WARNING : Rental Scams in Self Catering Holiday Home Lettings

Since the middle of  2004 some of the jmlvillas.com clients have either experienced or have been approached by people trying to carryout a rental scam. We understand that similar problems have occurred with owners who have their properties registered on Tourist Office websites in different countries and other self catering holiday home websites.

Although as you will see from our Terms and Conditions for advertising all dealings are carried out between the advertiser and renter and although we do offer a lot of advice on the site, jml Property Services takes no responsibility for any transactions taking place, however we do believe it is in the interest of our client advertisers that we make you aware of Rental Scams that are occurring in the industry.

You must take great care and don't give your bank details if you suspect it is not a genuine booking, makes no sense, it talks about an apartment when you are letting a 4 bedroom villa or just wants to rent a room and even bring their own furniture or contacts owners of properties in France wanting to rent in the UK etc- Please read on....

In June 2004 a client in Ireland had received an enquiry to rent a property for 5 weeks in Dingle. We were passed a copy of the applicant's email "Am so sorry for not getting in touch with you for awhile, this is because i have been trying to get in touch with my client who as been out of the state for awhile. He is presently in Nigeria taking care of some business so he said he will be sending the draft check from there. However i will need your patience before payment get to you, i regret any inconveniences this might cause....." The client had reserved the apartment, they then received another email "Am sorry for not responding to your mail all this while i ve been very busy.Here is my number........ and my address is ...,....... ave brooklyn NY i am presntly in Nigeria with my client he requested that i should come over to arrange somethings with him so you can call me on that number"

A client in France reported to us this case in March 2005."We have had a rather disturbing rental booking which has turned out to be a scam. Fortunately, we were not stung but we thought you should know what is happening although it is not of your making and absolutely not your fault. We had a booking for a months rental commencing 9th April 2005. The Euro Draft arrived for TWICE the amount required. This was paid into our bank. A few days later we were bombarded with emails demanding the balance to be sent via Western Union AT ONCE.

Fortunately our policy is not to send contracts before monies have been cleared and actually in our account. We were informed by our bank that this would be 15 days in this case.....Well 15 days passed and just as we were about to send the extra overpaid amount, I double checked with our bank only to find that the WHOLE check was false. !!! As I have said we are not in trouble but I do think you should be aware of this scam. The amount was considerable (some Euro 2500.00) which would have been lost forever if we had not been careful. I am taking it up with the Allied Irish Bank whose name was on the Draft and our bank is checking with the French corresponding bank."

A client of jmlvillas.com in Portugal reported this to us in May 2006 "I had a funny experience with this Mrs Wil........of course I thought it was a scam but I booked her a place and she sent me a cheque for I think 5400 pounds..1400 for her holiday and the rest to buy a bicycle and a laptop. Well I carried on with it and received the cheque, and guess what it was from an Edinburgh bank account and I had to go to Edinburgh the next day. So my sister and I went along to the bank...guess what the cheque was forged..there was no such account and the account number was phoney. So the girls at the bank said they'd do a quick clearance on it and of course it went into my account and bounced the same day".

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At jmlvillas.com we receive a copy email from any first enquiry and over the past few months have received the following selection. In the examples listed below they have usually been targeted at advertisers in several countries at the same time. They mostly come from a yahoo email address and usually there is no real relevance to a holiday property rental. These emails normally don't make a lot of sense and as you will see below in one case the sender said he would bring his own furniture!

They could be trying to obtain email addresses and of course unless you have your email address on your own web site linked from jmlvillas.com, your email address is not exposed on our site and all enquiries come through the email contact box. It is only when you reply to an applicant that they actually get your email address.

The real objective is to set up a "scam rental" and the deal often sounds temptimng for those quieter periods. They want bank details, so a payment can be sent that is in excess of the rental and so that an immediate request is made to send back the "overpayment".

"Hello Mr/Mrs. My Name is L... so my client want to rent your Villa Cottage House Aptment For 4 Month Rent So i want you to give all the Information About the House so that my client can have the Detail about the Houes Before she Arrive Ok. God Bl"

"Hello, I am pastor r.....,i will like you to know that i am interested in renting your room for 2month because iam coming for a business confrence in june OR july and i will like you to tell me how much it it will cost me to rent the room and al"

"Good day Sir/Madam, I am Dr D..... B...r of d...... agency, Ontario Canada .I need to book reservation in your hotel for delegates from Canada coming for a Christian summit. The period should be from 24th of August to 13th of September Regard"

"HELLO. MY NAME IS E.... W.... OF T...... AGENCY,LONDON.I WANT TO MAKE A RESERVATION FOR A GROUP OF CHRISTIAN DELEGATES (4) COMING FOR A SEMINAR/CONFERENCE IN YOUR CITY FROM 14th July to 14th Aug . GET BACK TO ME IF THE DESIRED DATES ARE AVAILABLE. REGARDS."

"hello am s.... m.... an international model l love to rent your villa for a month to spend my vacation.so l would like you to furnish me with the total cost of the villa for a month thru my email ......@yahoo.com. hope to hear from you soon."

"Name here is J.. M...,we are on a relocation into another house and me and my family will like to know how you do your house rentel,well are on a vacation and we are willing to know the date and the ti"

"Good day My purpose of written the mail to you is Because of my client Mrs H..... want to rent your AprtmentHouse For 2 weeks Rent My Client Location In address Aar"

"Am Ms L...P....an international business woman from Uk but currently in west africa on a business trip,1 will like to rent an apartment for month pluys utilities from you,so furnish me with the total cost of the room for month rent"

One of the jmlvillas.com advertisers replied to this email in mid June 2005 and the advertiser then received the following email: 

"hello ..... Thanks for your quick response, may God bless you, as I said earlier I would be coming over for a business trip from Nigeria to this country that's why I need the room\apartment urgently because I will be coming from 28th August for one month until 11th September this year thats two weeks, so I will appreciate it if I can rent the apartment for the above reason as soon as possible, I will need the room\apartment for a month. The payment for the room\apartment would be sent to you by a client of ours who is owing us and he is ready to issue out our payment now over there, so we would instruct him to send it to you as soon as possible, he will send you like $4000 to $5000, so all you do is cash it deduct the 920 euros for 2 weeks for room\apartment, booking 368 euros and kindly have the remaining fund sent down to my shipping agent hear in Nigeria who would be assisting me in bringing my furniture's to the apartment, because I will be bringing my own furniture for the period. So all I will need from you is your assistance in giving me this following information's. I will need your full name that you can use to cash the money orders, your contact address your zip code and your telephone\mobile number so I can immediately forward it to our client so he can immediately forward you the payment ASAP. Information's on how to get the remaining money sent to my shipping agent would be given to you as soon as you have received the payment from our client. Hoping to hear from you" 

Below are a few more examples:   

"I am a very dedicated individual who is totally committed to human development, friendly, very trustworthy and value relationship above anything. I love travelling, sporting and enjoy meeting people. I dont smoke but do not mind people who do being around me. I am cool headed and easy going person with no criminal record and like to have a roommate who is very responsible and understanding, someone i can really get along with. .I saw your advert and i am sincerely interested in the room advertised as i will like to move to as soon as i leave here please i will love to hear from you .Please contact me if you are still looking for a mate,preferably through my email address.........8@yahoo.com Thanks as i anxiuosly await your mail.please i will like to know the total cost of the room so as to arrange payment as soon as possible.You can as well mail me back through my email address .please you can call me on this number +234........ I am looking forward to hear from you soon . N"

"Goodday, My Name is D.... b.... of b...... firms London.I want to make a reservation for a group of christian delegates coming for a Seminar/vacation in your city begining from August 17th to september 17th.The group consists of (4) persons.Please i will like you to get back to me with availability and  the desired dates that are available. Regards"

The following five have been targeted at owners of property all over Europe in late July 05 - the telephone number that has a UK international code was actually being anwered by someone who after a second or two said he was Mr S...

Hello. I\'m mr m..... from uk. I\'m about to come to your city to accept a job offer with the british textile industry and a 10 days gas & oil seminars, so i want to secure an apartment in your management. Get back with details. cal+44XXXXXX3

Hello. I\'m mr m.... s.... from united kingdom. I want to make an enquiry about your cottages/apartment for hire. I\'m about to come to your state to accept a job offer with a textile industry. So i need a lodging space undrer your management. I would be grateful if only you can furnish me with all the necessary information about the cottage and your price for the duration of 1 or 2 weeks with date that cottage will be available. I wait to hear back from myou as i\'ll issue the payment to you promptly before my coming. Mr m.... Call me +44XXXXX3

I\'m Prof M... S.... from united kingdom. I want to make an enquiry about your holiday home for rent. I\'m about to come to your state toaccept a job offer with the british textile industry.So i need a lodging space undrer your care Tel+44XXX3

\'m Prof M.... S... from London uk. I want to make an enquiry about your lodging space. I\'m about to come to your state to accept a job offer with the British tabacco industry. So want you to get back tome with some vital details Tel:+447......3

Many thanks to your response. I want to tell you that it\'s for 2 persons, my self and my business partner, and it\'s for 1-2weeks. So want to know your price and will like to check-in August or September. I\'m coming to your state to accep a job offer with theBritish tobacco industry and to attend a 10days Gas & Oil seminar. Respond in time because i want to send the payment in advance. I wait to hear from you soon. Prof M....s S... Tel: +44......593

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"H... As i've told you that i want to send payment in advance so that there wont be any f....-.... A cheque will be drawn from my bank in the amount which will cost the cottage price and other miscellenous expenses. So you will have to deposit the payment and register me as a premium member. I want to know the exact date and month for the check-in. Prof M... S....."

"Hello, In response to your advert on your Home for rent.I work for B..... ...Construction Company in U.K and my company is sending me to your area on an official assignment in september .And I am being posted to your area .I will like to rent you"

"Hello my name is mary i am into modelling and Import and Export of goods. i saw the advert about the house you are willing to rent out i will like to know if the room is still available.I will await your quick response. Best Regard"

"I AM DR STEVE W..... OF B...... AGENCY LONDON.I WANT TO BOOK RESERVATION IN YOUR HOTEL FOR A SUMMIT ORGANISED BY A CHRISTIAN ORGANISATION.THE SUMMIT WILL COMMENCE FROM THE 10TH - THE 28TH OF AUG 2005.WE NEED 5 DOUBLE ROOMS THAT CAN SLEEP 10 GUESTS.PLEASE CONFIRM YOUE AVAILABILITY AND GET BACK TO US WITH YOUR RATES PER NIUGHT AND TOTAL COST FOR 10 DAYS. I EXPECT TO HEAR FROM YOU IMMEDIATELY."

28th August 2005 to most of the property owners advertising properties in England, Scotland and Wales "Hello, In response to your advert on your apartment for rent.My company is sending me to england on an official assignment in November.And I am being posted to england.I will like to rent your apartmrent for the period of (2 Week) tha"

September 2005:"Hello. Good day to you. My name is T.... M..., a manager of oceanic bank in U.S.A. I will be in the france for a vacation session for the priod of november 15/2005 for the duration of two weeks. I want to know if this apartment is still available or not. Could you please get back to me if it is still available with the total cost including all utilities. I will await ur quick response as soon as possible... Thanks "

"HELLO. MY NAME IS O... P.... OF O....CONSULTING, LONDON.I WANT TO MAKE A RESERVATION FOR A GROUP COMING FOR HONEYMOON IN YOUR CITY FROM 5TH OF NOVEMBER TO 29TH OF NOVEMBER 2005. GET BACK TO ME IF THE DESIRED DATES ARE AVAILABLE AND HOW MANY SPACE YOU CAN PROVIDE. REGARDS."

"@yahoo.com There is this amount of Four million Three hundred Thousand U.S dollars($4,300,000.00)which my late Husband kept for us with a bank here in abidjan before he passed away. Now I and my son have concluded to invest these money "

October 2005 - HELLO, I WORK AS AN AUDITOR IN AN OIL SERVICING COMPANY(F....... OIL SERV.IN AFRICA). THERE IS AN ASSIGNMENT GIVEN TO US BY MY COMPANY OUT OF MY COUNTRY,OF WHICH WILL ENABLE ME TO LOOK FOR AN ACCOMODATION,WHICH I WILL STAY FOR TWO MONTHS(60DAYS)FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE ASSIGNMENT. I WILL LIKE TO RENT YOUR APARTMENT FOR THE TWO MONTHS(60DAYS)ASSIGNMENT AT HAND. PLEASE,GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITH THE FINAL ASKING PRICE INCLUDING ALL UTILITIES OF THE APARTMENT. E B.

October 2005 -Hello I will like you to know that i am interested in renting you accommodationfor 2 weeks because i am coming for a hoilyday in December 7 to 20 2005 and i will like you to tell me how much it will cost me to rent the accommodation and all the bill or let me have the available date and price of it i have to pay when i get there .Get back

January 2006 - Hello Am Mrs Wil.... Am from me and my family will like to know how yourun this rentel,well are on a vacation for this year (28 may 2006 and checking ) and we are as well willing to buy a small house around that area that your house is located,well

January 2006 - This is Pastor A....... G..... of the Christ Church Ministries and I want to make a reservation for an apartment/room in which i would stay for 6months with an option of extension.Pls get back to me with the required details.Thank you.

January 2006 - Hi, My Name is Dr D.... W.... from DWXXXS Agency, London. I want to make a reservation for a group of Christian delegates coming for a Semina/Conference in your city from 10th to 20th of april 2006. Please kindly get back to me if the desired dates are available, Best Regards, Dr D..... W..... Tel:+447031XXXXX (sent to owners of properties in France, Corsica, Cyprus - and not in cities)

April 2006 - Good Day to you, My name is linda A female modelling in west Africa.I will like know that I am intrested in renting your room for 2months so that I can stay there for the momment i came for a concert in the Uk.I will like you to give me the cost of renting the room for 2months and all the bill I have to pay when i stay there. Waiting to hear from Bcak asap. Regards linda..........

May 2006 - ood day sir/madam, I am Dr.c.... p.... of Auditon/Theatre Group Germany I want to book reservation in your apartment for an audition we want to carry out for presentation in a christian organised festival.The booking will commence on the 20th june 2006 and end on 4th july 2006. Please get back to me with your rates and the total cost of 4 delegates who will stay for the duration of 14 days in 2 single room or suites. if these dates are free and if you can accomodate us inform me so that we will book. I expect your urgent response. Kind Regards, Dr.c... Email:c.....005@yahoo.com

May 2006 - Hello Am Rev D....d Am from me and my family will like to know how yourun this rentel,well are on a vacation for this year Below Details of the Reservation Below: Date:1st of Oct to 30th Nov 2006 Time of arrival:10 am Rooms:Apartment No of p (sent to owners of properties in Spain)

July 2006 - my name is mary, A female modelling in west Africa. I will like you to know that I am intrested in renting your room for 3months e I will like you to give me the cost of the room for 3months and all the bill plus deposit I have to pay when i stay

my name is mary, A female modelling in west Africa. I will like you to know that I am intrested in renting your room for 3months so that I can stay there for the moment I came for a concert in the state I will like you to give me the cost of the ro . Same time slight variation - yahoo.com email address

August 4th 2006 Over 50 to owners of properties in diffrent countries - most actually were not advertising "an apartment" I \'m interested in your apartment for 2weeks free in the month of September/October and also i will like to know the cost of the 2weeks so that i can pay VIA Cheque, pls kindly get back to me via my email address ok. C. H... email address yahoo.fr

Next dayAugust 5th another 75 advertisers targeted Fullname: ROBERT Heard About: I \'m interested in your apartment for 2weeks free in the month of September/October and also i will like to know the cost of the 2weeks so that i can pay VIA Cheque, pls kindly get back to me via my email address ok. Robert J.... . email address yahoo.fr

One of the jmlvillas clients followed this through and got this reply on the 10th August 2006 Goodday, Thanks for the email and the details,i am so sorry, i have not been in touch with you for so long,i went for a our church convention, the prices is okay by me,i will like to book the date of (16th through 31st of September), i hope this is okay by you,as for the full payment, i will like to have your full contact details as below. Name: Address: Price for the 2weeks: mobile & phone number. all this is needed for easier transaction as to where payment will be sent to for the full payment of the apartment, i have an associate who is owing some money who i can easily instruct to issue out the full payment to you. And also i will like you to understand that i am not presently in the United Kingdom, I am presently in the United States,All contracts paper will be signed when i come down to your location for my Vacation with my only son, (Gxxxy) Below are my contact details to fill in the contract paper. Name.............RXXX JXXX Address..........2 HXX Cottage, HXXX Lane, Comberbach, Northshire, CW9 6AN, UK. Mobile:+44) XXX XXXX (tested 10th August, but switched off) Number of party coming are two,no pets. Waiting to hearing from you to conclude this reservation. R. JXX. The address of the cottage and Lane just happened to be same surname as the email name from the 4th August.

28th September 2006 to owners of Holiday homes in England : hon.jamesXXX@yahoo.com Heard About: Hi, I am Mr James Colins by name a business man ,I find your Apartment (bedroom) for me and i am interested in renting it just for 1 month because i am coming on a vacational holiday to uk starting from 1/11/1006.I will like to have the total cost

and Bonjour, je suis M. James Colins de nom une trouvaille de l\'homme,I d\'affaires votre appartement (chambre à coucher) pour moi et je suis intéressé à le louer juste pour 1 mois parce que je viens des vacances de vacational au R-U à partir de 1/11/1006

He used a translation service to email French property owners who he wanted to attract and then went on to say that he was going to the UK for his holiday!

October 2006 to a few owners of properties in France: Hello Am david Am from me and my family will like to know how yourun this rentel,well are on a vacation for this year Below Details of the Reservation Below: Date: 1st of feb to 30th mar 2007 Time of arrival:10 am Rooms:Apartment No of people:2 Address yahoo.fr

November 2006 Hello, I saw the advert of your room when i was just browsing and i will like to let you know that i am interested in renting the room. I am Janice S..... and i am in Canada presently due to some Business trip and after the business trip i will want to come back to the UK and i will want to get a room ready before my arrival .So i will like to know if the room is still available and i will like to know the amount of the room Per Month.I want you to know that my method of Payment will be by Cheque and i want you to know that payment will be sent to you when we both agree on the terms.I look forward to hear from you and know if the payment i offer is okay with you and i assure you, you will enjoy living together with me. Hope to hear from you as soon as possible.Sincere Regards. Janice S... Address yahoo.car

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June 2007 - Is this another scam - jml property services received the following email and deecided to follow it through."Calvary greeting to you, A client of mine is sending his just wedded pastor and wife with 2 kids of age 14(twins)on a honey moon trip in your country. Starting from the 3rd week of June to fourth week of September and asked me to check an availability of your family suit or 2/3 rooms. Please do get back to me with the total cost of this stay with discount,if will be available for this period. Yours Faithfully P... G.....r" Contact details : Paul Gallagher 73 st..... p... road bn1 XXXl brighton - United Kingdom Tel : +44XXXX67 or +447XXXXXX E-mail :p........r99@yahoo.com Occupation: Dealer "

Reply from jml Administration: "€40,0000 for 2 weeks bed and breakfast"

Reply "Thanks for your mail. I think bank to bank wire transfer is the method of payment so my client want you to send the current pictures of the apartment for further arrangement. Please, do get back with the pictures and current condition so we can make this deal sealed as soon as possible. P G..." jml Administration found a picture of a windmill and sent it on.

Reply " Thanks for your prompt response. I have forwarded the picture to my client and is very much interested in the apartment and i want you to get back with the location where the apartment is and also get back with your contact telephone number so we can call you for more information. And also i want you to have it in your mind that my client is paying via bank to bank wire transfer to your nominated account. Looking forward to hear from you"

Reply from jml Administration: "I am sorry this must be a rental scam - Your client wants to spend two weeks in a windmill that costs €40,0000 for 2 weeks bed and breakfast!!" No more follow up emails came in from this person - A scam?

October 2007 - Is this another rental scam enquiry? Good Day, I am pastor Miss Katherine l.... i will like you to know that i am interested in renting your room for 3Months because i am coming for a business conference in set and i will like you to tell me how much it it will cost me to rent the room and all the bill i have to pay when i get there .Get back to me asap. Thanks And God Blees You Miss Katherine l........... Well it is October and a popular time for them See also It must be Friday the Internet holiday home rental scammers are active!

November 2007 Hello, I read through the profile that best describe this apartment,to be factual it is best of choice as it is stated in the profile and pictures of how it looks like. So with much interest i\'ll like to make immediate payment via cheque.

November 2007 My name is Dr K.. W..... of K..... Agency,London. I need a reservation for a group of Christian delegates(4 persons in number) coming for a seminar/conference in your city from 15th of January to 30th of January,2008 - jml Admin intercepted the email with.Good Day Dr K.. W...... You appear to be emailing owners of properties in France, Portugal, England and other countries. Is your proposed seminar being old in many countries at the same time. Quite Amazing!! We think this is a rental scam enquiry. Please do not contact advertisers like this. They are fully aware of the rental scam set up. Thank you

January 2008 I am Dr MAXI S.... the president christian foundation inc London England I need to book reservation in your apartment/hotel for A team members of our church coming to your country for a christian meeting from UK. I want > to know if there are free spac jml Admin intercepted the email with. Hello Dr Maxi S.... You appear to want to book accommodation in Italy, France and Spain at exactly the same time - seems quite amazing - seems more like a scam rental! jmlvillas Administration

February 2008 Fullname: greg : I am Dr GREG B.... the president christian foundation inc London England I need to book reservation in your apartment/hotel for A team members of our church coming to your country for a christian meeting from UK. I want to know if there are free sp...

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Property owners you must take great care

We have warned advertisers, here are a few of the replies from advertisers on jmlvillas.com

"Thank you for your email informing of rental scam of @N... Have received several of a similar nature, so aware of situation, but grateful for pointers raised. Thank you again MF"

"Thanks for your warning, Yes, Ive heard from N...,but was not tempted. Likewise with dubious enquiry for 6 months over the winter, also rejected. We appreciate your service. DW"

"Thank you for letting me know there are certainly a lot of these email enquiries around I must have had well over a dozen. Like everyone else I spent some time on the very first one and even had a cheque to prove it, fortunately I realised it was a scam and have not lost anything but to the unwise it could be very expensive. regards DG"

"14th July 2005 Hi there Thank you - it is so obviously a scam it is embarrasing - they want to come in June or July for two monmths - bit late aren't they. I have followed it up and will also report them with the long header to Yahoo GH"

"Thanks for the warning, I rather suspected the same when I saw it G"

"Just to let you know over the last six months I have received two or three enquiries from these, I have reported them to the anti fraud section of the local police and usually respond stating that they have to bring the cash with them at the start of the booking, usually puts them off, however scam has been circulating using local tourist board sites as well. Many thanks for the warning it is only by people being aware of this issue will it be stopped. KB"

"Hello In fact I received strange enquiries for renting our property. The text however was so aburd that I understood right away that there must be something wrong with it. Kind regards RE"

"I had an email enquiry with phone number from someone stating that they were english and looking to book my apartment in ..... The email was questionable so my husband phoned him and believes him to be Nigerian. My husband told him that we were booked up and he asked if we had any other property. He then lied and said yes in ......,the man got very interested in our bank details and names at that point and immediately hung up. Thought I should let you know, sounds to me as if he is looking for bank details to \"lodge deposit\" where in fact he will clear out accounts using fraudulant bank drafts. A well know nigerian scam"

"I did 'converse' with one I received from another holiday cottage site, just to see how far it would go before the sting. And it came....... he wanted to send me money by Western Union - the usual way these scammers work. When I said, no, that it had to be by personal cheque, he came up with some cock and bull story that someone in Britain owed him money and that he would send a cheque which was of course for thousands of pounds, if I could cash it and send him the balance back by Western Union. These cheques are stolen or fake of course, and the innocent party are left out of pocket."

"You are 1 day late :-) I already replied although I thought there was something wrong. 'Cause the guy says ''I'm gonna to accept a job offer with the british textile industry.'' but his second reply e-mail is coming from ''St paul catholic music college london uk'' So I didn't gave my address which they want to send money. But I think their not only aiming to collect e-mails. There must be something more. And althouh they got my e-mail they are still mailling similar messages. Anyway we'll gonna see. Thanks a lot guys. Please inform more if you get anything new about and new cases."

"Hi I have received 3 of these emails today - I will not be responding as it fits the style you warned us about Thanks for your advice."

"I have received an other e-mail that smells fishy. It is from a British "professor" who does not know how to spell, does not give any info on when he needs the property and for how many people. If you want to take some steps to stop this kind of fraud, there is a phone number in the message on which the police might start investigating."

"Yep I got one this morning and have chosen not to answer. it seems that there are a few of these going around and they all come from myway.com! I had an enquire last week from my way but when I contacted them and told them a few things they said sorry etc."

Property owners you must take great, great care

We have Owners sections to visit for general information on letting your property. But do make sure that a) With the PAYMENT OF RENT: Do take great care when accepting rental payments. Some people are able to accept credit card bookings, but for the majority they are dependent on payment by bank transfer or when the guests arrive.

If someone is making a booking well into the future, the ideal situation is to obtain a booking deposit at the time of booking and the balance two months before they are due to arrive. Stipulate those terms in your rental agreement and also on a printed booking forms.

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Attempted Rental Scam in Cyprus January 2006

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Could this be a Rental Scam?

On the 19th November 2005, jmlvillas.com advertisers of properties in France received this email. "Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 8:57 AM Subject: Enquiry from jmlvillas.com website: (ref ) Hi dear, I would like to know the dates when your apartment would be available for rent ,your leasing price and terms of payment. Sarah H....., sarah...01@yahoo.co.uk"

Philip Suter of jmlvillas.com decided to follow this through - He replied "Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 8:57 AM - Why not look on the availability page then?". The reply came back "Saturday, November 19, 2005 9:11 AM Subject: Re: Enquiry from jmlvillas.com website: (ref ) Hi Sir/Ma, I would like to make an enquiry about the availability of your apartment/room for a period of six weeks Dec 14 to Jan 25th,kindly let me know if you have it for rent,send me the leasing price and include some pictures in your response to my enquiry Sarah H.....",

He replied "The place is not a room it is a house. You can see the pictures on the website., 690 euros a week the price. Where do you live? Look forward to hear from you." She replied "Saturday, November 19, 2005 12:14 PM Subject: Re: Enquiry from jmlvillas.com website: (ref) Am sorry i meant to say the house...the price sounds reasonable..and from what i see from the pictures i would like to have the house...for 6 weeks...14th Dec. to 25th Jan. let me know if thats possible.am in pretoria in Southern African Sarah".

He replied "Sounds fine - look forward to hearing from you." She replied "Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2005 2:59 PM Subject: Re: Enquiry from jmlvillas.com website: (ref )Hello whats your term of payment...as am willing to have a Travellers Cheque in euros issued out to you...and whats the total amount?...get back to me with the name the Travellers Cheque should be made out to...the mailing address and your direct contact phone number. Thanks, Sarah." He replied " Hello Sarah Thanks for your email, we would have to send you a rental agreement. Can you pay by credit card as there are forged travellers cheques circulating about. Look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards

There was not a reply - similar words were used to other emails on this page -Hi dear,- Hi Sir/Ma, - your apartment/room for a period of six weeks - get back to me This could have been genuine, but there again it might not have been. It looked clearly that the sender had not looked at the website details also the Hi dear, I would like to know the dates when your apartment would be available for rent ,your leasing price and terms of payment was also sent to owners of villas and gites.

You must take great care and don't give your bank details if you suspect it is not a genuine booking

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