From a reader:- Hi Brad I just want to make people aware of the scam that is taking place through the use of Gumtree. This is my story: I have been looking for two bedroom apartment to rent when I found an add on gumtree for a place to rent on Florida Road at a reasonable price of R4100. I spoke to him early Tuesday wanting to view the place.He asked for me to email my banking details, certified copy of my ID, proof of residence and a 1months bank statement so he could check if I could qualify to get the apartment. I called to check if I qualified, he said yes. After that he me pictures of the apartment. He notified me that viewing could only take place on the Wednesday, he then added that people had come on Monday and that one couple was very interested, one person could only pay at the end of the month and the other did not seem that interested. He also notified me that he had used Wakefileds but didnt like using them because he had to deal with to many people at Wakefields and prefered doing it himself. I communicating with him via email and he said that if i was interested I should put down a deposit. I replyed and called to say that I would put down the deposit once seeing the apartment. I called and he seemed to understand completely and advised that we could sort everything out once I see the apartment but there were three people coming before me to come and view the apartment. This ofcourse made me panic because I really wanted the apartment. Later that day my friend and I drove past the adress, we liked what we saw and called to see if he was around the area but notified us that he was in Richardsbay for business and was only coming back to Durban at nine. He then added that somone was very interested had confirmed that they would pay the deposit that night. We still interested to see if really the apartment so I emailed to ask if the apartment had been taken and he said no they were unable to pay the full deposit. Then notified me that he was now dealing with an agent because it much for him. I had then told him that I was interested and had the money to pay the deposit. He then spoke to his wife saying that this girl is very interested in the apartment and she has been calling. He told me that his wife would call the agency and let them know that they had found somone so therefore would not be using them. All i had to do was send through the deposit to secure the apartment. He emailed me his banking details and used company name Draw Card and said i had to use the refrence number 172008052744 all the time when depositing the rent. Deposit was R4100 and R125 deposit for prepaid metre. I sent through the deposit. After that he only communicated via sms. he continosly pushed out the time we would meet saying that his CEO was in town so he was hectically busy. He then added that he had asked for the day off and we could either meet tonight or early the next morning. I said I would be around Florida but later said that he was still stuck at work we should meet 9:30 sharp and no later. We got there at 9:30 and advised us that he was at the bank and could only be there in an hour. He asked us if we would wait or should he come to our work place. I told he we would wait and he sent another sms saying that he is still stuck with the bank manager. He kept on pushing out the time. This is when we opened a case with the police and called Draw Card. He goes by the name Lennon. His phone number is 0745615818. His email address is lennon197@live. Here is the link to the add: gumtree.co.za/a-houses-flats-for-rent/morningside/2-bedroom-flat-for-rent-on-florida-road/1001087931820910215144109 . I hope this is going to help people because he really does know what he is doing.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 07:11:35 +0000
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