It all started with a housing emergency, the recommendation of a friend, and some minor evidence of truth. But that was only the beginning.
I was in a state close to homelessness recently, practically dying for a place to live, but still trying to find the just right one, acting Goldilocks and avoiding ones that were too expensive, not big enough, or housed by freaks. Most were denying me for one reason or another, usually because I don't speak German or I am "too American", but that's life.
A friend of mine, C., had found a place in Kruezberg, but then couldn't take this one place that she heard about in the same building. It sounded strange, she admitted, but she had seen a flat in the same building with this person's name on it, so she thought it might be legitimate. So, I emailed. Corinna got back to me, nothing sketchy, so I wasn't suspicious yet. I asked when I could see it, and she said that she couldn't let me see it because she was out of the country, but could send me some photos. They are the photos that you are seeing in this post. To this day, I have no idea where these photos came from, or who really lives in this place.
I told C. that I thought it was getting a little sketchy, so she suggested skyping with her, which is what she was going to do to check it out, and then seeing what happened. We made a skype date, and I got online. Immediately she's messaging me, but not calling me. I call her, trying to hear a voice, get a face, something to substantiate her claims, but nothing is really working. She answers, but then immediately hangs up. Right away I call her on the scam, trying to figure it out. She instantly gets offended, saying that I should look somewhere else if I am going to be so arrogant - clearly not the appropriate word for the situation, so I know right away that her English isn't good. I'm about to hang up, but I need a place to live, and it just might be a strange situation. So I apologize, explain that I'm not about to give my money to someone without knowing that it's a real thing. So, I start asking some questions to get some more information about her, her situation, and this mysterious flat that she has for rent.
First I ask where she is, she gives a simple one-word answer. I ask what she's doing there, again a simple one-word answer. I ask why she chose to live there, again a simple one-word answer, and a pattern develops which continues throughout our conversation. For every question, I get a simple one- or two-word answer that simply does not verify that this is a real person. Also, she's not talking like I would in this situation. Of course I can talk until the apocalypse comes and saves everyone from my rampant rambling, but there's no information. She says she's a nanny, and I share that I work in a kindergarten. No shared stories of working with children, no details. And people who work with kids are friendly - generally, we love to talk, and love to talk about our kids. Which ones like which foods, how each sleeps, what each likes to wear. We love them, and love sharing about them, just as if they were our own. It's a sickness that you love to be inflicted with. But here, there is no sharing, no stories, no complaints about parents (another common caregiver indulgence). I ask more questions, but still get simple answers with as few words as possible. My suspicion increases, but I just keep remembering that C. saw a flat with this name in her building. And wouldn't it be just too perfect to live in the same building as my friend C., in this beautiful flat.
But suddenly, we're cut off. She says that she has to restart her computer, I say ok, and she signs off. For over an hour. My internet doesn't work too well in my temporary flat, so I take my computer and move the whole operation to my friend's flat about 30 mins away. It isn't until I've been there for almost an hour, drinking tea and watching Downton Abbey for almost an hour, that finally Corinna comes back on. Frustrated by the wait and by the lack of answers for my questions, I finally start asking about the photos, the flat, and the situation of renting it. Corinna says that her mother owns it, but that she's renting it out.
As you can see, there are two bedrooms, and she's trying to rent out both of them. But she's in the UK, she says, so she can't show them. Remember, up to this point, I have only seen the photos, received and sent emails, and had a skype instant message chat. No voice conversation, no video chat, no opportunity to view it for myself or verify anything. But, now out of sheer curiosity, I push forward. There are two bathrooms, so I ask about them.
I try to find out which room goes with which bathroom, and Corinna seems to have no idea what I'm talking about. I ask about what I see in the kitchen. Does it all come with the flat, or did she take it with her? What about the clothes and other belongings? Will they fill the closets so I can't put my stuff in? She sort of half reassures me that she took them out.
So far, I'm not really believing a word. Around this time in our conversation, I start chatting on facebook with my friend L., who lives and works at a kindergarten in Munich. I'm telling her about this really strange conversation I'm having on facebook. I explain that it's really suspicious, but that Corinna hasn't yet asked for my passport or for any money, so I'm still evaluating. Generally, scammers always ask for things inappropriately soon, trying to get something out of you so they can steal your money, identity, or both. L. tells me that it sounds just like someone who stole a whole bunch of her money when she first moved abroad. I assure L., the woman hasn't asked for anything inappropriate. L.'s only answer is also one-word: "yet".
As L. is telling me to back off and forget it, I ask Corinna how I would pay her rent, if she's out of town. She tells me that I would send it through my bank account. How would I get in the flat? She would send me the keys via courier. She neglects to inform me of which would come first: the bank account, or the keys. After talking to L., I'm a little more willing to believe that the bank account will be exchanged first, and the keys will never arrive. Upon L.'s suggestion, I say that although the room sounds nice, I really do need to see it first before I can move into it. Corinna's response: I understand, but I cannot show it since I am in another country, and I have to work so I cannot just come back to Berlin to show it to you. I then ask the question that I have had on my mind for over an hour: if your mother owns it, and you are the one renting it out while you are out of the country, then why can't your mother show me the flat. And finally, the story starts to unravel.
Her mother is dead, she claims, and I mentally debate the reasons for putting her mother in the present tense earlier, although clearly her English leaves much to be desired. I, also mourning a parent, say that I am sorry for her loss, but ask if she doesn't have any friends or other relatives that could show the flat while she's away. Generally, if you're from a city, you have people there who will do favors for you. I can immediately list about 20 people off hand who would do this for me in my home city, without question, and of course expecting a favor owed upon my return, which I would happily repay. What about that, I wonder? She freaks out, immediately tells me to stop asking questions, to look for another flat, and that she is no longer interested in renting to someone like me, the same claims she made earlier in the conversation when I said that I was not interested in a scam, but a legitimate flat being rented. Using her mother's "death" as a reason, she stops all communication, and is no longer interested in me, but I, of course, am now completely disinterested in anything else "she" has to say to me.
L. hears all of this, and is just as fascinated as I am. Asking for the skype info, she creates a fake skype account to test "Corinna's" story: that she is a native German/Berliner who moved to the UK and needs to rent out her flat. L.'s fluent German tells the whole story: all of "her" German is clearly google translated. Whoever she is, she's not German or from the UK or the US. And L. suspects, just as I did when we were talking about working with children, that she is in fact a he. It's hard to explain why, but there is just a certain way of talking that is clearly not female. All my suspicions are confirmed, and I immediately block "Corinna" on skype, and delete "her" emails, until now, when I resurrected them for the photos for this story.
But what about the flat in C.'s building that had the same name? Clearly, this person stole their name, claimed that their flat was hers, and started trying to rent it through the internet, where you can create an entire identity for free, no waiting. I immediately bring C. into the conversation, and we're still working on contacting the woman in her building about getting the police involved on the possible theft of her identity. I hope nothing was truly lost on her part, and of course hope against hope that no one believed the scammer and got conned out of a great deal of money, but it is possible.
So if you are looking for a place to live, remember to ask crucial questions, look for suspicious behavior, check on everything, and do not ever give your money, passport, or any information about yourself until it's a sure thing. Even if it seems legit, check again and again. And really, just don't ever rent or buy a place to live without seeing it first. Unfortunately, that's how darling L. lost a great deal of money, and how I almost got caught in, too. It's better to be safe than sorry, kids, and in a dangerous world like this one, be careful who you trust.
