Off topic: Can you sell a house by e-mail? Thread poster: Cristina Pereira
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Hi everyone,
I have an apartment for sale here in Portugal. I just received an email from someone claiming to be from England, saying he saw an ad about the apartment and asking for info such as price, pictures, etc. I answered giving him this info.
He answered promptly:
"I am ok with the price of purchasing the property for 105 000
euros but i do want you to understand that i would be
paying a deposit of 15000 euros and when my agent comes to... See more Hi everyone,
I have an apartment for sale here in Portugal. I just received an email from someone claiming to be from England, saying he saw an ad about the apartment and asking for info such as price, pictures, etc. I answered giving him this info.
He answered promptly:
"I am ok with the price of purchasing the property for 105 000
euros but i do want you to understand that i would be
paying a deposit of 15000 euros and when my agent comes to
your location he would be paying the rest of the money in
cash ,if this is ok by you , do let ,me know . "
I then asked if he had a contact with a real estate agency here in Portugal, as the transaction involves documents, notaries, etc. His last mail was:
"dont worry i have that take care of by my agent .
Thanks for the mail .
I do want you to understand that i have agreed with
the price of purchasing the property for 105 000 EUR but i would be
paying a deposit of 15 000 euros which is ok by you.
I want you to know that i got in contact with my
associate in the france before travelling to the USA,who
owes me
the sum of 20,600 euros which he as agreed to send a cheque
OF 20600 euros to you .
I would need your full name , contact address and
phone no ,so that the cheque can be sent to your
address.As soon as you recieved the cheque:
1)You would then have the cheque of(20,600 euros )
cashed,
2)collect how much i BOUGHT IT for 10000 EUR as deposit
3)And have the rest of the money sent to my agent
through western union money transfer so that he
can come to your location TO CONCLUDE THE TRANSACTION
and for the shippment of the property
I read from you, with your contact details for the
cheque to be sent to you".
He seems to want to send me the money right away and doesn't ask for any warranty! I am really suspicious, but then, I never sold (or bought) a house out of my country.
Do you think I should take this seriously or just forget the whole thing?
Another detail: he has a Portuguese name and I asked if he was Portuguese. He didn't answer and kept writing in English...
Thank you very much for any advice.
Cristina ▲ Collapse
| | | | CathyFS 
Local time: 09:24
German to English
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| Sounds dodgy to me! | Aug 16, 2006 |
I can't imagine that this is anything other than a scam. One section alone has a couple of basic errors that indicate he's NOT English:
"I want you to know that i got in contact with my
associate in the france before travelling to the USA,who
owes me
the sum of 20,600 euros which he as agreed to send a cheque
OF 20600 euros to you . "
the france?
which he as agreed to send a cheque OF 20600 euros to you?
I wouldn't touch t... See more I can't imagine that this is anything other than a scam. One section alone has a couple of basic errors that indicate he's NOT English:
"I want you to know that i got in contact with my
associate in the france before travelling to the USA,who
owes me
the sum of 20,600 euros which he as agreed to send a cheque
OF 20600 euros to you . "
the france?
which he as agreed to send a cheque OF 20600 euros to you?
I wouldn't touch this guy with a barge pole. If the apt is for sale, doesn't he know the address already ... ? I don't know ... sounds to me like someone wants to use your address for laundering drug money, or something to that effect.
Cathy ▲ Collapse
| | | | Pernille Chapman
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:24
Member (2004)
English to Danish
+ ...
| Stay well clear! | Aug 16, 2006 |
Sorry, but this has all the hallmarks of being yet another e-mail scam - although I must say it's a variety I haven't heard of before!
For a start, this person is definitely not a native Brit, as there are lots of serious grammatical errors in his message. Also, the talk of exchanging cheques based on so little communication should set alarm bells ringing. Why would he want to involve you in cashing the cheque from his 'associate', and why the mad rush? And I bet his email address i... See more Sorry, but this has all the hallmarks of being yet another e-mail scam - although I must say it's a variety I haven't heard of before!
For a start, this person is definitely not a native Brit, as there are lots of serious grammatical errors in his message. Also, the talk of exchanging cheques based on so little communication should set alarm bells ringing. Why would he want to involve you in cashing the cheque from his 'associate', and why the mad rush? And I bet his email address is with hotmail, yahoo or some other 'anonymous' provider...
I imagine you have an agent yourself, or a solicitor you could ask for advice? In any case, I really don't think you should enter into any further communication until you have found a way of checking this person's credentials. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It's a scam! | Aug 16, 2006 |
Don't have anything to do with this.
The 206,000 Euro check will appear to have cleared, you give them 100,000, and then the check bounces. You loose your 100,000.
Tell them you want the money in cash or a bank-draft and they will disappear quickly. Or just ignore them.
Terry.
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Marc P (X)
Local time: 10:24
German to English
+ ...
| This is a scam | Aug 16, 2006 |
The crook sends you a cheque for 20,600 euros.
You cash the crook's cheque, keep 10,000 euros, and send the rest (10,600 euros) to the crook's "agent", as requested.
The crook's cheque then bounces, and your bank demands 20,600 euros back, but you have already sent 10,600 euros of that to the crook's accomplice, who by then has disappeared.
The scam is quite common.
Marc
| | | | | Does he want you to send him money? | Aug 16, 2006 |
If I understand the letter you quote (which is in imperfect English), he wants to send you a cheque for an amount that is too high for the deposit, and he wants you to send the excess amount to somebody by Western Union.
This is often a method used in scams.
Your bank pays you the amount of the cheque in good faith, you send out the excess amount, but after a couple of weeks your bank comes back to you and says sorry, the cheque bounced after all (it takes them a while to be ... See more If I understand the letter you quote (which is in imperfect English), he wants to send you a cheque for an amount that is too high for the deposit, and he wants you to send the excess amount to somebody by Western Union.
This is often a method used in scams.
Your bank pays you the amount of the cheque in good faith, you send out the excess amount, but after a couple of weeks your bank comes back to you and says sorry, the cheque bounced after all (it takes them a while to be absolutely sure). So you lose the amount that you sent him (over 5000 euros, if I understand the letter correctly).
Your police might think that a cheque for that amount is suspicious (money laundering rules etc.). And if the cash transaction goes through, that could be even trickier.
Perhaps it would be worthwhile consulting a solicitor or notary, and perhaps you could even get them to handle the transaction. The person may possibly be above board, but you need to protect yourself. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Cristina Pereira
Local time: 09:24
Member (2005)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Great advice! | Aug 16, 2006 |
Thank you everyone for confirming my thoughts! Yes, he has a yahoo e-mail. I think I'll tell him I just sold the apartment today
He didn't say he was English, but just "Carl, from England", as he seems to be so travelled, namely in "the France"...
Thanks again all,
Cristina
| | | | Thomas Dihrberg
United States
Local time: 10:24
Member
Spanish to German
+ ...
| Happens quite often | Aug 16, 2006 |
Hi Cristina,
I am quite sure, that you put an ad in local newspaper with internet section where it was published as well. In Spain we have i.e. www.segundamano.es, which is the internet issue from the paper version.
When I published my BMW bike (which is still in sale...) I got several times e-mails, very similar to yours.
Just cancel them and never answer, even if the offer looks gre... See more Hi Cristina,
I am quite sure, that you put an ad in local newspaper with internet section where it was published as well. In Spain we have i.e. www.segundamano.es, which is the internet issue from the paper version.
When I published my BMW bike (which is still in sale...) I got several times e-mails, very similar to yours.
Just cancel them and never answer, even if the offer looks great.
saludos Tom ▲ Collapse
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Cristina Pereira
Local time: 09:24
Member (2005)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you for sharing your experience, Tom. I did precisely what you said, and posted another ad in a classifieds site, too.
So, it's a common scam...
Anyway, this might be my lucky day because a woman visited the apartment today and she wants to come back tomorrow to show it to her husband And she didn't mention anything about cheques, transfers, and associates abroad ... See more Thank you for sharing your experience, Tom. I did precisely what you said, and posted another ad in a classifieds site, too.
So, it's a common scam...
Anyway, this might be my lucky day because a woman visited the apartment today and she wants to come back tomorrow to show it to her husband And she didn't mention anything about cheques, transfers, and associates abroad
Thanks all, again!
Cristina ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 02:24
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam | House for Rent | Aug 17, 2006 |
I just got one of those on a house I have for rent. I won't bore anyone with details, but it's no less than the old Nigerian scam revisited, fractured English and all.
| | | | Vito Smolej
Germany
Local time: 10:24
Member (2004)
English to Slovenian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | | Absolutely Scam | Aug 17, 2006 |
Hi,
The person who you are communicating is informed of the following:
- existance of Western Union.
- writing a check or clearing a check
- sending money via bank
How could he not know the best option to have his friend do the same thing for him and than he can, assume that he is a true buyer, use one of the already mentioned method to send money and pay you.
If I were to buy a house from a place which could be 500 kilometer away ... See more Hi,
The person who you are communicating is informed of the following:
- existance of Western Union.
- writing a check or clearing a check
- sending money via bank
How could he not know the best option to have his friend do the same thing for him and than he can, assume that he is a true buyer, use one of the already mentioned method to send money and pay you.
If I were to buy a house from a place which could be 500 kilometer away I have to have someone representing me at the initial step with a signed documentation which is called "power of attorney".
If I were you, I would not provide any personal information until I see a legal rep or money in my account, becaue you may end up in a financial fraud!!
Good luck
Nizam ▲ Collapse
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| | Cristina Pereira
Local time: 09:24
Member (2005)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
“You have to trust somebody at times like this”, she said...
You really do, Vito, and I trust you and everybody else who helped me through this whole thing. I always heard about "Nigerian scams", but never knew why they were called that. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.
As to Nizam, even if a house can be sold by e-mail, I will never attempt to do such a thing. So, thanks for your positive/negative answer ... See more “You have to trust somebody at times like this”, she said...
You really do, Vito, and I trust you and everybody else who helped me through this whole thing. I always heard about "Nigerian scams", but never knew why they were called that. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.
As to Nizam, even if a house can be sold by e-mail, I will never attempt to do such a thing. So, thanks for your positive/negative answer
Good luck to all,
Cristina
PS - I stopped answering the guy and he stopped sending me e-mails, just for the record. ▲ Collapse
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