Hello. I am trying to find other people who might have been scammed by the same people who scammed me. It is hard to find internet scammers, but maybe if we pool our experiences, we can help the authorities with more information.
The names I came across from my bad experience were Gideon Cole, Marco Izquierdo, Tchouho Angonou, F. S. Webb and Maktardou Diablou.
The bad check F.S. Webb sent me came from Florida. I wired cash (how stupid!) to Bronx, NY, to a man named Maktardou Diablou. Before it was picked up, Gideon Cole told me to change the name to Tchouho Angonou. Gideon Cole was the would-be renter of our apartment who set up the whole scenario. He said he was from Great Britain.
All of this didn't happen too long ago. I found out on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009, that the check was bad. It was the previous Sunday, March 1st, 2009, that I wired the cash.
Other information, probably false, that Gideon Cole gave me was his address: Mayer Collection, William Brown St., Liverpool L3 8EN; his work information: Kingsbridge Risk Solutions, Ivy House, 8-10 High Street, Twyford, Reading, RG10 9AE; his present landlord: Dr. Joseph Williams, 4 Dorville Crescent, London W6 OHJ, UK; and his present landlord's email: josephwilliams2xxp@live.com. The address of Maktardou Diablou and Tchouho Angonou was given as: 191 Swan Lane, Bronx, NY, 10472. Maybe these people have changed their names but kept some of the false addresses the same.
I want to get these names "out there" in case others have heard of them as well. Scammers need to be caught!
I replied to ad on craigslist. I decided from a few response that this may not be correct. The person who contacted me was Cole Collins. Please, Please, be careful!
ReplyDeleteI was scammed by this exact culprit! What info do you need???
ReplyDeleteThis exact person just contacted me about renting a house I have in VT. His reference was
ReplyDeletejosephwilliams2xxp@live.com.
He was "Gideon Cole" at g.cole222@gmail.com
Thank you and others like you for posting blogs such as these, I was able to recognize it as a scam and avoided further trouble.
THANK YOU!
I hope these scammers get caught, convicted and what they deserve.
I JUST received an e-mail from "Gideon Cole" and thought it was a bit too good to be true so I thought I would good the guys name.
ReplyDeleteI TRULY appreciate your blog and all the other comments.
Stephanie
Kalamazoo, MI
Thanks everyone for your posts.. My husband and I just came across the same scan, Gideon Cole wanted to rent our house, he would forward us a check for the deposite and we were to forward the remaining balance to his agent so they could furnish the house before his arrival. He gave the same references as above, new email address "wear267@gmail.com" If something sounds to good to be true....It ALWAY is!"
ReplyDeleteWe appreciate your blogs...!
My Craigslist ad was for a very small apt. The response mentioned opening an office in our state from the UK. Duh!!! So, I Googled and found y'all. confirming my suspicions. Disaster averted. Thanks, L in WA
ReplyDeleteThank you!! This crazy guy is trying to rent an apartment from me...you guys ROCK for posting...wear267@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteBEWARE!!!
Thanks guys!! I just got an email from this person "wear267@gmail.com" but this time he/she is posting the name "Xingui Cha".. this is what she said:
ReplyDeleteWith regards to the property I am inquiring about, I will like to get some more details about it, I am currently in Malaysia and am Relocating to USA to check out the best place to setup a new office for my company ( Berjaya General Insurance Bhd 18th Floor Menara BGI, Plaza Berjaya 12 Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur or P.O. Box 12433, 50778 Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia ), as we are about to open a new office in the state, so due to my non presence to inspect the Property, I will like you to provide me the following details,
# I need full details including address of the property
# Monthly rentals/security deposits.
# If utilities is added to monthly rent.
# When the property would be available.
# Mail me how much is due at lease signing.
I await your response soon.
Thanks
Xingui Cha
Just got this same response re: a craigslist posting of my rental house. Here is what he said after I sent him info on the house. I goggled the name since it was such ridiculous request of the payment arrangement and I sensed a scam. My senses were accurate:)
ReplyDeleteHello,
Thanks for the details on the Property, I am satisfied and will like to go ahead with the renting process, I will like you to go ahead and reserve the property for me.
So I will be needing the following information's so that the check payment for $2500 can be processed and posted to you soon.
Name:............
Address:.............
Phone number(cell and land):............
I want the 12 month lease to start on 1st November 2010, I also want to notify you that I have in the mean time arrange with an interior decorator (Agent) who will be handling the purchase of furniture's, entertainment system and other appliances that will be needed in the property, they will as well be in charge of moving down my luggage's down to the states. So the check for $5,200 will be sent over to you which is a relocation grant by my employer.All you need do is to deduct the deposit of $2500 and forward the difference to my Decorators so I can have the place prepared before my arrival. All applications and lease will be signed as soon as I arrive.
Also for familiarization I Am XinGui Cha, I am 55 yrs of age, a Malaysia citizen, married to a lovely lady, with a daughter (Family will stay over in Malaysia), I work with ( Berjaya General Insurance Bhd Malaysia), as a loss adjuster agent, I am a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker and also don't keep pets.
I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as a tenant with you.
I await the details.
you can reach me on this number +60172753910
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Dr.Kim Hou
03 g-16-9 mentari court
bandar sunway 41700
Malaysia
EMAIL: kimhuo2020@live.com
Regards.
Same Xingue Cha scam being attempted with me as I write this. He responded to a CL rental listing and it just smelled bad, if you know what I mean. The company he gave never verified his employment, so he was not getting any further info anyway. You have to watch everything out of Malaysia anyway. Thank you for this post, it saved me any further waste of time with this scammer!!
ReplyDeleteWell, they are at it again! Got this exact same response to a craigslist add for my rental house on 11/6/2010. Thank you for posting and glad I googled the name.
ReplyDeleteI have just received the same "good news" from XinGui Cha from Kuala Lumpur to rent an apartment in Ocean Gate NJ, using the same email address mentioned above wear267@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteGood post everyone. I just got an email back from Xingui Cha. Below you will find his decorators address. May be a good lead. Thought this looked funny. This post confirmed it. Thank you for the post and hope the info helps. This guy is supposed to call me Monday. I will try to interview him a little more.
ReplyDeleteHello
Tried to reach you for one reason or the other i cannot call USA from my phone until Monday when i get to office.
Decorator info
Marie Johnson
PO box 804
Shiloh, Georgia 31826-0804
206-350-0252
OK, I guess I am in good company.. I am on my third response from Xingui Cha and just tried to determine how to pronounce Xingui and found this.
ReplyDeleteSame MO.. craigslist rental - decorator, etc.
I will play along in case the info will help with "Fraud" Police, if any??
I received the same email reply... with same info as above ...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the details on the Property, I am satisfied and will like to go ahead with the renting process, I will like you to go ahead and reserve the property for me.
So I will be needing the following information's so that the check payment for $5700 can be processed and posted to you soon.
Name:............
Address:.............
Phone number(cell and land):............
I want the 12 month lease to start on 1st January 2011, I also want to notify you that I have in the mean time arrange with an interior decorator (Agent) who will be handling the purchase of furniture's, entertainment system and other appliances that will be needed in the property, they will as well be in charge of moving down my luggage's down to the states. So the check for $7,500 will be sent over to you which is a relocation grant by my employer.All you need do is to deduct the deposit of $5700 and forward the difference to my Decorators so I can have the place prepared before my arrival. All applications and lease will be signed as soon as I arrive.
Also for familiarization I Am XinGui Cha, I am 55 yrs of age, a Malaysia citizen, married to a lovely lady, with a daughter (Family will stay over in Malaysia), I work with ( Berjaya General Insurance Bhd Malaysia), as a loss adjuster agent, I am a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker and also don't keep pets.
I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as a tenant with you.
I await the details.
you can reach me on this number +60172753910
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Dr.Kim Hou
03 g-16-9 mentari court
bandar sunway 41700
Malaysia
EMAIL: kimhuo2021@live.com
Thank you for this page. Saved me a headache!!! Here was my email
ReplyDeleteHello,
Thanks for the details on the Property, I am satisfied and will like to go ahead with the renting process, I will like you to go ahead and reserve the property for me.
So I will be needing the following information's so that the check payment for $2800 can be processed and posted to you soon.
Name:............
Address:.............
Phone number(cell and land):............
I want the 12 month lease to start on 1st February 2011, I also want to notify you that I have in the mean time arrange with an interior decorator (Agent) who will be handling the purchase of furniture's, entertainment system and other appliances that will be needed in the property, they will as well be in charge of moving down my luggage's down to the states. So the check for $5,500 will be sent over to you which is a relocation grant by my employer.All you need do is to deduct the deposit of $2800 and forward the difference to my Decorators so I can have the place prepared before my arrival. All applications and lease will be signed as soon as I arrive.
Also for familiarization I Am Feng Huang, I am 55 yrs of age, a Malaysia citizen, married to a lovely lady, with a daughter (Family will stay over in Malaysia), I work with ( Berjaya General Insurance Bhd Malaysia), as a loss adjuster agent, I am a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker and also don't keep pets.
I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as a tenant with you.
I await the details.
you can reach me on this number +60172753910
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Dr.Kim Hou
03 g-16-9 mentari court
bandar sunway 41700
Malaysia
EMAIL: kimhuo2021@yahoo.com
Regards.
Feng Huang
03 g-16-9 mentari court
bandar sunway 41700
Malaysia
Thank you for this page, got the same exact mails- suspecting from the beginning which was confirmed at the very end on wire transferring right after receiving the check... below is the transcript..looks they chose Dec/Jan for houses in all states.
ReplyDelete---
Hello
I got a call from my company today that the payment is drop via overnight delivery and will deliver Friday morning,here is the tracking number for your reference EO 987 960 445 US .USPS is the shipper. I'll like you to deduct your money from the xx and send the remaining to my decorator.As you know my move in date is around the corner and she needs to start work immediately.
When you receive the check go to the nearest western union/money Gram transfer outlet close to you and send the difference to the below details.You'll deduct your money from the $3,500 so also the transfer charges..
I'll have my decorator contact you immediately so she can make all necessary arrangements on how to get entrance into the property so she can start work immediately. Its very important you make the transfer when you receive the check so i can get there as scheduled.Looking forward to meet you soon, Find below the information of my decorator
Name...Marie Johnson, Address PO box 140, City: Shiloh, Zip code: 31826, State:Georgia
Once again,You will have to deduct money transfer charges from the amount you are sending,I want everything to get clear to you.As soon as you get transfer done ,you will have to get back to me with the following transfer information,
MTCN CONTROL NUMBER ( 10 DIGIT NUMBER )/REFRENCE NUMBER IF MONEY GRAM (8 DIGITS)
SENDER'S FULL NAME & ADDRESS
AMOUNT SENT AFTER TRANSFER CHARGES
TRANSFER CHARGES
Thanks
Cheers.
Feng Huang
--- On Sun, 1/9/11, F H wrote:
From: F H
Hello,
Thanks for the details on the Property, I am satisfied and will like to go ahead with the renting process, I will like you to go ahead and reserve the property for me.
So I will be needing the following information's so that the check payment for $1350 can be processed and posted to you soon.
Name:............
Address:.............
Phone number(cell and land):............
I want the 12 month lease to start on 20th January 2011, I also want to notify you that I have in the mean time arrange with an interior decorator (Agent) who will be handling the purchase of furniture's, entertainment system and other appliances that will be needed in the property, they will as well be in charge of moving down my luggage's down to the states. So the check for $3,500 will be sent over to you which is a relocation grant by my employer.All you need do is to deduct the deposit of $1350 and forward the difference to my Decorators so I can have the place prepared before my arrival. All applications and lease will be signed as soon as I arrive.
Also for familiarization I Am Feng Huang, I am 55 yrs of age, a Malaysia citizen, married to a lovely lady, with a daughter (Family will stay over in Malaysia), I work with ( Berjaya General Insurance Bhd Malaysia), as a loss adjuster agent, I am a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker and also don't keep pets.
I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as a tenant with you.
I await the details.
you can reach me on this number +60172753910
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Dr.Kim Hou
03 g-16-9 mentari court
bandar sunway 41700
Malaysia
EMAIL: kimhuo2021@yahoo.com
Regards.
Feng Huang
03 g-16-9 mentari court
bandar sunway 41700
Malaysia
Can't believe I was scammed too. He said his name was Feng Hueng from Malaysia. He was going to rent my home... He wanted me to send the money to Marie Johnson in Shiloh Georgia. I started to get suspicious when he wouldn't respond to my request that the check be certified. I am so sorry if this happened to you too. I was very excited about meeting someone from Malaysia and so were my kids. Sad to have to tell them it is a scam and that there are bad people out there.
ReplyDeleteI was contacted by Feng Huang trying the same scam - this thread confirmed my suspicions that Feng was a fraud. Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteI just received an email from a FENG HUANG trying the same scam. i have a house for rent in DE on Craigslist.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed fishy to me so I googled it and found your scam alert. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS.
Ditto. Same thing happened to me, same emails, same names, same language. Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletesame here the fcking scumbag FengHuang is a moron that feels he can get by people without noticing that he uses to different gmail accounts!!! what a dumb idiot and he turns around and asks for pics, fn/ln and cell number LOLL fucking dumb fck~!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys for starting this blog!!! I live in East TX and there aren't ANY Malaysians here. That was the 1st red flag. Secondly, NO ONE is going to send a stranger a LEGIT check and expect that person to forward a $2,200 difference somewhere else. Anyways, thanks. Here's what they sent to me.
ReplyDeleteHello,
Thanks for the details on the Property, I am satisfied and will like to go ahead with the renting process, I will like you to go ahead and reserve the property for me.
So I will be needing the following information's so that the check payment for $899 can be processed and posted to you soon.
Name:............
Address:.............
Phone number(cell and land):............
I want the 12 month lease to start on 15th October 2011, I also want to notify you that I have in the mean time arrange with an interior decorator (Agent) who will be handling the purchase of furniture's that will be needed in the property, they will as well be in charge of moving down my luggage's down to the states. So the check for $3,000 will be sent over to you which is a relocation grant by my employer.All you need do is to deduct the deposit of $899 and forward the difference to my Decorators so I can have the place prepared before my arrival.All applications and lease will be signed as soon as I arrive.
Also for familiarization I Am Feng Huang, I am 55 yrs of age, a Malaysia citizen, married to a lovely lady, with a daughter (Family will stay over in Malaysia), I work with ( Berjaya General Insurance Bhd Malaysia), as a loss adjuster agent, I am a Christian, reserved in Nature, Non smoker and also don't keep pets.
I look forward to meeting you and hope to have a good relationship as a tenant with you.
I await the details.
you can reach me on this number 60172753910
Below is my present landlords information for reference :
Dr.Kim Hou
03 g-16-9 mentari court
bandar sunway 41700
Malaysia
EMAIL: kimhuo2021@yahoo.com
Regards.
Feng Huang
03 g-16-9 mentari court
bandar sunway 41700
Malaysia
On Sun, Oct 2, 2011 at 4:14 AM, bart carr wrote:
1. $599/month includes WATER for free
2. Address: 101 Greenridge, Lufkin, TX 75904....
3. Refrigerator/stove furnshed. No washer/dryer or other furniture
4. $599/month....$300 deposit
5. Electricity not included
6. Property available now
7. $899 due at signing of lease
* I can email you pics if you'd like
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2011 23:26:09 +0100
Subject: Re: $599 / 2br - FOR RENT (LUFKIN)
From: fst0000@gmail.com
To: bartswt@hotmail.com
Hello,
With regards to the property I am inquiring about, I will like to get some more details about it, I am currently in Malaysia and am Relocating to USA to check out the best place to setup a new office for my company ( Berjaya General Insurance Bhd 18th Floor Menara BGI, Plaza Berjaya 12 Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur or P.O. Box 12433, 50778 Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia ), as we are about to open a new office in the state, so due to my non presence to inspect the Property, I will like you to provide me more details,
# Is that the last price on the property?
# I need full details including address of the property and more pictures if available for the place.
# Is it Furnished?
# Monthly rentals/security deposits.
# If utilities is added to monthly rent.
# When the property would be available.
# Mail me how much is due at lease signing.
I await your response soon
Thanks
Feng Huang
Got the same email as the one above today. googled his email, and here i am. Now what? Anyway we can out scam the scammer?
ReplyDeleteis ther anyone to report them to? He just contacted me with the same deal. Should I let him go through the trouble of sending the check? why not?
ReplyDeleteJust got the same scam from Feng Hueng today!!! I already sent property information, but nothing else. Thank God I looked this up...NO, do not have them send you any check because it will be a fraud OR give them any information about your fiances! The website name was legit when I looked up the company, but when I looked up his/her name, I found this scam board. Thanks everyone for posting, just saved me some time and potential trouble!!! Do your research people :-)
ReplyDeleteJust had the same e-mail conversation with my condo that's up for rent on Craigslist ;
ReplyDeleteI did send the property details and Application with all my personal info; Address,cell phone detailed pictures from the property . Does anybody have any suggestions to prevent further damage .
Appreciate suggestions ;
Thank you all for posting !!!
Feng Hueng is currently in Texas area:
ReplyDeletethe email responding to craigslist ads is
fst0000@gmail.com
Yup, I got this Feng dude too. And Marie Johnson is his decorator/agent. These ppl. Ain't got anything betta to do. Well, I just wait for the man upstairs to deal with these kind of ppl.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Allen on this one. I'm letting him send it. As for now, its supposed to be in the states sat morn. But usps doesn't have a record of it. I wonder if they think I'm that stupid. I wish he would send me the check for 3500. I wanna see the return address, if any.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all you can believe that they are reading such blogs to attempt to stay ahead of the game. I received similiar info. concerning an online admin. position. A check was sent to me and I was instructed to cash it, keep a small percentage, and send the remaining to a POBox in Columbus, Georgia. "If something is to good to be true, most likely it isn't." I deposited the check, but I did not send them a dime nor did I touch those funds because I still needed to be sure. I noticed that the city and the zip code did not match up; I then checked the address that the fedex delivery was sent from, as well as the name. I called and asked to speak with the individual at a company and learned that her fedex account had been hacked along with checks. I suspect that this is a team of bums of more than one racial make up. The name Jeff Cole was given to me, and I have notice that cole is part of names used in other blogs. They commit these acts so regular they have to use many different and want names that are easy to remember. I also suspect that this scam is from the Georgia, Florida, regions. They will get caught because they underestimate technology and the intelligence of others. Trust me they will.
ReplyDelete