I found Tom Benson's ad to rent an apartment on Broadway and 49th on Craig's List and inquired about it. He said he was the doorman of an apartment building across from the Crowne Plaza and he rented out apartment for owners were away. He sent an extensive email listing the apartment details and procedures to rent the apartment. He also sent me a renter's agreement to fill out, but asked me to wire the deposit and half the amount to him to secure the dates. The renter's agreement looked official and included the name and address of the apartment's owner, Particia Q Kihlmire.
It sounded too good to be true, so I asked for a reference. He sent me a person by the name cali. [email protected] from Italy. I then Googled her name and the owner's name, but nothing really came up, which I thought was odd. I then Googled his name and found complaints about him.
Thank you for submitting your stories, I came very close to falling for his scam. I just hope this helps other people.
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