Apartment rental

kc66

This may not be the most appropriate place for this so mods move if necessary.

My Dad has an apartment to rent in Portugal, advertised online. He got an email from someone with an Irish sounding name but from the way its written he could possibly be foreign, asking to rent for 6 months. He will pay by cheque from his employers. Does anyone know of any scams involving renting properties like this?

Edit, just got the ip from the headers and it is from Nigeria. Wonder what this scam is?

jor el

More than likely, the cheque will come, but it will be for more than is wanted. They'll then ask you to refund the over-payed amount, probably by Western Union. They never move into the apt, and they scarper with the money you send to them. The cheque they give you will obviously bounce.

The scam works because your bank will credit you before the cheque actually clears, so it looks like it's cleared. A week or two later, the funds disappear, as the cheque is a forgery.

Many people reply with fake details, so as to waste the scammers time. Be careful what details you give them if you are considering this, Id use nothing real, other than the email they've already got. Best bet is to just ignore it.