCh
Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast BT12 4, United Kingdom -
Same for me.
90 m2 + 12 m2 terrace in the 5th arrondissement of Paris for the damn sum of €900. What a joke.
Except that for me it was much more morbid because the woman claims to be recently widowed and the apartment used to be a former employee housing of the deceased.
Anyway, thank you very much. -
Hello,
I just had the same scam for the rental of a 50m2 apartment in Marseille in the 13th district. Attached is the email I received:
"Hello,
My name is Veronique Beaubois and I am a 35-year-old female doctor, widowed, and I have a 17-year-old daughter (we have a webcam so you can see us on MSN when we are at home). I inherited the apartment in 13th Marseille, Avenue David Timon, 4, 13013 Marseille from my husband in 2009 when he passed away in a car accident, but I have never lived in this apartment because it was his business apartment. I have returned to Belfast, Northern Ireland where I have my family. I tried to sell the apartment but I couldn’t get the price I was looking for, so I decided with my daughter to rent it to some nice people.
The apartment is exactly as you see in the photos, fully furnished, but I have the option to send all my furniture to storage if you want to bring your own (no extra charge).
The rent for 1 month is 500 euros (for the entire apartment) and includes all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking space, etc.).
The rental period is 2 months minimum up to 5 years.
You can move into the apartment the same day you receive the keys. The only problem is that we cannot leave Ireland because of my job.
Maybe you have the possibility to come here to take the keys and this way we can get to know each other better. If you cannot come, you don’t need to worry, I have made arrangements to rent the apartment from here, with a British agency that will take care of this matter for me (at no extra cost to you).
I don’t speak French well, but you can call my daughter at 0044 289 581 0139, she speaks French fluently. If she doesn’t answer, leave a message or give me your phone number and she will call you back as soon as possible.
If we cannot meet face to face, I insist on seeing the people who will rent our apartment at least on webcam in a video conference on MSN. So please add the Messenger address vero_beaubois75@hotmail.com for a chat.
Sincerely
Veronique Beaubois, DCh
Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast BT12 4, United Kingdom" -
EXACTLY the same response for a DREAM RENTAL in Bordeaux!!!
Veronique Beaubois!
It’s really becoming exhausting to search for apartments!!! In 2 days: 3 scams of the same type. In conclusion: when it seems too good to be true, it’s not worth it! -
I confirm, the scammer is still at it with an apartment in Paris, at 34 rue de Saussure 17°, same method, same description.... Even sends a fake photo of herself and her family!!!! She's playing the big game to gain trust, no limits! Ugh, it's disgusting....
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300€, 79m2 in the center of Clermont-Ferrand. Thank you for creating this post. It saved me a lot of trouble.
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Thank you very much!!! I almost fell for the same Veronique Beaubois. I had just been talking with her daughter in a UK number, and she told me exactly the same thing, to pay in advance the two months of rent for the "British Company." Now I hesitate, and like you, I'm doing a little research on Google, and here it is, her name is directly associated with fraud. Here I'm warning people in Marseille, since her ad is online on Leboncoin and, of course, it's cheap and seems dreamy. Unfortunately, finding a nice apartment that's affordable is quite difficult.
Best regards -
ANOTHER SCAM I SEE! WARNING ABOUT BEAUBOIS YVONNE
Hello,
my name is Beaubois Yvonne, I am a 35-year-old female doctor and I have a 3-year-old son (we have a webcam so you can see us on MSN when we are at home). I bought the apartment at 12 Rue de la Roquette 75011 Paris when we decided to stay in France permanently, due to our jobs, but unfortunately we were unable to adapt given the fact that we have a young baby, who can stay here with his grandparents. We returned to Ciudad Real, Spain where I have my family. We tried to sell the apartment but we couldn't get the price we were looking for so I decided with my husband to rent it to some pleasant people.
The apartment is exactly as you see in the photos, fully furnished, but I have the option to send all the furniture to storage if you want to bring your own (no extra cost).
The rent for 1 month is 500 euros (for the whole apartment) and includes all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking space, etc.).
The rental period is a minimum of 2 months up to 5 years.
You can move into the apartment on the same day you receive the keys. The only problem is that we cannot leave Spain due to our job and our child.
Maybe you have the opportunity to come here to take the keys and this way we can get to know each other better. If you cannot come, you don't need to worry, we have made the necessary arrangements to rent the apartment from here, with a Spanish agency that will take care of this matter for us (at no additional cost to you).
I do not speak French well, but you can call me at 0033 970 445 364. If I do not answer, leave a message or give me your phone number and I will call you back as soon as possible.
If we cannot meet face to face, I insist on seeing the people who will rent our apartment at least on a webcam in a video conference on MSN. So please add the Messenger address Beaubois_Yvonne1975@hotmail.com for a chat.
Sincerely
Beaubois Yvonne, Mco.
El Hospital General de Ciudad Real -
After reading all these posts about scams, I want to report another one.
“This studio is tastefully furnished and very functional. It is located in the heart of the Marais, a dream location to discover the picturesque streets of Paris.
Fully equipped, you will lack nothing for an unforgettable stay in Paris.
1 bed for 2 people, 1 sofa bed for 2 people,
microwave, cooking plate, electric kettle, filter coffee maker, toaster,
Environment:
supermarket, local shops, restaurants.
Superb furnished studio
€ 500 /month - Studio | Paris 4th arrondissement - 75004”
The owner's pseudonym is a certain Carine Leboeuf. (site Vivastreet)
At first, everything was fine, I got some details about the apartment, but the words and phrasings were strangely similar to certain scam posts posted here.
I was already dealing with someone other than the owner. Gérard Malont
After several emails, here is the last one.
“Good evening
I have received your message,
For the visit and the signing of the lease, there will be no problem.
So we can make an appointment whenever you want.
But before that, you will transfer 1 month deposit in advance as a guarantee which amounts to €500 via WESTERN UNION at the post office in the name of Ms. LEBOEUF, meaning you will go to the post office and ask to make a WESTERN UNION transfer in the name of Ms. LEBOEUF. Once at the post office, they will ask you to create a secret password to secure the transfer.
And once you have completed the transfer, the post office will give you a receipt on which there will be your password, so you will keep that receipt close to you until the moment you visit the apartment and upon signing the lease, you will give me the receipt in exchange for the keys. Because without the password, the money cannot be withdrawn.
But if it turns out that the apartment does not meet your expectations, you can easily withdraw your money at the post office because in that case, you will not give me the receipt, which is a guarantee for you to be able to see the apartment before the lady receives the money and for me the assurance that I will not move for nothing. And that I am finally dealing with a serious person.
So I would also like to have a certain guarantee from you before moving.
Once the transfer is made, you will send me an email so that I can give you the location of the appointment.
Contact me again if my conditions are favorable to you so that I can give you Ms. LEBOEUF's contact details for the transfer.
Best regards
Sincerely”
Here’s another typical scam. Cash before seeing the apartment... -
Hello
exactly the same story with an ad posted on Top annonces on December 21 for a stunning apartment in LYON
girl with an English pseudo from Franco-English divorced parents
decides to rent her apartment to someone she would like to select
cannot come to France, is stuck in London due to a construction site with water infiltration problems
when you respond in English here is her reply
Bonjour encore,
Merci pour votre réponse rapide, comme je vous l'ai informé auparavant, le prix que vous devrez payer pour un mois de loyer sera de 480 EURO. L'argent, je souhaite le recevoir chaque mois sur mon compte bancaire, j'espère que cela ne posera pas de problème pour vous. L'appartement est prêt pour vous, vous n'aurez qu'à recevoir les clés pour vérifier et voir si cela vous plaît. Pour cela, comme je vous l'ai dit dans mon e-mail précédent, j'ai trouvé un moyen pour nous de finaliser l'accord rapidement et en toute sécurité, de cette façon vous recevrez les clés en moins de 2 jours, si vous agissez rapidement également.
La solution est fournie par une entreprise appelée "ExpressImmo" de Londres, Royaume-Uni, ils gèrent les locations à l'étranger dans toute l'Europe (pour les personnes ayant des contrats de travail à l'étranger, etc.). Je paierai leurs services.
*J'ai reçu beaucoup d'e-mails, donc j'aimerais connaître plus de détails sur vous, et combien de personnes vivront dans mon appartement et pour combien de temps, vous pouvez également m'envoyer une photo de vous, c'est juste pour mieux nous connaître, il est très important pour moi de savoir qui va vivre dans mon appartement, j'espère que vous pouvez comprendre...
Et enfin, je ne demande pas de mois de dépôt, donc j'aimerais savoir combien de mois vous pouvez payer le loyer à l'avance (minimum 2 mois)
En fonction des réponses reçues, je ferai une sélection et je choisirai un locataire potentiel pour mon appartement.
Cordialement,
Sarah -
Hello
exactly the same story with an ad posted on Top annonces on December 21 for a lovely apartment in LYON
daughter of divorced French-English parents pretending to be English
decides to rent her apartment to someone she would like to select
cannot come to France, is stuck in London due to construction work with water infiltration problems
when responding in English here is her response
Hello again,
Thank you for your prompt response, as I informed you before, the price you shall pay for one month of rent will be 480 EURO. The money, I want to receive it monthly to my bank account, I hope it will be no problem for you. The apartment is ready for you, you will need only to receive the keys to check it, and see if you like it. In order of that, as I told you in my previous email, I have found a way for us to complete the deal safely and fast, in this way you will receive the Keys in less than 2 days, if you move fast as well.
The solution is provided by a company called "ExpressImmo" from London, United Kingdom, they handle rentals abroad all over Europe (for people who have work contracts abroad, etc.) I will pay for their services.
*I have received a lot of e-mails so I would like to know more details about you, and how many people will be living in my apartment and for how long, also you can send me a picture of you, this just to know us better, it is very important for me to know who is going to live in my apartment, I hope you can understand me...
And finally, I don't solicit a deposit month, so I would like to know how many months can you pay the rent in advance (minimum 2 months)
Depending on the answers received, I will make a selection and I will choose a potential tenant for my apartment.
Greetings,
Sarah -
Exactly the same story. Same email. Major scam! Great!
Franco-English who rents a 79m² for 300€ / month in BORDEAUX.
Hello,
Thank you for your prompt reply, as I informed you before, the price you will pay for one month of rent will be 300 EURO. I want the money to be received monthly in my bank account, I hope this won't be a problem for you. The apartment is ready for you, you will only need to receive the keys to check it out and see if you want to rent it. To this end, I have found a solution to complete the process, without any hassle and quickly for both of us. This way you will receive the keys in less than 2 days, if you act quickly as well.
The solution is provided by a company called Royal-Immo UK, from the United Kingdom. They oversee rentals abroad throughout Europe (for people who have work contracts abroad, etc.). I will pay for their services.
I have received many emails asking me to know more details about you (and you can send me a picture of yourself... just meeting improves things, it’s very important for me to know who will be living in my apartment, I think you can understand me). Also, I would like to know how many people will be living in the apartment and how long...
And finally, I do not request a security deposit, so I would like to know how many months you can pay the rent in advance (2 months minimum).
Depending on the responses received, I will make a selection and choose a potential tenant for my apartment.
Thank you,
Christabel MURRAY
Watch out! -
Hello
Exactly the same story for a T2 77m² in the city center of TOULOUSE for 330 euros per month, an apartment straight out of a magazine!! (I think we've all been there))
A certain MONICA FERRARI, an engineer in Italy who inherited the apartment and couldn't attend the visit due to WATER INFILTRATION (you'll notice the lack of originality) on a construction site, asking me to communicate in English because she didn't quite understand the language (of course!) and said that after studying my file, she would pass everything through a ROYALIMMO agency blablablaaaaa. Too good to be true, I thought I'd jump on the ad thinking it was a GOLDEN deal!!! and actually, it's a HUGE SCAM
And here is her second letter
It is OK for me .
Now I will need to inform you of the steps about how this service works and how we can make it happen :
1) To start this transaction I will need to know your shipping information (FULL NAME AND ADDRESS) to proceed with this deal.
2) I will go to the agency Office, I will leave them the Keys and I will make all the arrangements to deliver the keys to your home address.
3) The agency will send you an official delivery notification to your email to let you know they have the Keys and the papers in their custody.
4) At this point, you will have to deposit the prepayment for my apartment (2 months of rent) to the Royal-Immo Agent assigned to handle our transaction.
* Royal-Immo is asking this from you because this is the policy of a real estate agency abroad; they must have a warranty from the potential tenant before starting the delivery, they will only hold the money until you visit the apartment.
5) After the payment has been made, you have to send an email to the agency with the payment details .
6) They will verify the payment, and if everything is ok, the Royal-Immo Agent will bring you the keys to your address (in a maximum of 2 days) and you will visit the apartment with him.
- If you like the apartment and you agree to rent it, you will sign the papers with the Agent and the transaction is finished.
- If you don't agree to rent my apartment, the Royal-Immo Agent will give your money back on the same day; you won't lose anything. As I said, I will pay for the Royal-Immo service.
Please read this email carefully and send me your shipping details only if you agree to these terms.-
Hello, I have the same case with a person offering me a 79 m² apartment in the center of Lille for the modest sum of 300 euros, with photos to back it up but also with the same text mentioned above.
Italian girl from divorced parents living in Italy, building engineer and currently stuck there due to a construction site that's flooding, working with Royal Immo.
Here’s the message:
Hi,
OK, that's fine for me.
Now I need to inform you about the steps of how this service works and how we can proceed with the arrival:
1) To start this transaction, I will need to know your shipping information (YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS) to proceed with this matter.
2) I will go to the agency office, pick up the keys, and make all the arrangements to deliver the keys to your personal address.
3) The agency will send you an official delivery notification via email, letting you know that they have the keys and the documents in their custody.
4) At this point, you will need to deposit the advance payment for my apartment (2 months' rent) to the assigned Royal-Immo agent to oversee our transaction.
* Royal-Immo requires this from you because this is the policy of a real estate agency abroad; they must have a guarantee from a potential tenant before starting the delivery. They will hold the money only until you visit the apartment.
5) After the payment is made, you need to email the agency with the payment details.
6) They will verify the payment, and if everything is fine, the Royal-Immo agent will bring you the keys to your address (within a maximum of 2 days), and you will visit the apartment with him.
- If you like the apartment and agree to rent it, you will sign all the papers with the agent, and the transaction is finished.
- If you do not agree to rent my apartment, the Royal-Immo agent will return your money on the same day; you won't lose anything. As I said, I will pay for Royal-Immo's service.
Please read this email carefully and send me your shipping details only if you agree to these terms!
Thank you,
Nicoletta Moretti
Here’s the type of scam frequently found on the Vivastreet site.
Before getting discouraged by an ad, verify every phone number or email address; there’s always a flaw somewhere with a bit of computer knowledge. -
WARNING THIS IS A SCAM FOR EXAMPLE THEY GO AS FAR AS TO MAKE A FAKE ROYAL IMMO
for example here for an apartment in Lille
Royal-Immo Transaction #MB01005286 - Pending
Transaction: #MB01005286
Transaction Date: March 01, 2010
A Third Party Service reduces risks associated with Internet transactions by acting as a licensed neutral third party for online transactions. The seller delivers the package to one of the nearest Royal-Immo agents for the evaluation of the contents. The package will remain in the company's custody until the receiver sends the payment through a Money Order Service. After verifying the funds, Royal-Immo is ready to ship the parcel to the desired address.
NOTE: We order to avoid the earlier pick-up of the funds by the shipper based on the fact that he is aware of the sent payment - we thank you for choosing our third-party service for your transactions which will be revealed to the shipper along with all the transaction details after the delivery and your clearance. Consider this security measure if you haven't bought from the seller before and you believe that this is in your best interest.
Address Information:
Prospective Tenant Details:
First name Dimitri
Last name DEVENEY
Address 11 b rue d'Aigremont
City/State PONT A MARCQ
PostalCode 59710
Country France
Home Owner's Details :
First name Nicoletta
Last name Moretti
Address Via Giacomo Antonini 60
City/State Milano
PostalCode 20141
Country Italy
Shipment Information:
Service Royal-Immo Rentals
Description of Goods Apartment Keys and rental contract verified signed by the Sender. All the papers are double checked.
Days for Inspection 2 days
Declared Value 600.00 EURO
Money Order Fees Refundable at receipt time
Description of Service Royal-Immo Blocked Account - Guarantee of meeting
NOTE: *You will receive the Tracking Number after the payment is confirmed to us.
*The amount including the transfer fees will be 100% refunded in case
the receiver refuses to rent the apartment after he visits it.
Insured Value Amount: 600.00 EURO (2 months of rent)
Payment Information :
Our department requires the payment to be made through Western Union transfer service :
To locate the nearest Western Union office please visit the Western Union website:
www.westernunion.com
Make the payment with cash using our verified Royal-Immo Agent details as receiver:
Royal-Immo Agent verified address
First name Antonio
Last name Costa
Address Viale Aretusa 19
City/State Milano
PostalCode 20148
Country Italy
Once you send the payment, you have to send us an email with the following details:
10 digit #MTCN number :
Sender's full name and address :
Receiver's full name :
Amount :
* The home owner can't pick up the money under any circumstances .
Trust and Safety Department
Royal-Immo Customer Support.
Intellectual and other property rights to the information contained in this site are held by Royal-Immo B.V. with all rights reserved © 2005 - 2010
immoexpressrentals@royal.net
royalexpressimmorentals@europe.com
royal-expressimmo-rentals.ltd@windowslive.com- I am the latest "almost" victim apparently... Same here, apart from 79m² in Lille for 300€ and even the exact same text, it’s really mind-boggling... Where can we report it? Do you think he will get caught one day?
Hello,
My name is Nicoletta Moretti, I am 36 years old and I work as a civil engineer in Milan, Italy.
I received your email expressing interest in renting my apartment (79 m²) at 133 rue de Molinel, 59800 Lille, listed at 300 EURO. The reason I want to rent this apartment is because I inherited it from my father in 2007 and I have never lived there because my mother and father were divorced and I was raised by my mother in Milan, Italy. I tried to sell the apartment but I couldn’t get a fair price for it (due to the financial crisis) so my mother and I decided to rent it out to some nice people.
The apartment is exactly as you see in the pictures, fully furnished, but I have the option of sending all my furniture to storage if you want to bring your own (no extra cost).
At this moment, I am in Milan and cannot come to France due to my work, we have major problems with water infiltration at the foundation of a large building we are constructing here in Milan. But you don’t have to worry, I have made all the arrangements to rent the apartment from here after I decide to whom, an agency will take care of the affairs for me.
Finally, I want to apologize for my poor French; I hope you understand. If you can, we can discuss in English, it will be better for me.
Thank you for your interest and I will await your email.
All the best from Milan,
Nicoletta Moretti
P.S. I hope you are still interested in renting my apartment, sorry for my last response.
Hello,
It is OK for me.
Now I will need to inform you of the steps about how this service works and how we can make it happen:
1) To start this transaction, I will need to know your shipping information (FULL NAME AND ADDRESS) to proceed with this deal.
2) I will go to the agency office, I will leave them the keys and I will make all the arrangements to deliver the keys to your home address.
3) The agency will send you an official delivery notification via email to let you know they have the keys and the papers in their custody.
4) At this point, you will have to deposit the prepayment for my apartment (2 months of rent) to the Royal-Immo agent assigned to handle our transaction.
* Royal-Immo is asking this from you because this is the policy of a real estate agency abroad; they must have a warranty from the potential tenant before starting the delivery, they will only hold the money until you visit the apartment.
5) After the payment is made, you have to send an email to the agency with the payment details.
6) They will verify the payment and if everything is okay, the Royal-Immo agent will bring you the keys to your address (within a maximum of 2 days) and you will visit the apartment with him.
- If you like the apartment and you agree to rent it, you will sign the papers with the agent and the transaction is finished.
- If you don’t accept to rent my apartment, the Royal-Immo agent will give your money back on the same day, you won’t lose anything. As I said, I will pay the Royal-Immo service.
Please read this email carefully and send me your shipping details only if you agree to these terms.
Thank you,
Nicoletta Moretti
Of course, it seemed more than strange to me and I didn’t pay anything at all! It’s truly mind-boggling...
In any case, remember this well:
Nicoletta Moretti nico2871m@hotmail.com = SCAM! - Hello, let her go all the way to see if she will go as far as she did with me
she even went so far as to create a fake online payment document with royal immo in Italy which does not exist at all
and a payment via western union which should definitely not be done
because moreover western union is used to send money abroad, most often to African countries
as soon as you have all these documents, tell her that you want to contact royal immo and that you do not want to go through western union and you will see what she will write to you, I am at this stage
fulfill all the requirements she asks for so as not to raise suspicions
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Hello,
Where can we report it? :
- first on the site where you found the ad
- then here: : https://www.internet-signalement.gouv.fr/PortailWeb/planets/Accueil!input.action
Do you think he will get caught one day?
No, because this scammer is in West Africa (probably Benin or Côte d'Ivoire). He is impersonating an old victim, has a mobile phone, and operates in an internet café.
Finally, "they", should I say, because they work in a well-organized network.
Kudos for your distrust! -
Hello everyone!
I came across this site because I was in contact with the so-called "Nicole Moretti." I stopped talking to her after the message where she explained how to get the keys for the apartment on Rue du Molinel for 300 euros, 79m2 (considering she also wanted a photo of me, explaining that she wanted to see who would be living in her apartment!). I took a trip there two days ago to see how it was and to see if we could park in front, but I didn't see any apartment without light... So which one was supposedly my future apartment! Because she said, like all of you, send the money and you will get the keys and sign your papers at the visit. I was skeptical but thought, okay, let's stop the paranoia and give it a shot! Well, kudos to this scammer!! Puffffff, I thought I would still check the rules of the Royal Immo agencies and I found this site. In any case, thank you for exposing the scam, otherwise I would have ended up getting scammed!!-
Hello, I actually did better; I straight-up rang the apartment at 133 Rue de Molinel to ask if there was someone in the apartment who was supposed to leave.
They replied no, and since there are only 5 apartments and the rents are around 800 euros per month, this answer confirmed it for me. For now, no more responses from him, but I'm still dealing with another scam involving a Yves Vidal.
Hello, attached is your father's message.
Hello
I just became aware of your response to my ad and I inform you that the apartment is still available. Additionally, the apartment is exactly as you saw in the ad photos, completely furnished, a very beautiful contemporary duplex (45m²) in new condition located 100m from the Five metro. However, I have the option to send all my furniture to storage if you want to bring your furniture.
I am renting it because I am a retired electrical engineer, 85 years old. I inherited the apartment from my sister in 2007. However, I have never lived in this apartment because I have stayed in Lomé for the past 20 years, and today I am in a retirement home. I tried to sell the apartment, but I couldn’t get the price I was looking for. Therefore, I decided, together with my wife and son, to rent it to sincere people.
The apartment is currently free and is entrusted to my son who holds the keys to the apartment along with all the necessary documents. He will be able to schedule an appointment for you to hand over the keys so that you can move into the apartment whenever you want. I assure you of the perfect condition of the apartment, and it requires no repairs. There are no issues, and the interior is very clean. In fact, I had a general cleaning and checked all the rooms. So if you are really interested in the rental, you can contact my son (yves12380@rocketmail.com) and tell him it’s regarding the apartment from his father, so that you can schedule an appointment in Lille-Five. After the visit, if the place suits you, you could proceed to signing the rental contract.
Thank you for keeping me informed.
HERE IS MY RESPONSE
So here I would like to visit your apartment because I am looking for a property quite quickly.
I have already encountered some scams via Leboncoin and Vivastreet from dishonest people offering apartments at reasonable prices but asking me to pay in advance through Royal Immo because the person is abroad.
So I hope this one is not like the others.
Sorry for taking all the necessary precautions; I work in IT and my father is a chief warrant officer in the Lille national police, so if this ad is a scam, you will have some problems. This is not a threat from my side,
but I think you can understand that being scammed by unscrupulous landlords can leave doubts even about perfectly normal ads.
Now it’s up to you to respond to this email.
Best regards,
Deveney Dimitri
HERE IS HIS RESPONSE
Hello
Thank you for the information and for the concern you have for my father's apartment, and I'm sorry for not responding in time. So it all depends on you for the apartment visit. I am available every day from 5 PM, except on weekends since I am always with family. I already showed the apartment to someone last Wednesday, and I wouldn't like to make another unnecessary trip because the person who went to visit the apartment didn't keep their word; they just made me travel for nothing. They didn’t believe the offer, but after the visit, they were surprised. Unfortunately, they did not have the cash for the 400 euros or the necessary documents to establish and sign the lease. They continue to call and email me to plead for the offer. This was the cause of a small discord between my father and me. If I refused to let him have this apartment, it's because he was not honest and sincere. I am in Montpellier, and if I have to come to show you this apartment, it will be around 5 PM to 9 PM. If I have to return the same day, I will come back late. I wouldn’t like to have the cash of 400 euros in possession. Therefore, for security reasons and to reassure me that you have the 400 euros (deposit) in your possession, you need to create a MoneyGram mandate with the 400 euros and hold the MoneyGram receipt on the same day of the visit. After the visit, if you are satisfied, you will give me the MoneyGram receipt in exchange for the keys and the lease contract for the apartment, but otherwise, you can still return to the post office to retrieve your money. Rest assured, it’s an apartment you will like because it’s an opportunity for you. You will never find such an apartment for less than 500 euros per month.
If my father decided to rent it for 400 euros per month, he has his reasons, and I wouldn’t want to debate that. If you agree to carry out the mandate and have the necessary documents, please let me know so I can give you the name to make the MoneyGram mandate on, as well as the time and day of the appointment, so I can schedule you in my agenda and be sure of our appointment.
Thank you for your understanding.
I look forward to our appointment.
Best sincere regards,
Yves VIDAL
I really feel like they think we're fools.
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Hello, exactly the same thing today on Vivastreet, an 81m2 apartment in the heart of downtown Clermont Ferrand for only 300 euros per month, so I send an email to the indicated address for more information because obviously this apartment had everything to please, extremely modern and tastefully decorated, in short, the woman in question replies that she is English, an engineer in London, and that it would suit her if our emails were in English! Fine, I comply! She puts me at ease and seems nice, she tells me a bit about her life, ... And tells me that she has entrusted the rental of this apartment to "Royal-Immo Service" and that if I want to visit the apartment I must make a transfer of the equivalent of two months' rent to her account, after which a real estate agent will hop on the first plane to show me the apartment and if I don't like it I will obviously be refunded!!
So if I have advice to give you: go through an agency when you are looking to rent or buy a property, at least you'll avoid scams. -
Hello, I responded to an ad similar to yours for Nantes, a 79 m2 for 300 euros. The response to the first email was in poor French and requested a reply in English. The person claimed to be an engineer. In their second email, I thought it was impossible for the person to actually be an engineer given how bad their English was. Moreover, it is illegal to ask for money to visit an apartment as well as a deposit of 2 months' rent (the law allows for 1 month). So, I will not be following up on this ad.
I would also be interested in making a report; could you let me know the steps you took? Thank you
pasef44 -
Idem for Lille, Rue de Bourgogne:
Hello,
Thank you for your interest in renting my apartment; I would like to remind you of a few details regarding it:
- address: 31 Rue de Bourgogne, 59000 Lille
- 81m², 1 living room, 2 bedrooms, kitchen, and 1 bathroom;
- it is fully furnished and recently renovated, but I have the option to send all my furniture to storage if you wish to bring your own;
- the rental period can vary between 3 months (minimum) up to 5 years;
- the monthly rent is 300 euros, all fees included in this price, payment will be made every month to my bank account;
Now, let me tell you a little about myself: my name is Marie Williams, I am 37 years old and I am a British citizen. I live in London, UK, and I work as a civil engineer in a successful company.
I inherited the apartment from my father in 2006, but I have never lived there because my parents divorced when I was a little girl and I was raised by my mother in London (my mother is British, and my father was a French citizen).
I cannot come in person to manage the rental because my job takes up a lot of my time. But I have already found a way to rent the apartment from here; after I decide who to rent to, a local agency will take care of that. They manage properties all across Europe, my husband has used their services in the past, and we were very satisfied.
If you are still interested in renting the apartment, please tell me more about yourself, how many people will live in the apartment, and for how long. It would be great if you could send me a photo of yourself. It is important for me to know the person living in the apartment; I hope you can understand.
Lastly, I do not ask for a security deposit for the month; I only want the rent for a few months in advance (2-3 minimum). How much are you willing to pay?
I look forward to your email; all the best from London!
Thank you,
Marie Williams
P.S. Sorry for my bad French; I would appreciate a response in English if possible.
Here is the reply:
Hello,
It is okay for me.
As I mentioned in my previous message, I found a way for us to finalize the transaction securely and quickly; this way, you will receive the keys to the apartment in less than 2 days if you act fast as well. I will need to inform you about the steps on how the Royal-Immo service works and how we can achieve this:
- I will go to the agency's office and leave the keys and make all the arrangements for the delivery.
- The agency will send you an email notification to let you know that they have the keys and the paperwork in their possession.
- At this point, you will need to make the advance payment for the apartment (3 months' rent) to the Royal-Immo agent assigned to oversee our transaction.
* The agency requests this from you because it is the policy of a real estate agency abroad, they need to have a guarantee from the potential tenant before starting the delivery; they will hold the money until you visit the apartment.
- They will verify the payment, and if everything is in order, the agent will bring you the keys within a maximum of 2 days, and you will visit the apartment with them.
- If you like the apartment and agree to rent it, you will need to sign the paperwork with the agent, and the operation is complete.
- If you decide not to rent my apartment, the agent will refund your money the same day, so you won't lose anything.
* As I mentioned, I will pay for the Royal-Immo service.
Please read carefully the steps I have outlined above and send me the following details if you agree to them:
- Your name:
- Your address:
- Your phone number
Thank you,
Marie
Attached are photos of the apartment and my family (in JPEG format and in KB, while the real photo is in MB). -
I don't understand what interest they really have in making announcements of this kind because after a bit of logical research, you still end up falling on a scam.
Let's not kid ourselves, a tempting ad without photos or with very small photos that cannot be enlarged is mostly a scam, especially for 80 m² for 300 euros in the center of a capital like Lille. It's important to know that a property of 80 m² in the center of Lille is worth around 900 euros, if not more.
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