1. (NOT) too Good to be True

As an outgoing Erasmus Exchange student from the University of Vienna, I was looking for some suitable accommodation in Edinburgh for this winter term that I am going to spend in the UK . In July and August I posted several adds on different websites in hope that I can get a good offer in time. I supposed that in August and September it would be difficult to find any apartments due to new semester rush and hustle around sudent housing, so I thought in advance. Together with a friend of mine, we had been wading through many offers until we decided. We chose a good looking apartment in the downtown for a reasonable price without the faintest idea that we were going to be deceived. Indeed, the offer did not look like too good to be true – everything seemed genuine and we had no suspicion at all. Here is the copy of the first email:

Von: Carol Wallace
Datum: 03. August 2010 22:46:15 GMT+02:00
An:
Betreff: Apartment Details and Pictures

Hello Stefanie,

Thanks for your interest,The two rooms are still available for rent.The apartment is three bedrooms which is recently completely refurbished to a very high standard. Practically a brand new house inside, tastefully and stylishly furnished,It’s a beautiful house with a splendid eat-in kitchen and en suite bathroom with a separate shower and tub (see photos)I'm the only one staying in the apartment for now.Conveniently located at 3 Grassmarket,Edinburgh, EH1 2HY.Edinburgh city centre,Popular upmarket Area.Close to Waverley train station,Festival Theatre, Usher Hall,2mins walk to shops,bar,Gym,Tesco,Boots,Pizza Hut,restuarants,Sainsbury's,Marks and Spencer etc.bus number as follow:22,25,7, 14, 12,16,10,11,44,26, 15,49,etc.Excellent airport access as the Edinburgh Shuttle the station.

The bedrooms is large (16’6 x 15’), and comes with an en-suite private bathroom (7’3 x 5’6).It occupies the entire second (top) floor and
offers you a lot of privacy from the rest of the house. It’s a lovely bright room with large South facing windows.There’s a sitting area with a nice sofa so it’s practically a studio.Kitchen (14’6 x 15’) fully fitted kitchen with refrigerator,cooker,washing machine,chest drawers and
microwave oven. Livingroom/Dinningarea (19’8 x 18’).A bright and spacious livingroom/ diningarea,Sofas,tasteful bespoke lighting,double
windows and central heating,broadband internet and LCD.A house of this quality is rarely ever available for house share.(See attached photos)

The rent is very reasonable £300/month/room including Gas,Electricity,internet,council tax etc and fully refundable security deposit of £330.There is free parking (no permit necessary)on the street.Ideally I would only ever consider renting to cool,considerate,congenial and reliable people so you will find your housemates to be so.

I'm flexible and very quiet but friendly,29 years old,Single,Cabin Crew with Easyjet.I'm easy going,down to earth that Love art,theatre,music,sporty and being active.Please let me know as soon as possible if you're still interested.

Warm Regards,

As I said, there were no warning signs that this could be a scam. The language usage was correct and appropriate, the location seemed to be genuine (I did not think about checking every address from oncoming offers) and in a nutshell, this email did not raise any doubts. If you want to hunt for any clues that could bring you to the conclusion that this is fake, please state your reasons in your comments - I will be glad to read any feedback.

Needless to say, we accepted this offer and started further arrangements. In the beginning we we asked to provide basic personal details, passport copies, phone numbers, etc.
In my opinion this is a standard procedure that everyone would do if he/she wanted to rent an apartement and make all arrangemenets prior to arrival via email. Here is my very first email to Carol:

Dear Carol,

Stefanie told me that I should send you my contact information for the contract. She said that was rather urgent, so I am writing to you right now in order to arrange it. However, I am not sure about my exact date of arrival yet I must be in Edinburgh at latest on 06.09 and now I am considering my travel options. I hope you do not mind if I inform you about my arrival on Monday..
Here is the contact information:

Name: xxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx
Address: xxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xx
Phone number: xxxxxx xxxx xxx xxxx xx

Btw, thank you very much for your offer. I find it as the best one and I am really looking forward to moving in.

best regards