Scammed again
Honestly, I must have a big S on my virtual forehead for “:sucker:”. Last year, we stayed in a gorgeous condo with my parents but never got our deposit back. It was a big chunk of change as it was a full month’s rent. The man who owned the company that the agent worked for turned out to be an A1 crook and it has now turned into a criminal case involving extradition, hundreds of victims, very messy. I doubt we’ll ever see a penny of that money. All of this has been unfolding slowly since about the end of last year. So you’d think we’d learned our lesson about dodgy real estate on the web. Well I’ve done it again. I gave some money to a non existent person for a non existent apartment in New York for our weekend. This time we are only out the 3 nights worth of rental, but I feel incredibly stupid and annoyed. So for my friends to whom I recommended Craigslist as a great place to fine deals on vacation rentals, please be careful. I have rented successfully from them in the past so they are not all crooks but it is a tremendous leap of faith I realize now to send someone you’ve never met money in the hopes that they will do what they say they will. So no more deals for me, I will just spend the extra and potentially save myself hundreds in money lost not to mention the aggravation and inconvenience. I feel badly for all the honest people out there trying to rent their places out. All I can say is Jane Synovec, if you really exist, I hope you use our money for something stupid and it brings you no joy.
Oh Hiromi, I'm so sorry to hear that this happened. Damn cybercrooks! My uncle and his wife had a related (I won't say "similar") experience. They did a housing trade with some folks in Paris. The Paris digs they landed in were not up to the description (not by a long shot), while the Parisian couple who got to stay in my uncle's beautiful Boston-area duplex got exactly what was described to them. It's a shame when one's trusting instincts are punished. I like your admonition to aka Jane Synovec, though. May she get what she deserves!
Thanks Katie, it was very frustrating but what can you do. I am hoping to do the house swap thing at some point too, it never occurred to me that there could be fraud there too.
In my ex[erience the house-swap or house-borrowing thing is better done by word of mouth rather than websites (ie friends of friends give at least some sort of moral guarantee)
but to add to my comment above, most continental Europeans would not define furnishings and household equipment in the same way as Americans or Londoners would. Generally speaking "high end" isn't as high end as here (typically bathrooms and kitchens). Creaky wood floors are considered "charming" (but having been back in a charming Parisian apartment in April, I realised I can't deal with those anymore!!), other example is the bedding and the furniture. Things tend to me much more contemporary over here (vs in the continent, where they tend to confuse antiques with just plain old!!). Some has to do with taste, but not just that…
And not to speak of diverging definitions of cleanliness!!
Hi Hiromi,
I don't know you but thanks for your post about Jane Synovec. we are a young french couple who is going to visit New york in september. To save money, we wanted to rent an apartment via craislist and guess who wants me to make a deposit via western union?
I won't reply to him or her anymore…
Really, thank you!!!
Kind regards,
Valerie
Wow, I am so glad I was able to save you so much grief. I hope you find somewhere nice to stay, have a lovely holiday.
Thanks to your notes about JANE SYNOVEC, I am trying different options. She also asked me for a deposit plus 1/2 of the rent, and to send it western union to her sister in Terra Houte, Indiana. I have told her that I was uncormfortable sending money to her sister via western union….so we will see… But I am very cautious! Thanks for the heads up!!
Pam, I'm not sure the apartment really exists. I did see some gorgeous photos but really they could have been of anywhere. After they picked up the money, (mailed to her husband in Vermont)they said there was something wrong and we should try it again. Also, the address we sent it to turned out to be the abandoned police station in that town. The entire thing was shady from beginning to end, she was really friendly in her e mails though.
Wow, I'm glad I googled here. She is about to send me a Western Union form. Whew…..thanks, everyone, for posting.
I'm glad to be able to do my part. I contacted Craigslist right after I got my first response on this post telling them about the scam. So far, I have heard nothing. I guess since they say in their FAQs not to respond to Western Union requests, they figure they are covered.
apparently, this jane synovec is still running her scam. i just saw her craigslist ad a few days ago.
Thanks muddy, it's amazing that she hasn't even changed her name to run the same scam. If you were a criminal, you should google your name often, don't you think?
God I wish I saw that post before I send 300 $ to that same jane synovec for a vacation rental in NY…
I knew deep down , I don't even know how I could be so stupid .
I got a mail telling me that her sister ( indiana ) got a very grave accident on her way to the western union office !!! That was too much …
Be aware !!
I know exactly what you mean, I kind of knew this was a bad thing to be doing. I'm sorry it happened to you too, hopefully other people will see it before it's too late.
well… i just actually emailed Jane Synovec a few minutes ago… phew…
i guess i'll just have to find something else…
i cant believe she is still out there…
28 August 2010
Thanks for the post. GF just about ready to send $480.00 via Western Union to good ole Jane Synovec!
Someone should call the Feds. It's interstate and it's fraud!!
Glad I could help. I agree, it is fraud, but apparently there is no way to trace it since she can just go to any Western Union to pick up the money. I’ve also contacted Craigslist thinking that they could at least ban her from the site but no response.