Does this sound like a Nigerian scammer?

[Pacfanweb]

We're renting our old house. This dude responded to an ad my wife put on Craigslist.
We had one response that was obviously a Nigerian scammer.
This guy, I don't know....something seems weird, but he doesn't have the usual broken English and all. He's using a Yahoo email.

Here's the cut/paste of a couple emails he's sent, and I'd love opinions of whether AT thinks it's legit or not:
First contact:

Hi,
How are you doing today.I'm responding to your listing on craigslist and I am highly interested in renting it.I'll be glad if you could give me a little more details about the property such as the total amount needed for move-in,some pictures of the interior and when is the property gonna be available.Kindly get back to me asap.Await your response.Regards,

Second: (he sent this one twice today after my wife responded to him)

Thanks for getting back to me,I appreciate the explanation you have made and i'm okay with it and do not have any question at the moment. I am satisfied and will like to go ahead in renting the place.I'll be the only person in the property. My family will be staying over here in UK.Although they may be coming on holidays.
I'm on a transfer from my work down to the States and my company will be responsible for the first month rent and security deposit.I work for Global Link branch in UK.Here is a link to my employer's web link. globalink.org . I'll be happy to sign all paperwork in person as soon as i arrive in the states.I'll love if you could have the property ready for move in June the 15th. Incase you need to do a credit check,here in my SS# xxx xxx xxxx and my dob is 10/05/1976. I'll be working for Global Link branch as well.
In order to proceed with payment,I will need the following information so that we can continue from there.
(1) FULL NAME AS IT WILL BE ON CHECK,(2) MAILING ADDRESS,(3) PHONE NUMBER,(4) ALTERNATIVE NUMBER.
I await the above details and If you have any problem don't hesitate to contact me Here is my phone number (0044) xxxxxxxxxxx.hope to have a good relationship as a tenant with you.

 

[Toonces]

if you have to ask...

shouldn't there be some sorta law for this?

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: toonces
if you have to ask...

shouldn't there be some sorta law for this?

Usually they are easy to spot, but this one isn't as blatant to me as most. Better use of English, but coming over from the UK is sending me warning signals in a big way.

 

[tasmanian]

You can find his ip in the email. Then search it and see if its in nigeria.

 

[Q]

I don't understand how you scam on renting?

EDIT: good point tas

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: tasmanian
You can find his ip in the email.

Where?

 

[Toonces]

Originally posted by: Quintox
I don't understand how you scam on renting?

He'll probably send a cheque for $2000 (using totally hypotetical numbers here) when the rent would only be $1000 then say keep $200 for your troubles and send just the extra $800 back to him/her...

The cheque will be fraudulent and Pacfan will be out $800

 

[Torghn]

I'd bet it's a scam, but unless you do something stupid (like mail him the difference in an over funded check) you won't loose any money.

 

[tasmanian]

Ok i found it. If you use yahoo mail theres a button on the bottem right that says headers. Open it to see everything.

 

[illusion88]

Red flags should go up if he asks for money before you can meet him in person. This seems ligit, just don't accept money from him until you meet him. /thread

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: tasmanian
Ok i found it. If you use yahoo mail theres a button on the bottem right that says headers. Open it to see everything.

Yeah, I was doing some searching just now.

Here's the IP:

86.132.15.13

Says it belongs to some outfit out of Amsterdam, but if you go to their site, it does say UK at some point.

 

[tasmanian]

He checks out.

 

[avash]

it might be legit

you could always ask his employer (bank) to verify his employment and assignment. that should not be hard to do. if he has to initiate it (privacy, etc), ask his company instead of him to mail you via certified mail to verify his employment and pending assignment.

kinda the same thing some rental agencies ask employers to do for new employees looking for rental places.

 

[trmiv]

Why does he have an SS# if he's not from the US?


EDIT: Can you apply from overseas when you get a work visa, or do you have to be here already?

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: trmiv
Why does he have an SS# if he's not from the US?

It's a different type of SS# than I'm used to seeing. Has 3 numbers in the middle. Unless the US is issuing those now.
But yeah, I thought that was odd.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Tell him to make the check out to your good friend Cash.
Then have him send it to a Mailboxes Etc.

 

[tasmanian]

Originally posted by: trmiv
Why does he have an SS# if he's not from the US?


EDIT: Can you apply from overseas when you get a work visa, or do you have to be here already?

You can probably apply for work visas. Just like you can for student visas.

 

[doze]

Does his work have an office in your area? Stop by and check his reference.

 

[PurdueRy]

Who sends their SSN to someone in an EMAIL!?

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Originally posted by: trmiv
Why does he have an SS# if he's not from the US?

It's a different type of SS# than I'm used to seeing. Has 3 numbers in the middle. Unless the US is issuing those now.
But yeah, I thought that was odd.

SS#'s are still 9 digits
It's a bogus number. The guy is phishing for information.

This is where it pays to rent your propery through an LLC or S Corp. Something that provides a layer between them and you. Receive the mail for your LLC at a post office or MBE. That way if you do have to give out information like this you aren't giving away anything personal.

 

[trmiv]

Yea, never seen a 10 digit SSN. Also, if he just got this "SSN" before moving to the states, what relevance would it have in checking his credit anyway?

 

[Allanv]

The only thing i noticed is that if this guy is from the UK then we dont use SS# we use a National insurance number and its format is AA111111A

 

[leftyman]

oh, those wacky Nigerians.

 

[Looney]

He says the company will be paying for the first month and security deposit. So get him to tell whoever handles this at the company to contact you to arrange the payment and contract. That's what i had to do when i moved to FL.

And he would have a SSN if he got a work visa.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Are the work visa SSN's the same as regular SSN's?

And yeah, I thought it was odd that he just threw an SSN out there.