Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Steffie183]

I was wondering if anyone has run across an ad on craigslist that promises a furnished apartment for pretty cheap. When you e-mail the lister, you get the following e-mail:

"Thanks for your email and it is my gladness to hear from you.I am Rev.Johnson Jiwon,the owner of the Apartment you are making enquiry of.Actually I resided in the Apartment with my family,such as my wife and my only daughter before, and presently we had packed due to my transfer from my working place and now situated in west Africa Nigeria and presently my apartment is still available for rent,the rent including the utilities like hydro,washer and security,it is furnished.More so Now, i went for a Crusade in Nigeria with my wife and only daughter like i told you and i will like you to get in touch with my wife asap for more discussion as She is with the keys and the document to the Apartment.Pls i want you to note that,i am a kind and honest man and also i spent a lot on my property that i want to give you for rent,so i will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this apartment and want you to treat it as your own,is that taken,it is not the money the main problem is i want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad to see it neat when i came for a check up.i do that once in a while.I also want you to let me have trust in you as i always stand on my words.Email my wife Sydney Jiwon, ([email protected]) and she will attends to you better.
Thanks and God bless you "

I've run across 2 of these ads and got 2 e-mails that are exactly the same but different names. One was from July 12 and the other just today. The craigslist link is: http://seoul.craigslist.co.kr/apa/1894296014.html

I am almost positive this is some sort of scam, I'm not sure how though. Has anyone else heard about it?

Edit: I just realized that the last names are the same for the husband and wife in the more recent one, Park. A Park cannot marry another Park in Korea unless there is some special documentation proving they are not related in any way from what I understand. Unless one is a foreigner....because the other one is definitely not a native speaker!

[conrad2]

Nothing gets by you, hey Steffie?

[Steffie183]

Maybe I should clearify: I am really wondering how it is a scam that they could get away with? I won't be taking them up on their offer, but I want to know a possible way it could work.

For example, do they arrange for everything to be done, set down a large key money, and run off with it? Then, since the victim is a foreigner, they can't be caught? I mean, you would have to be very stupid to fall for something like this. There are some pretty dumb scams out there but in order to work in this country, you need a college education and I hope no one with a college education would fall for a scam like this.

[Nester Noodlemon]

[blackjack]

[murmanjake]

I don't think Steffie's curiosity is unfounded.

How does the scam work?

I had a friend who strung one just like this along for a while. Never did get to the part where he lost money/his identity/pride/organs or anything else. Wish I'd kept up with him to find out how it ended.

So what's the deal?

[shaunew]

Ok, I'll play, just sent an email stating that I am interested in the apartment. I used a fake email 2bigithurts at hot mail dot com. With the name Ben Dover see if they catch on.

[Otherside]

How does the scam work?
Reverend Cho/Park/Kim, is neither a man of the cloth nor a Korean. He's a Nigerian living in Lagos. You will contact the wife, who will happen to out of Korea too. They might say she'll be returning soon and have recieved a lot of interest, so need a deposit to hold the place for you. They'll show you some pictures, you'll be asked for a deposit, to be paid via Western Union and you'll never hear from them again... costs nothing to post an ad on craigslist, and if just 1/100 people who they contact take the bait, they're in clear.

In this email you posted, the common Korean name is Jiwon (Johnson and his wife Sydney) I believe Jiwon isn't a Korean family name, more likely the guy behind the scam saw a name such as Kim Jiwon, and assumed Kim was the first name.

Regarding the issue about people marrying with the same surname. They only need proof they aren't related, if they are from the same clan/hometown. People marrying with the same surname's is EXTREMELY common in Korea, and considering over 1/6 of the population is Kim, this is not surprising, Park, Lee, Choi, Jeong are also well represented. Two Kim's/Lee's/Park's getting married would raise about as many eyebrows in Korea as 2 people from California meeting and getting married in NYC.

[ChilgokBlackHole]

[Steve_Rogers2008]

another tipoff is the claim he 'went for a crusade in Nigeria.' He's either a Knight Templar, or even scarier.... a Mormon!

[murmanjake]

[djsmnc]

I hope it's not a scam! I just sent him my IDs, bank information including passwords, 2,000,000 won, American social security number and my infant niece as collateral!

[samd]

[sheriffadam]

isnt it 419eater.com ?

[RMNC]