Cleverer and cleverer

[debk]

Here's the original inquiry request, received last night from our personal website:

EMAIL #1
Inquirer: MANN, MEL
Email: drmelman100@yahoo.co.uk
Home Phone: +447024091644
Work Phone: null
Cell Phone: null

Inquiry Details
Interested in property: Casa Armona
Requested check-in: 10/30/2006
Requested check-out: 11/09/2006
Number of adults: 5
Number of children (18 and under): 0

Comments:
I COULD NOT FIX IN BOX ;THE DATES ARE 30TH OCT.---9TH NOV.206 PLEASE CHECK DATES AND GET BACK TO ME.SO THAT I CAN MAKE PAYMENT.WE NEED 3 ROOMS

The requested casa is a two bedroom, with the properties listed in a drop-down window on the inquiry form, but he wants a three bedroom... which is what I think was meant by "could not fix in box." Though I regularly get rather terse messages from very nice people writing in their non-native language, I didn't like the tone nor the caps, so I didn't send my normal, pleasant response... just this:

Dear Mel - Thank you for your inquiry.

Casa Armona is not available for your dates. It also does not have three bedrooms.

Were you perhaps thinking of Casa Joaquina, our 3-bedroom Lisbon home? If so, can you please provide more information about your group? (Names & ages)

Best regards,

His reply:

Email #2
Dear,
Thanks for your reply.the 2nd option can be reserved for us[Casa Joaquina, ] hence its has 3 bedrooms.the guests are ;1] Dr Mel Mann and my wife Reyes Mann,52 and 46. Jannet[my daughter 23] and Peta Numen my son in-law 25 and Morris Mann 28.please,if you need more information kindly contact.till i hear from you.
kind regds.

OK, this obviously looks like a form letter but he's answering my questions, noting that this is the "2nd option" and giving the names/ages. Hmmm, perhaps English is not the native language, typing is not his strong point and Jannet is the Dutch version of Janet. I respond with details on how to book and a strongly worded request to first read the 10 FAQs on our webpage which, as it happens, includes recommendations to not hire a car in Lisbon. A few hours later:

Email #3
Hello, We have gone through the 10 question i found it interesting.we have already contacted a pre-paid car hirring firm for car during this period.i will send you a credit card information which will cover cost of the reservation.i guess,parking spaces are free.get back to me while we conclude payment arrangements.
kind regds

No, silly man, parking is not free as explained in the FAQs. But since English is not the native language, I reiterate that parking is only in local paid lots and then try to think of any doctor, medical and otherwise, that we personally know that would put "dr" in his email address... um, zero?

Correct. The not-unexpected reply:

Thanks,if the distance is just as you said i will pay for the rooms to gurantee the reservation,i will sent you a credit card information which you are expected not to share with any other person.we agreed that you will charge the credit then deduct the cost of your services and help make a transfer of the balance to the car firm.sorry please ,its not part of your work ,its a request for security reasons.get back to me now so that i can make payment.

Busy fellows, having to read everyone's FAQs just to earn a few dishonest bucks.

So... would you have known this was a scam at Email #1, Email #2 or Email #3? Why/how?

(Note: Many of our guests use yahoo so it's not a useful red flag.)

Off to transfer funds to the car firm,
debk

[Normandy Cow]

My alarm bells would have been ringing on email no1 because of the dodgy grammar but most importantly the 070 telephone number.
However, it would not have been bad enough to just ignore completely so I would have given him the benefit of the doubt whilst treading very carefully.

I have to say that email no 2 seemed legit, so I would have continued (gingerly).

By email no 3 I would be very very suspicious and as for no 4, well....

But you are right, they are getting cleverer and it is very worrying..

[Giddy Goat]

Agree Catherine - alarm bells gently ringing until email 3. It's amazing how many of these scammers purport to be doctors - being a medical man/woman or an academic seems to be the ultimate way to reassure people of your honesty and integrity.

As has been said before, it's incredible that this practice continues - proof that there are enough innocent owners out there to fall for their approach.

[Paul Carmel]

Sorry no1, All in CAP'S, and straight in with the money...........delete without a second thought.

[Giddy Goat]

The caps, though unusual, didn't bother me, oddly enough, but you're right about the money angle - that usually doesn't get a mention so soon in the correspondence, so that was certainly sending alarm signals on email 1, plus, as Deb says, the tone.

[vrooje]

This may sound strange, but what got me on the first e-mail was not just the caps or the typos or the mention of payment or the mistaken number of bedrooms. But it was also the fact that so many scammers seem to be unable to place even a single space between the full stop of one sentence and the first word of the next.

Still, though I would have suspected a scam, I would not have known until the overpayment offer, hence my #3 vote. I probably would have done just what you did.

[debk]

Thanks much to everyone. Seems we are mostly on the same page, though I totally missed the 070 tipoff. (Thanks, Catherine.)

I suppose it should be encouraging that they are needing to be more personalized and interactive with their ploys?

RE: payment. Paul, very interesting comment. I'm finding more and more people asking immediately about how to make payment, which I've attributed to those VR sites which now let you book automatically via credit card without emailing first. Since we do take cards, I assume these types of questions are coming from their desire to have booked without chatting with me first. (An approach I'm still not comfortable embracing.)

Oh, my. Puppy needs me! Tchau,
debk

[Giddy Goat]

so many scammers seem to be unable to place even a single space between the full stop of one sentence and the first word of the next..

Yes, you're right Brooke! Hadn't picked up on that, as I was focussing on the message itself - they can't - and they put full stops in odd places too!

[Giddy Goat]

Deb, do you mean you don't feel comfortable about exchanging emails, or is it just the phone you are a bit unsure of? I ask, because the reason I advertise our property for rental rather than hand over to an agency to market it for us, is that apart from making more of a profit this way, I get to know who's going there - hence I don't have any provision on line for payments - the punter and I have to have a degree of personal contact. And that's helpful, reassuring, and fun!

I appreciate that with several properties and their bookings to juggle, it does become more difficult.

[debk]

the mistaken number of bedrooms

Not to defend my buddy, Dr Mann, but I don't think he mistook the number of bedrooms. (He had a technical problem with our inquiry form and seemd to be telling me right away that the requested house was not the one they wanted. Could they be working that hard to make themselves look legit? ie, matching bedrooms to the number of people in their inquiries?)

Excellent point about the stops.
debk

[Paul Carmel]

Deb,

I think you can sense a feeling of urgency in these scams, especially when it comes to money. Normal punters ask how far to the beach? do you have a pool? ( even if you have made it abundantly clear on your site ), and to this end they stick out in my book.

[Hells Bells]

Definitely on no 1 , with the 070 mobile number.

[Giddy Goat]

I think between us that we've built up a profile of a typical scammer that would impress the coppers no end! We should collate these bits and pieces so that Paolo can post it as a sticky!

[Guest3]

It's No.1 for me..."So that I can make payment"....they always want to "make payment"...dead give away!

[Vally]

Striaght away number 1 , because of the payment, yes people do ask about payment but not quite in that way ...by email2 i was almost persuaded I was wrong and it was genuine