Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Who Writes This Stuff (3)

I received this inquiry to a Craigslist posting for a room to rent:

"Thanks for getting back to me. My name is Loretta Antoine 27yrs old Female student from Seattle WA,View my profile on instagram to see my pictures https://www.instagram.com/lorettaantoine11 ,I don't smoke nor drink and no pet. I would have loved to come and see the room but I am very far away but pictures would be okay if there is anyone, I'm presently in Hawaii on a research program. I'm coming for my master degree at your location in next 2weeks. I'm planning to pay for the first-month rent/deposit. Also, let me know if it would be possible for me to pay for the room before my arrival? Thanks"

The Instagram post seemed to make it credible but it is totally fake. 
  • It had about 31 pix, all posted on Sept 10 or 11 or 18, but from obviously different years and places,
  • No updates since 9/18.
  • Some pix showed her as a doctor, complete with a stethoscope on a patient,
  • The page claimed to have over 177 followers but since the page has only been in existence for 3 months with no new posts, that is unlikely.
  • She claims to work at the "State Hospital of Seattle" which is non-existent,
  • She is coming for her "master" degree, NOT "master's" degree
  • in the middle of an academic year when no programs start.
  • "at your location"...which location might that be?
  • "would it be possible to pay for the room before my arrival?" THERE it is.
Of course I did some basic due diligence and blocked her. The key takeaway is the request to pay early. Of course, the scam is to send you a fake check in an amount greater than you asked. They then ask you to Western Union a partial refund. The bank of course claws back whatever money you thought you had and you are out of luck. And money.

Just be careful with Craigslist.
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8 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 21, 2018 at 8:04 AM

    Thanks for this post. I just got an email from this person. Funny thing is, I told her what my occupation is, working for the state's attorney general's office consumer fraud and protection. Our office goes after these jerks every day. Yet he/she continued to try and scam me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 21, 2018 at 8:04 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 13, 2018 at 10:08 AM

    Hi Bob, I just received the exact same mail today, but this time she included a phone number to text her, here is the phone number: 567-281-7811.
    The pay in advance was what make me think it was a spam, I typed her name in Google and found your blog, thanks for posting this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Smh1184February 17, 2018 at 4:09 PM

    (567) 281-7811

    I got same with that number thank you for posting and confirming this as a scam. I started getting a funny feeling too so I googled the name. Btw thank you for your service during Vietnam...I am a social worker at a VA hospital

    ReplyDelete
  5. MandyMarch 13, 2018 at 11:12 AM

    I just got this scam too and started researching on Google after she didn't come back on a background check. This is a shame because she can easily convince someone who doesn't do a thorough check.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownMarch 19, 2018 at 8:35 AM

    Thanks for posting this. This scammer is at it again, responding to the Pittsburgh housing ads.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aidan DMarch 20, 2018 at 3:10 PM

    This girl contacted me today as well. I assumed her english was not the best, but when i asked her what hospital will you be working at she would not answer the question, and was SUPER quick at responding and was very pushy in me giving her my address for her to send me a check.... SO ODD! Thank you so much for this post!

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownMarch 24, 2018 at 1:05 PM

    I accidentally gave her my address omg is there anything I should do?

    ReplyDelete

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