Just now when i was doing QT, i was holding my highlighter and highlighting stuff, then i dozed off and so like my head approached(nodded towards) my table, and my nose touched my highlighter and i woke up and was like WHAT.. but good la after that i sort of got shaken up and i didn't feel sleepy anymore. I've been trying to rent apartments in london, and there was this apartment for rent in london for like 130 pounds per week. It was in lancaster gate, opp hyde park. which is quite an atas location la. and for that price it was like quite crazy. really cheap. So i went to email the guy and this was what he replied back after 10 mins :

Hello Dear
Thanks for emailing me concerning my flat in question.I really do appreciate your interest in my flat,You have been the first person on my email list that is contacting me about the flat,though i have lots of interested candidates who are also interested in the flat but it was actually because you contacted me first.I really do appreciate that.
Now i'll would love you to reply me back with the information now.are you renting the flat alone?,are you ready for the payment now incase i come down for the viewing or schedule the viewing time with you?do you have a phone number?and last but not the least i'm very sure you have a responsible friend's here in London .because i really do not want bad people around my flat.and i am actually renting the flat so cheap because i do not reside in London anymore i am now in Liverpool but i am now seeking for someone i will not chase away with the rent so i am renting the flat so cheap because i do not want to be after the money but after someone who is going to vow to take GOOD CARE of my flat for me because its really cost me alot....
Thanks
I hope to hear back from you with a positive reply now
Your's landlord to be
Mr and Mrs Lee Robert
N.B I'm sure you a aware of the rent which is £130 per week x 4 weeks = £520 PCM
and the refundable deposit which will be refunded back to you after your tenth days move in date which is £400
Total of £920
Flat is Situated @ Flat 8, Spire House, Lancaster Gate. Postcode: W2 3NP


I called up my friend immediately and we were discussing what's wrong with this guy. We were joking the house was haunted or sth and the guy is acting weird. so i replied a bit and asked for more info and this was what he replied :

Hello David
Thanks for your mail and your lovely answers,a Well as i have told you earlier that i have a lot of candidate mailing me on this flat ,but am just trying to be calm because you
are my first candidate and it wont be fair if you get to London and i told you the flat is gone. firstly what my lawyer says is that we need more of your commitment on this flat before you arrive in London ,we have to be sure that this person we are keeping this flat for till you arrive London, and the person has what it take to live in my flat and he or she is capable as well. we are not demanding for money from you but we need to be assure us that first you are coming to London and secondly you are capable that you have money to pay for the flat when you arrive because we have kept flat for some people and at the end they turn us down when they cant afford the fund for the flat. so what my lawyer says you
should do is that ,you will transfer the funds to your self here in London as a prove of your capability and trust. so all you need to do is that you will find a western union over
there in Your country and collect the transfer form, you
will see something like this...............
senders name...............Your Friend's name in Your country
senders address............Your address over there in Your country
receivers name...............Your name
receivers address..........united kingdom (London) so transfer the money to your self in London as the receiver of the money,then collect your receipt for this transfer . so it is this receipt that you will scan to me in my mail or a clean and clear picture of the receipt as prove to my lawyer that you have done what he wants and the flat will be kept for you till you arrive, so when you get here in London you can come and pick up your money here in London since you have your name as the receiver of the money and you have London as the receiver country address and you have your receipt with you as well your money will be given back to you immediately by the western union .just make sure you come along with the receipt for the transfer as well when coming to London. so you can now pay to us in cash after you have collected back your money from the western union if you love the flat after viewing. so tomorrow morning ,go and transfer the funds to your self here in London via western union then show me your receipt in my mail ,for my lawyer to see as a prove then i will keep my flat for you till you arrive once we receive the receipt from you,I'll send you a copy of the Tenancy Lease Agreement Form to S ign and resend back to me so that i can keep the flat on hold for you since you can sign the contact. so once i received the transfer
receipt from you I'll get back to you with the flat number i promise!
So get back to me ASAP tomorrow,i will be waiting,
Regards
Mr Lee Robert,
+447035989149 or +447035926535
P. S .... Rent is (£390) 3weeks for the whole flat and all bills are inclusive with the rent!
Deposit is (£400) which will be refunded back to you on the seventh day of your final move
Location Flat 8, Spire House, Lancaster Gate. Postcode: W2 3NP
So you are you make the transfer of Rent is (£390)3weeks plus the Deposit is (£400) = Total of (£790 ) to London in your name..so when you arrive London you can pick up the money.
Give me a call for more discussion


again, i called my friend and we were quite freaked out. But on first glance, what he proposed isn't that bad. I mean he isn't asking you to wire him money or anything. But anyway i didn't reply him. sort of wanted to wait and see. But then i couldn't really go to sleep so i went to google LONDON FLAT RENTAL SCAMS cos i suspected something. and true enough, this pattern, format of scams have been going on for very long. they get you to 'wire' money to yourself, giving you a false sense of security, and they also say got a lot of people waiting, to give you some pressure. So if you really wire money to yourself, and show them the proof of the receipt, what they actually do in London is they create a fake ID, put your name on that ID, print that receipt or have that receipt number and go to the western union bank and take all your money. Quite a lot of people have fallen trap to that man.. So anyway, glad that my friend and i suspected something. haha. I mean with this kind of poor english, most people would suspect something.

lessons :
1) If something is too good to be true, it probably is.
2) Always do research and have a high index of suspicion when doing any sort of transactions or deals in another country.
3) Be wary of the internet.

haha okk if you ever needa do sth like what i needa do, don't fall prey to these scammers!