UPDATE: After reading the post below, you can read more information and variations on the scam in this updated post.

UPDATE March 08: Thanks for the continued comments; while this hasn’t stopped the scammers (international scams are especially hard to rein in), everyone who has commented (even anonymously) has helped others. Clearly the Eric Rosenfeld alias is the popular one now for scammers to use, but that should change constantly.

Consider this post a public service. Two people who I know well were getting close to caught up in a real estate scam on Craigslist, and in the extended entries I’m including the correspondence. Coincidentally, both people who were targeted knew each other and shared the emails with each other and noticed that some of the same wording was in each one, even though they were supposedly sent by different people. Here’s how the scam works:

• Someone posts a classified ad for a housing rental on Craigslist (the poster is the honest one here, the patsy). Both people I know who got sucked up posted in New York. It’s safe to say this can happen to someone posting in any city, on or off Craigslist, but based on the volume of posts, ease of posting, and diversity of people posting (from those who are struggling financially to the well-heeled who are using all channels available), it’s possible Craigslist is the target for the scam.
• The scam artist responds in poor English, reminiscent of the Nigerian 419 scams. He claims to be a doctor from the UK – Dennis Johnson and Sanjay Gupta were used in these cases, and if you Google the names, you’ll find that these are actual names of the UK doctors, so depending on your legal definition, it’s likely the scammers are taking part in some form of identity theft. Note the irony that a UK-based doctor who will be working in the US for awhile writes such horrific English. Dr. Johnson couldn’t even spell his own first name consistently, and he seems unsure whether he’s a doctor or a lawyer. (An aside: Johnson’s wife, Loveth Johnson, comes up in a Google search for Nigerian scams.)
• A bit of back and forth ensues where the scammer asks for details about the apartment and shares more about their plans overseas. Dr. J even mentions Merck CEO Raymond V.Gilmartin will arrange things on his behalf; now that’s one connected renter right there (forget that Gilmartin is actually the former CEO, one who ironically resigned when Congress started investigating the safety issues with Vioxx). While the Gilmartin mention only appeared in one letter of the two scams sent my way, consider the following excerpts from both of the solicitations:
  • Dr. Dennis Johnson: "Due to the limited time that we have before our arrival,we are making
    arrangements with a furniture company to supply the home with
    furniture,so we will need you to provide us with the measurements of
    the living room and bedroom so that we can send it to the furniture
    company so that they can supply the unit with furniture that will fit
    in well."
  • Dr. Arun Gupta, PhD: "Due to the limited time that I have before my arrival, I’m making arrangements with a furniture company to supply the home with furniture, so I will need you to provide me with the measurements of the living room and bedroom so that I can send it to the furniture company so that they can supply the unit with furniture that will fit in well."
• The scammer says he sent a check for a certain amount to cover the security deposit and a couple months rent, but he used the same check to pay the furniture company too. Yet, surprise, his contact there is going on vacation and needs your help, so you can just refund the difference from the check they’re sending you (don’t try too hard to do the math here). Also, don’t bother Googling company "Debbie Furnitures," as that doesn’t exist. He makes it sound so urgent that someone who totally falls for all of this might just send the check before getting the other. It’s possible he’ll send a check as well, and the recipient will send the refund back before the scammer’s check bounces.

That’s the gist. For the full post, read the extended entry. The main goal for me here is that these letters are included in search engines’ records so that when someone searches for anything remotely connected to these scams, the text will appear (if you’d care to reprint any of this or just link back here, feel free).

The email exchange of the scam is below, in reverse order. Note that personal details of the recipient are omitted.

Thanks for getting back to me,the check that was
sent to you was for the amount of $16,350 and was this is so is that
i asked my financier to include the costs of the furniture that i
am buying from a furniture company,why i asked her to do this is
because she told me that she will be going on her annual vacation
this week and so will not be around to help me to handle my
furniture concerns.I am buying furniture from a furniture
company(Debbie Furnitures) and they should have contacted you as
regards my order by now.We are begging you to please help us to
coordinate the payment and delivery of our furniture with the sales
manager of the company that is directly in charge of our order,you
should deduct the amount for the rent and security deposit which is
$12,000,the balance of $4,350 is the costs of my furniture and the
sales manager of the furniture company will contact you and provide
you with instructions on how to get the money to him.They will
embark on the delivery of our furniture on receipt of the
money,though they will be in contact with you to schedule a
delivery time and date that will be convenient for you to accept
the delivery.Please we do apologise for any inconvenience that this
arrangement may cause you,but we will will really appreciate it if
you can help us to settle our furniture concerns so that the
furniture will be delivered before our arrival in your place,and
this will make us to settle in comfortably when we arrive,you can
understand that transiting cross atlantic is not always easy.