Wednesday, January 26, 2011
News: Students are as stupid as you suspected
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From the same city where students have been leaving their doors unlocked for the past few years, even as they're bombarded with reports about creepy creepers walking through unlocked doors and watching university students sleep comes this predictable tale about "gullible students" falling prey to a lack of common sense.
Yes, it's the good old scam of "Hi, I'm not in the country and you can't check out the product yourself; Please send a lot of money please?" And, of course, the students send the money.
This excerpt from UNews.ca
In Halifax, where the demand for housing is so high, students are more willing to believe what they read online. This may be daunting when you're searching for the perfect sublet.Read the article for more on these scams, including this interesting time-travel tidbit:
"You start to get panicky," says Wynne-Jones.
Panic and lack of knowledge are what these scams rely on.
"It comes down to reading things carefully, recognizing what is obviously bad practice and using common sense," says Wynne-Jones.
Wynne-Jones and Hoops' both advise to steer clear of landlords who don't want to meet you in person, or landlords who insist on sending the keys in the mail.
Hoops' and her friend will be more careful as they continue to search for an apartment. They have decided not to use Kijiji or Craigslist.
"I think it is better to go [into apartment buildings], get an application and do it yourself," she says.
They are a variation on a scam that has been around since the 1980s and they all have the same variables. A great apartment on Kijiji or Craigslist, a landlord who claims to be out of the country, and the requirement that money be wired in exchange for keys.Anyone who remembers using Kijiji back in the 1980s, raise your hand.
This post was written by: Gord McCord
Gord McCord, webmaster at You Suck at Kijiji, makes fun of funny things on Kijiji. Do not take him too seriously. Also do not take yourself too seriously. Follow him on Twitter
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1 Responses to “News: Students are as stupid as you suspected”
January 26, 2011 at 4:25 PM
had this happen to me! lol i didnt fall for it i got a good laugh tho!
heres a copie of the email buddy sent me
"Thanks for writing regarding my house, before we proceed on this rent I'd like to make a brief introduction about myself. I am Janice James by name, a man of God, am 46 years old, married and i have a lovely Daughter. The nature of my work has made me much of a traveler and has really exposed me to different types of race.. My Family and i moved down to United Kingdom where we work as a volunteer with the Open Doors - Serving persecuted Christians worldwide. Here is the site for more detail about why we are here in United Kingdom.. (http://www.opendoorsuk.org/) which is the reason why am renting out the room.The room is located at at address below.
Address: 240 Farnham Gate Road & 25 Montgomery Court
Halifax Nova Scotia
B3M 4K6 Canada.
Located between: Near Farnham Gate Rd. & Dunbrack St.
Price / Rate: $800 Per Month
Security Deposit: $400
This unit is Available for immediate move in. It's a Modern 2 bedroom & 2 bathroom 950 square foot apartment, strategically located in a very cool and lovely environment with five (5) appliances including dish washer with in-suite laundry room and plenty of storage space. Professional and mature neighbors ensure peaceful living arrangements. Utilities such as heater, washer/dryer, electricity, Internet are also included in the rent.
I am looking for a peaceful and responsible person to rent the room and also help me look after the whole apartment. The tenant will be the only occupant of the whole apartment and will have full privacy. We intend to stay for at least 4 years over here so the room will be available for 4 years and we are ready to rent for any period of time and we will give a notice of 2 months before coming back. I have received some proposals regarding the rent because it is located in a very good area, but I still have to make sure it is rented out to someone who can take good care of it. so if you know you are capable of the task, i will like you to take a drive down to the location and see the apartment for you to be sure it is what you are looking for because since we are already here in UK you will not be able to physically see the inside of the place until we have concluded on the arrangement. because i moved down here with the keys/documents of the room as we are not able to get a good agent to help us handle the rent and we don't want our place misused in our absence by just handling the rent to any agent. Once we have concluded on the rental arrangement , i will be shipping the keys and documents to you through DHL courier express delivery.
Let me know if you are still interested in proceeding with the rent so i can email you the Interior pictures so you will have an idea of how lovely the inside looks and the Rental Application form and we can proceed with the arrangement.
Await your reply so that we can proceed.
Janice.."
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