This scam is popping up with other names as well. I responded to an ad on craigslist for a house for rent for $950/month in Sammamish, WA (a great deal for this area), wondering if it was real or a typo. I did not call the person, but responded via email and received almost the exact same replies as the ones coming from "Olga" only they were from "Fernando Ma and wife":
Thanks for the email.. I Mr. Fernando Ma And Wife own the 4bedroom's /House and also want you to know that it was due to my transfer that makes me and my wife to leave the house and also want to give it out for rent and looking for a responsible person that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean at the time and the person that will rent it to take it as if it were its own. So for now, We are here in west Africa, our new house and also with the keys of the house, we try to look for an agent that we can give this documents before we left but could not see and we are as well as don't want our house to be used any how in our present that is why we took it along with us. I and my wife came over to West Africa for a missionary work, so I hope you will promise us to take very good care of the house. So get back to me on how you could take care of our house or perhaps experience you have in renting home. Hope you are okay with the price of US $950 with hydro, heat laundry facilities, air condition and so on.. The house is available now and you can move in whenever you are ready, I am looking forward to hear from you soon, please call us on how to get the house for rent, 011 then +2347026842932. I will be waiting for your call.
RENT APPLICATION FORM
1)Your Full Name?
2)Your Full Address & Phone Number?
3)Are you married?
4)How many people will be living in the house?
5)Do you have a pet?
6)Do you have a car?
7)Occupation?
how long lease are you looking for?
9)How soon do you intend moving in?
Looking forward to hearing from you with all this details so that I can have it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contacting you. Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the key to you, we do not see yet and only putting everything into Gods hand, so please do not let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this. Thanks and you are welcome.
Mr. Fernando Ma And WifeI replied with the information and asked for the address so that we could drive by and look at the house, thinking it was legitimate, but the next response made me start thinking it was a scam. He wanted me to send him the first month's rent and refused to give me the address of the house:
Dear Jennifer,
Thanks for your commendable email However, if you are ready to rent the house now, then that will not be a problem but I will advice you to be a responsible person like you promised to be. You will have to make one month rent payment and also I would like to send the following document to you via the DHL so give me an address to send it to and the tracking number will be sent to you so that you can possible occupy my house, Please once again, we are giving you this on trust and do not disappointing us and I promise you that, you will love the house. So I am with the below document here with me and I will like to know whether you are ready for the payment one month rent now which is $950 so that the keys and the below items can be sent to you.
Here are the contents of the document.
1) Entrance and the rooms Keys
2) Paper/Permanent house form (Containing your reference details)
3) The house documentary file.
4) Payment Receipt.
5) Full address and description of the house.
So please get back to me today so that I can give you the information to make the payments. Due to security reasons I can't disclose the address of the house, the last time I gave out the address, the person tried break into the house without waiting for the keys. I hope you understand what I mean but the keys and the house documents will be sent to you once we are through with the necessary arrangements.I am not saying you will do the contrary.
Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.
Mr. Fernando Ma And WifeThis is the email that got my scam sniffer going. I asked him if he was asking me to send money without even knowing the address and told him that I would not do so without being able to verify that he, in fact, owned the house. He replied that they did not feel comfortable giving out the address. Needless to say, I am reporting this to craigslist (the rental listing was taken down from craigslist this morning) and will not be responding again or sending any money, especially after doing a search and finding this chain with almost the exact same wording.