Suspicious enquiry by email and phone

Post scam emails to warn other rental owners, or if you are not sure if an enquiry is genuine, put it up here and see what others think.
calliganc
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:09 pm
Location: Ceredigion, Wales
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Suspicious enquiry by email and phone

Post by calliganc »

Hi

I've received an enquiry from a person called Elia Ford who phoned me originally, then emailed, which I think may be a scam. This is a summary of several emails:

Hello my name is eliaford. am the man who just spoke with you on the phone not quite long am interested in your cottage from september5 till november 30th which is three month. Or let me know what date is vacance on your avaliability maybe i can have a change of date, kindly mail me your total rent cost so i can arrange for payment asap hope to hear from you soon

I replied saying I rent for a maximum of a month.

Hello
Yes you said so but i just wish to know which of the month can fully be free either september or octorber or november kindly let me know what is your total rent cost for the whole month ok hope to hear from you soon am ok with a month

I replied asking why he wanted to rent the cottage for a month or more and expressed my concerns about the enquiry due to the number of scam enquiries around at the moment

Thanks for your mail well am a tourist photographer and an author i have break at work so i want to use that chance to write. My book and have some uk pixtures please what do you mean by scam hope if i make payment i. Will be safe with you am ok with the october date ok please reply if i am safe with you

I replied saying if he would like to book then he can do so via my website by credit or debit card.

I will like to speak with you on the phone please when can we talk on the phone just let me know so i can wait and call then i just need to be carefull as. Well thanks


I have had a missed call once or twice a day for the past few days from an unavailable number, which may be him. Whoever it is rings at inconvenient times, and I haven't managed to answer the phone in time, and they haven't left a message.

Am I right in being wary that this is a scam, as I don't want to turn away genuine business, but it seems very suspect to me. He hasn't mentioned at any time about how many people the booking is for, and ours is a large property so not cost effective for 1 person or a couple to rent it.[/i]
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Casscat
Posts: 2692
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:43 pm

Post by Casscat »

Admittedly it sounds deeply suspicious, but this guy is persistent and most scammers are not. I don't know why he won't book and pay via the channels you suggest though. For the avoidance of doubt I would have that next telephone conversation (book a time slot via email) and see what he says about payments. That should be revealing.....
calliganc
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:09 pm
Location: Ceredigion, Wales
Contact:

Post by calliganc »

Well he just phoned and my mobile was right next to me, so I managed to answer it this time. He said he wanted to book but his wife said could he pay by UK cheque. I said no, he would need to book and pay via my website with a debit or credit card, or he could do a bank transfer. He explained they were having problems with their credit card and he would like to pay by cheque, I said no, and I could take a debit card or bank transfer instead, this carried on a couple of times and then he just hung up, so I think my suspicions were correct and it was a scam.
Bunny
Posts: 3387
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:48 pm
Location: South of England

Post by Bunny »

He sounds like English is definitely not his first language and he was probably calling from abroad? So it seems odd that he would have a UK cheque book unless his wife is English perhaps. I guess he didn't expand on 'having problems with his credit card'? All sounds very strange. Probably a lucky escape.
Mind you, I have a lot of 'older' guests who still insist on paying by cheque.
calliganc
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:09 pm
Location: Ceredigion, Wales
Contact:

Post by calliganc »

I asked him if he was from overseas just before he hung up, so I never got an answer to that. I asked how many people the booking was for, and he said 3 people. That set alarm bells going, as there are plenty of smaller places near mine that would be much cheaper to rent for 3 people than my place. He had an accent put his spoken english was pretty good. I do take cheques but as I was wary of this enquiry I decided to say that I don't take them. If he had completed a booking form on my website he would have seen that he could pay by cheque, but I guess he didn't want to give more details than he had to.
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Casscat
Posts: 2692
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:43 pm

Post by Casscat »

I think one lost booking is a penalty worth paying when you are not confident about your potential client. Mind you the dates he has in mind are so far ahead would one assume that a cheque paid now would be outed as fraudulent in the interim? Did he give any indication that this might be a 'cheque overpayment scam'?
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