I lost €1000 in Rental Scam and I Chase The Scammer in Streets of Barcelona! Full Story + Video

“There is no use pretending it didn’t happen”. I am a 29 years old skinny guy who recently moved to Barcelona for work. I used to live in many different countries including London and South East Asia and I am someone who doesn’t easily trust people and is rather careful when dealing with money. I was also well aware of the scale of thieves and scammers living in Barcelona.

Sadly, I still managed to get into a rental scam in the value of 1000 EUR. But the scam didn’t happen at that time. That’s the problem with scams. You just don’t know till it’s confirmed. I visited police stations for 4 times and I ended up chasing the scammer through the streets of Barcelona for 20 mins before he got arrested by a random police officer. I documented the entire story of the scam, steps I took to discover if I got scammed and I recorded a couple of videos while chasing the scammer.

Let’s start with the end. This is the video, a tiny part of the entire story you will read about in this article:

There are many victims of rental scams so I am sharing this story with the mission to spread awareness about it and how you or anyone else could potentially avoid similar uncomfortable situations and losses.

First thing when you move to a new country is to get a nice apartment, flat or room to stay in. I posted an inquiry that I am searching for a flat in Barcelona with a maximum budget of 1000 EUR/month in three relevant groups about renting rooms/flats on Facebook and in the meantime, I rented a temporary single room in the centre of Barcelona.

Renting a place in Barcelona is a nightmare, the prices skyrocketed in recent years for more than 60%. I didn’t receive any relevant offer except a few comments with useless affiliate links/ads. I started to be comfortable with my single room and I stopped actively searching for a while.

One month later since my initial Facebook posts, a strange profile called June Crawford with a pretty fitness lady in the profile photo contacted me on Facebook that she has a ‘very nice remodelled apartment near Parallel’ to rent. She was a member of groups where I posted my Facebook inquiries. She asked me a couple of questions regarding my needs and sent me photos o the place. She quoted an affordable price for the flat located in the centre of Barcelona: 750 EUR including bills. She told me to contact her on Whatsapp and added: “and let me know you’re Petr for the flat so I Can save your # and we talk on there” — which I would now translate to: “no unwanted messages from strangers allowed because I scam many other people with this number”.

We moved our conversation to WhatsApp. I introduced myself and we agreed to meet the next day to view the apartment. Due to the low price, I obviously wanted to act quickly but I was also aware of the motto: It’s Too Good To Be True. The conversation ended from her side by saying: “You’re more than welcome! Thank you for your interest in my humble casa”.

First meeting to View the Apartment

When I arrive at the address of the flat, I informed June that I am outside. To my surprise, a guy came out from the door, welcomed me and introduced himself as Thomas. He told me he is the owner of the flat and that he is moving to his girlfriend’s house as a reason why he is renting this place out. The place was on the 3rd floor, it looked decent and the price was undervalued which I suspected together with the Facebook account. He also mentioned that he could help me with relocation and moving my stuff there. I told Tom that I will think over the weekend about it and let him know. Despite the price was great, the location didn’t fit me so well and I had other concerns like how I will carry my electric scooter 🛴to the 3rd floor with tiny stairs every day.

That evening I knew that I am actually talking on WhatsApp with Tom and not with the fitness girl June Crawford from a strange Facebook profile but I expected she is his girlfriend and just helping him to rent the place. I shared with Tom my concern with carrying the scooter and he replied: “…that was one fo the main things I was considering when purchasing this property and it’s not a problem for me carrying it up…” (he is talking about his bike that I saw in his apartment). I decided I could give it a try since I wouldn’t be able to find anything better than that. I suggested if I could move there in three weeks 7th March and he replied: “7th of March is perfect I had hoped to rent it from March 4th” and he added: “and like I said if you need help moving your stuff in I can help you with that also”.

Confirming the Apartment

This is the place, nothing fancy

I eventually confirmed my interest in renting this place: “I would be interested to rent it from the 8th March”. He suggested if I can meet him today to make it official “That sounds great! Do you want to meet up today to make it official?” I told him I can’t and suggested tomorrow instead. I asked him to guide me about the process and how it works to make sure it’s all legit and I won’t get into trouble:

“So I need the exact day you want to move out also — and a copy of your ID to include in the contract/receipt. When we meet up tomorrow I’ll give you a document saying you reserved the flat from March 8th and plan to Rent it until x day, the deposit is 100% refundable on the day you move out you get back all of it at the same time you return the keys. The rent must be paid each month in cash by the 5th of the month at latest”

I suggested a flexible termination after 3 months with 1-month notice for my convenience. He replied nicely: “We could write the contract for a minimum of 3 months with 30 days notice to move out early if you want. So March 7th — June 7th with option to extend.”

He then asked for a copy of passport: “Please send me over a photo of your passport so I can write up the documents today”. I used to send my passport to all kind of services and people online and offline (hotels, work, creating new accounts in certain websites etc) so I shared a copy of the main page with him and didn’t pay any attention that it could be potentially dangerous as I learnt later.

He confirmed the meeting: “Tomorrow when we meet we’ll both sign it and I’ll give you a receipt also for the deposit”. I asked for more details about the deposit and he replied: “So deposit needs to be paid at the time you sign the papers to reserve the flat since I have other people interested as well. Your first months rent is paid on the 7th when you move in”

He confirmed the final amount: “Rent is 650/month and 100 utilities, so the deposit is just 2x months rent (650x2)”. I suggested to pay less deposit: “Awesome, would it be ok to pay 1/2 deposit 650 for the reservation and second deposit (650+rent) when I move in the 7th March?”

He helped to break it down and I agreed to his terms: “I could break it up for you to help out the payments to 1000 now and the other 300 when you move in, so the 7th you would have to pay 585€. For first months rent and then 300€ towards the deposit to complete it”.

We agreed and we scheduled a meeting the next day. We had a small talk about other sources of money since I didn’t have 1000 EUR that day and I waited for my salary. He showed interest in bitcoin: “I can accept bitcoin too. Even for the monthly rent”. Anyway, I managed to get my salary that day so I told him I will pay with euros. I also told the news that I will be moving to a new place to my friends but I shared my concern that I am suspecting it as “it’s too good to be true”. I asked them how to avoid scams because I wouldn’t like to be homeless. We agreed that it’s important to verify his ID and to get the receipt of the payment. I also informed my current landlord that I might be moving out but shared same suspicious, emphasizing the price and strange Facebook account but instead, she told me that she is so happy that I am doing so well, found a job, learning Spanish and managed to have a place for myself. She used to live here for +3 years so it made me a bit relax.

Prior to the meeting I did some research about the location and I tried to search the name of the June Crawford on Google, Facebook and LinkedIn but the only thing I found is that she also posted an offer about the flat in one of the groups where I posted my initial inquiry and she created the post the same day when she contacted me. This was good for me to go ahead with the meeting as proof that the flat exists and that the person is actively/publicly looking to rent the place out. From the history of my browsing, I also tried to search if I can recognise if the Facebook profile is fake or if I can find when it was created but it’s probably impossible.

Before the Meeting to Pay 1000 EUR Deposit in Cash

Tom sent me on WhatsApp the contract for a review. You can read it below as well. It looked decent and professional. The other problem with Barcelona is that if you go through agencies, they will charge you equivalent of 1-month rent as a fee which could be hundreds of euros extra. That’s why I preferred to find someone directly and save on the fees. I did it in London and it worked well for many years and I did the same here with the single room.

I asked to add the missing door number: “So it’s C/ Sant Bertan, 6. What is the door number?” which he replied: “3–2 let me add that in I forgot”.

I expected we will meet in the place I will rent but he suggested to meet near that flat in McDonald. I agreed about the location and asked him to bring his 🔴ID/passport with him: “Can you bring also your ID/passport so I could take a photo. Hope you don’t mind”. He replied: “I made a copy of it already onto the contract 🤝👍" and he added: “That way you have the printed copy on the paper its self”. I didn’t pay attention to it as I was pretty sure he understood that I want to see his ID in that meeting.

I was also pretty stressed that day as I punctured my scooter’s tire on the way there and I had a full schedule till late night after our meeting. I wanted to Google a couple of more things, including photos of the location because I was aware that people could just book an Airbnb place and pretend they are the owners but I had no time for that. I withdrew 1000 EUR from ATM on the way there. Normally, I wouldn’t do this and I would withdraw it with him only if everything is okay but due to the time pressure and all circumstances I just did it prior. I already told him about bringing ID and we were meeting in a public location so I didn’t worry much, but not having cash with me would give me more power and time in case something wouldn’t be right.

Meeting to Pay the Deposit 1000 EUR

We met in the McDonald to sign the pre-agreement. We sit near the exit inside the restaurant. He took his two copies of the pre-agreement that we agreed on earlier that day. The details were correct and he attached both IDs (mine passport and his driving licence). Despite both IDs were a bit blur, the photo on his driving licence wasn’t recognisable at all and it looked like intentionally blurred. I immediately pointed on this and he mentioned that it’s the printer and showed me that my ID is similarly bad. So 🔴I asked if he has the ID with him. He responded he didn’t have the ID with him as he attached it to the copy. I took my driving licence from my wallet to check what columns are for what details. I noticed his driving licence expired in 2018. I pointed on this as well and he just pretended he didn’t know but that’s what he has. The last strange thing on the ID was his name as Eric Thomas Wellington and the signature was Eric Wellington despite he presented himself as Thomas. The signature looked like it was printed there copying the same style as in the driving licence. This was enough to back off from the agreement but unfortunately, my only condition was to verify the ID and I didn’t make any plan how to get out of an uncomfortable situation such this.

I told him I need to verify the ID before giving him any money. 🔴He told me he has his ID at home and suggested we walk to the flat so he can show me that everything is alright. Since it was only 5 mins away, we walked there. When he stands up, I noticed he had under his opened jacket a money belt and it got my attention for some reason — I knew I am with a scammer but I didn’t know how could I back off and I was probably curious what would come next. We had some small talks on the way to the apartment: I told him there are many scammers in Barcelona (hoped he could reveal) but he asked what scammers. I couldn’t recall how it works despite I read some materials about rent scams a couple of days ago. He tried to gain trust by the small talks and when we arrived at the address of the renting apartment, he pointed on the door number so I can verify that everything is correct and we continued to go inside the flat in the third floor. He showed me the keys and that everything is ok and nothing to worry about. He also told me twice that he could help me to move my stuff. I asked him 🔴 ”So do you have the ID?” expecting he will give it to me since we are in his home.

To my shock, he said he has it in his girlfriend’s house. I couldn’t believe that. I was so silly and I realized that I am with a scammer face to face in his own territory alone with 1000 EUR in my pocket, iPhone, Mac and Xiaomi scooter. In some perspective, the story could make sense since he was moving to his girlfriend’s house but I knew I screw it up and I had no idea how I could reject him politely in his territory and after the time he invested to me (writing contract, viewing the apartment, reserving the flat for me,…). My only condition was to validate his ID and I failed and I ended up in a potentially dangerous place. For my safety, I decided to pretend it’s ok and I gave him the money with the feeling that I won’t see them again. I took the contract, thanked him and politely asked him if he 🔴can send me a valid ID on WhatsApp as soon as he will have it. He said he will do it in the evening.

Further Research and Following up with Him

I felt miserable that I failed to validate the only thing I cared about and still handled him my money. I sent him a polite message pretending everything was ok: “Thanks again Tom for your time! 🔴 Please send me your valid ID when you can as we agreed.”

That same night, when I finally arrived home, I sit down and dig into the internet searching for the location and the person:

• I searched the address on Google Maps
• I searched the address on Airbnb and Idealista
• I searched the profile June Crawford again including her likes and groups
• I searched again if I can verify if the account is fake
• I searched the address following the word “scam”
• I searched the flat using Google images search where you upload an image of the flat and it will show you if the same photo is used anywhere else on the internet
• I searched the driving licence format (and noticed his age there was 30 but I’d say he looked around 40)
• I searched his fake identity Eric Thomas Wellington in many different formats (social media, scam, fraud etc)
• I searched how to get a fake Facebook account

I went so far that purchased a fake Facebook account for 5 USD to send a message to June Crawford if the property that I just rented is still available so I could verify if they reserved it for me or if they allow others still to visit the property. The fake FB account I purchased got blocked by Facebook before I received any message so the experiment failed. I couldn’t find anything useful on the internet that would prove that I was scammed. And that’s the problem. You don’t know if you get scammed before you get scammed. It’s just so hard to verify. It could still be ok and it was just a matter of circumstances that he didn’t have his ID and everything could be just fine and I would move 3 weeks later. You just don’t know… but you can predict or avoid or decrease the probability and potentially losses— this could be the case of running away when he didn’t bring his ID or limiting the amount you pay for the deposit.

The next day my landlord texted me when I wanna move out. I replied: “I was there yesterday, paid the deposit but honestly my instinct still tells me it’s a scam 😖 thinking to go police to verify”. I told her the entire story. I also confirmed that I had this feeling all the time that it’s strange and continued trying to justify my action: “Probably I just wanted to verify that my senses are correct and paid him the deposit and accepted the risk.”. I also share some knowledge about how I think this scam works. I told her I will go to the police to check if they can find his name in the register of owners and also asked my landlord to give me 2–3 days for confirmation if I will move out or not.

The next day I continued searching the internet but no luck. In the next two days, 🔴 Tom didn’t react on my thank you message and didn’t send his ID as we agreed upon.

On the weekend, I visited a police station near the flat’s location. I told them the story and my suspicious but they refused to help me and argued that no crime happened yet and that I will have to wait till the contract will be valid. That was a bit stupid because I would have to pay another 1050 EUR for the rest of the deposit and one-month rent to find out if I would be able to access the flat or not. I asked her if she could check who is the owner of the property and if it matches the person I signed the contract with but she told me they can’t. On the end, the only thing she checked is the fake ID in the database. It was my first experience with police and reporting crime. I was sad to hear that they can not prevent thieves and I knew I am on my own if I won’t be able to get any proofs.

After the police, I texted Tom since he didn’t react on my last message and didn’t send the ID as he promised: “Tom??”. Surprisingly, he replied: “Hey Petr how are you doing”. I reacted unhappily: 🔴 ”Good thanks, could you please send me the ID as we discussed?”. He replied: “I can send the same photo from the contract if you want as I have it already scanned in like a digital copy”. But the problem was that his ID was expired but I agreed and also politely requested a valid ID: 🔴 ”Awesome, please do but I would also appreciate valid ID”. I thought it’s good he is still in touch with me. After that, I dig into the internet again and tried to find property owners. I found only paid services for 25 EUR but I doubted that it would be enough for police to help me so I decided it’s not useful. The next day, I angrily sent another request for ID to Tom as he failed to send anything so far: 🔴”Tom kindly send it today including the valid ID, thanks”. He replied: “Will do this evening. Not at home rn”. ****That evening, I sent him a reminder about the ID: 🔴”Hi, please don’t forget to send it tonight”. Of course, he failed to send me his ID again so I searched Google again and I kept in mind to never give up. If I am right and he is really a scammer, there has to be something about the FB profile, the person, the fake ID, the location… it’s impossible that I would be the only one falling to this scam. He knew always what to say and he had all the arguments covered so there have to be other people who asked him similar questions like me.

BINGO! First PROOF!

I FOUND IT! I AM SO HAPPY! After one week of searching, I found a post from Alexandrea Crawford (her middle name is June so ~Alexandrea June Crawford) warning others that there is a scammer using her ID and that several victims contacted her already. That’s what I was searching for the entire time! The post was dated from 4 December 2019! The date I found it was 23rd March 2020! Almost 4 months ago! I was wondering why I couldn’t find this post before since I searched the name june crawford many times even prior the first meeting. I could avoid all of it!

I contacted Alexandrea to learn more about what happened. I sent her 5 messages within a week and I also reached her on LinkedIn to get some attention from her but she replied only once: “Hi, I just saw your message on LinkedIn” and it looked like she does not understand the urgency of my case and she is not interested in helping or connecting me to the people who already got scammed (eventually, it was just a misunderstanding which I clarified on the end of this article). I also sent this news to my landlord and told her I will stay and asked her not to cancel my rent. That evening I also put all the communication and proof in one single document so I could go to the police the next day with new details.

In the meantime, Tom replied on my reminder: “Hi Petr, I’m travelling at the moment and 🔴 couldn’t find the scan of my ID on my phone just the photo from the contract sorry about that but when you come to move in 🔴 I will bring a current ID with me for you to see in person” and added: “at the same time as you sign the rental agreement”. When you travel, you should obviously have your ID with you so this message about failing to find a scan of his ID makes absolutely no sense 😈.

But I already knew he is laying and I had it confirmed so I politely replied: “Hi Tom, okay 🔴 send it please when you can and enjoy your travel”. I was happy he is still talking to me and still want to meet me.

THIEVES ARE GREEDY!

From this point I realised a couple of important things:

• Thieves are fu*king greedy
• It’s easier to scam powerless people for more money if they already trust you
• There is another1050 EUR for him to gain in the next appointment for the rest of the deposit and 1-month rent

This was an important breakthrough and since that, I called this the GAME! I am finally leading the scoreboard with knowledge and I could even manipulate him and eventually get him to jail. That was brilliant news!

I changed my strategy and I stopped actively requesting Tom’s ID and started pretending that everything is fine and that I will move and pay the rest of the money. I wanted him to trust me and smell the money and power and stimulate his greediness. The goal is to meet him again and arrest him! I didn’t care at all about the 1000 EUR — I said goodbye to them when I was handling it to him that day in his flat.

Visiting Police for the 2nd time

I printed all the materials and I visited my bank for a proof that withdrew 1000 EUR just 16 mins before I signed the pre-agreement contract. Then I went to the police station for my 2nd time.

I tried to explain the story again but the police guy told me the same argument: that the crime didn’t happen yet. I asked what he suggests I do? That I should pay him an additional 1050 EUR and find out that I am homeless? My story was based on the Facebook post which he rejected as proof telling me it could be written by anyone — like enemies of the person. He agreed that it looks like a scam but also emphasised that no crime happened yet. He searched the name Eric Thomas Wellington in his computer but didn’t find anything. He didn’t give me any advice on what I should do and was useless. I was considering that I should apply for a job in the FBI or CIA so I could do better work than him 🤷‍♂️.

The good thing is that it didn’t stop me. I took it as his personal opinion instead of the opinion of the police in general and when we finished, I googled other police stations near my location and in the same day, I visited another police station to try my luck with somebody else. It was a great practise and I could improve my communication skill and elevator pitch presenting this crime to different people.

Visiting Police the 3rd time

Now I was talking with a police lady (actually all the time, I was talking to translators and not police officers since I don’t speak Spanish yet). She was very empathetic when I was explaining the details. I finally managed to calmly tell the entire story from the beginning and emphasised the several rejections of sending me valid ID and the FB post. She wrote the story down in Spanish and she forwarded it to the police officer. I also mentioned that he looked older than the birth date in his ID. After waiting 1.5 hours, she came to me and told me something similar, that it is probably a scam but it didn’t happen yet and I need to wait till the start of the contract. I asked her what I should do if I meet him again to pay the rest 1050 EUR. I finally got some useful answer — she suggested to call ‘112’ 30 mins before the appointment and ask for a police officer and that they should send somebody to help to verify his ID.

Let’s stop here for a minute; How does it feel?

It’s a shameful and frustrating experience getting scammed and losing money. At least it feels like. If you want to share this with your friends, they will usually tell you that you are stupid and ask how could you do this. But this is not the problem of victims. It’s the problem with scammers. They do it too often and they covered every argument to gain trust. On top of that, we are also talking about culture and being polite. The scammers usually pretend they want to help you and they are being nice. How could you reject a nice person? For example, when I was invited to his home, it wouldn’t be polite to reject him in his territory after he spent so much time writing the contract, meeting me etc. It’s just difficult and potentially dangerous. Lastly, you don’t know if you get scammed unless you get scammed. My contract didn’t even start yet so I don’t know.

So please, if somebody tells you that he got scammed, be emphatic, try to understand the situation completely and never blame victims!

When I told the story some of my friends, they showed hope that maybe it will be eventually ok and I might get my flat. When I confirmed that it’s a scam, later, they asked me how I could do this when I was so suspicious — and this is exactly like asking how could you be so stupid to do this! So don’t ask such a question, support instead. It’s never the fault of victims! (okay, maybe a little bit but don’t say it now! 😉).

Hey Tom! Smell the money and power!

I wanted to gain trust so I stopped asking Tom for his ID and instead I use a tactic to give him the smell of power and money. I made up a message that I will leave my current place and that I am ready to move in: “Hi Tom how are you? I will leave my current place on 8th March so I will have one extra day to move the things to yours 👍”. He replied: “Hey I am doing well thanks Petr, nice to talk to you today. When you want to move your stuff just let me know 2 days in advance the day/timing and I will make time to 🧳 help you carry the stuff”** — I had the feeling that this message is so fake and is rather automated. We didn’t talk at all for a while and I already mentioned the time when I want to move so why he would ask me to let him know 2 days in advance?

Confirming Identity Scam and Number of Victims

Just 2 days before the meeting, the Alexandrea Crawford who shared the post about the scam finally replied on my messages.

She confirmed the scam and mentioned that she reported it to police with evidence — identity fraud and scamming people of money. She mentioned that at least 6 people contacted her regarding this renting scam from June Crawford profile and said that the police here is horrible. For the scammer, she used the word 🔴 HE, despite June Crawford was a girl. This was the first proof that the June Crawford profile is controlled by Thomas and that the profile is just a fake account to use Alexandrea’s ID (June is her middle name and Crawford is her surname).

Tom is flying away! Meeting the day before the contract start 😦

I supposed to move on Saturday 7th of March but two days before I received a message from Tom: “Hey Petr how are you doing! we agreed to meet Saturday (7th March, the start of the contract) for you to move in but I was wondering if you could meet tomorrow during the day — although the flat isn’t ready for you to move in until Saturday (the cleaning lady is coming tomorrow too) 🔴 you can pay the rest of the rent and deposit and I will give you the keys — please let me know if this can work for you because I have to fly Friday for work and need to get you the keys before then”. And he added: “then for Saturday* you can come at your own timings since you’ll already have the keys”.*

Didn’t he tell me he will help me to move my stuff a couple of times? But since I already knew it’s a scam, I agreed on his terms otherwise I might not see him anymore: “Hi Tom, sure should be ok but is it possible to meet tomorrow later on after work? Like 7pm?”. He replied: “Sure we can push it to the evening. I fly at 11pm”. He was very careful with the location and added: “I’ll write you tomorrow evening then before 7 to confirm location and time for you, have a great day Petr and thank you”.

But for me, it was scary because I didn’t know if the police will be able to help and I didn’t want to end up again 1:1 in any dangerous place, so I resisted: “Ok ok sure but please let me know where the soonest so I can plan how to get there after work. I could also finish earlier maybe but not sure yet”. He replied: “Sure I will plan my schedule today and let you know in advance”.

Failed to Visit a Police with New Evidence and Getting 200 EUR penalty!

I went to visit the police station again but on the way, I got a penalty for 200 EUR for driving my scooter 🛴 mistakenly on the road with cars, without a helmet and with headphones on. I tried to explain the police officer that I am going actually to the police station but the policeman didn’t care and rather wanted easy money from me instead of protecting the city against so many scammers here 👿. I was so exhausted of everything and desperately thinking if this is karma or what: “I went to police to report a crime and on the way, I committed one too!” but I will be the only one who has to pay for that! Adding 200 EUR to the 1000 EUR I already lost. How could be this World so cruel?! Little I know that it could get worse. 5 mins later when I continued riding, I punctuated my tire again and the statin was closed by the time I reach it. 🤷‍♂️

Texting Tom a day before the Appointment

The next day I texted Tom so he can feel calmer and reminded him to bring ID as side-note without distracting him too much. I also reminded him to send me the location: “Hi Tom sorry I was busy in work to reply properly. Been running from work to spanish classes all days. Hope you are well. Can’t wait to move in! Let me know what is the location and see you at 7:30 PM! 🔴 And please bring the ID 🙌”.

The Big Day of the Appointment

I supposed to meet him at 7:30 PM so I decided to take half-day off from work to be able to visit the police station and tell them about the appointment. I sent him a message with the goal to increase the authenticity and to give him more power and confidence: “Hi Tom, I tried to get some deposit back from my current landlord but she only gives back the last day. So if possible I would like to pay part by cash and part by bitcoin but if you want only cash I can sort it out as well, no problem. Let me know”.

I also asked him for the final contract: “and is there any contract when we finalized it? as the one I have is pre-agreement”. He is also trying to be authentic and even promising that there will be future months payments: “if you prefer you can pay the rest of the balance by bitcoin this month but in future months I prefer cash for the rent”. He confirmed that he will send me the new contract: “I can write a receipt for you today that says you move in on Saturday the 8th and the rental agreement begins, that you got the keys today, etc”

He then asked to pay BTC in advance: “Can you send the bitcoin over in advance so I can verify it hits my wallet. I’ll write up the receipt now and send you a copy to see if you want to add anything to it”, which I of course rejected: “I would prefer in person if you are ok with it once I check if everything is ok. if it’s a problem I can pay by cash”. And he added: “I won’t have a lot of time when we meet today just to go over the papers and give you the keys etc”. So I told him I will pay by cash: “so 1050 cash 👍 will sort it out on my side”.

Later at 10 AM I reminded him about the location: “and where to meet you?”

PS: He didn’t send the copy of the receipt so I only saw it in our appointment.

In the afternoon around 13:30 PM I left my job and I visited the police station. I also received the location details from him: “Passeig de Gràcia, 48, 08007 Barcelona. We can meet at the McDonald’s there at 7:30 PM”.

I was so relieved to hear that we will meet in a public place but I pretended I am busy at work and replied only at 16:23 PM confirming the location.

Visiting Police for the 4th time prior to the Appointment

I went to visit the police in the location where they gave me the tips previously. There was another translator lady, but she was also very nice and listened carefully. I told her the story again including the new evidence from Alexandrea June Crawford that she reported at least 6 similar cases and was a victim of identity fraud from the same person. The lady was asking me very good and relevant questions and I emphasised that he didn’t provide his valid ID in the report. I also tried to describe how the man looks like with a bun on his head, his colour etc but it is rather difficult but the bun definitely helped.

Two hours later, I had my first official report and they started with the investigation even though my contract didn’t start yet. Yes! Finally! ✨ You see! They can start an investigation even though the fraud didn’t happen yet! Why they didn’t help me before?! Anyway, the lady told me as well that the normal procedure is to call 📞 ‘112’ 30 mins prior the appointment and explain them the situation in the following manner:

• That I visited Policia Nacional Plaza (police station)
• Tell them I have an appointment with the scammer at 7:30 at Passeig de Gracia, McDonald
• That I filled the police report and that they told me to call you in order to follow the procedure
• And that I have the report with me and that I am requesting a police officer

The translator lady also told me that they think he will not come to the appointment but I expressed opposite opinion due to the communication and my strategy to give him a sense of power and money.

I went back home filled by many thoughts how this day could potentially end 🌈 and I followed up with Tom confirming the location and pretending I am in work: “Sorry been busy in work, great. See you in mcdonald Passeig de Gràcia, 48, 08007 Barcelona at 7:30 👍”

Calling Police prior to the Appointment - What’s Wrong With Them????? 👮‍♀️

At home, I turned on iCloud service to back up my data and activated location tracking in Apple and Google Maps just in case something would happen to my phone + I wanted to have some proof regarding locations. I told my landlord that if I don’t get back, she can rent my room and also joked with some of my friends. Before I left, I decided to change my shoes for running shoes just in case it won’t work well and I will need to run. I left valuable things at home like cards, money etc but I kept my Apple Watch on my wrist because the notifications could be useful and more private — for example, if the police would call me when I will be with him.

I also googled how to scam a scammer! But I didn’t find anything useful 😑

~1 hour prior to the appointment, I went to check the McDonald so I can figure out where I will call the police. 45 mins before, I called first time 📞 112 from two blocks away. The call took 15 minutes and they didn’t understand me at all! It was bad, really bad! They didn’t understand the word ‘Scammer’ or ‘Thief’ — maybe my pronunciation was bad but come on! 🙇‍♂️ I eventually quoted the police report number to the person on the emergency line and he told me he will check it and will call me back. I sent a quick follow up message to Tom: “Hi Tom I am on my way”

After 14 minutes of uncomfortable waiting, I finally received a call back from the 112 and they told me that they informed police officers around and that I have to call them again in the McDonald when I meet the guy. I couldn’t quite imagine how I will call them and talk with them without Tom spotting me or running away. I felt it is so stupid. I expected protection and that someone will come before, check the details and see how I look like so they could identify me and catch the scammer the first time they see him with me — you know… like from the Hollywood movies! 🤐

I went to the corner of the McDonald, I hide there and one minute prior to the meeting I called 📞 112 to confirm that I am going to the location and if they can send a police officer. The guy on the phone just kept repeating every one or two minutes: “Hold on” and said 2x or 3x times that they are looking for an officer around. The call took ❗️17 minutes ❗️. I couldn’t believe it. You can’t imagine how frustrating the call was. I was significantly late and I didn’t know if they will be able to help me. During the 17 minutes, I still communicated with Tom and I tried to come up with reasonable excuses as I thought it will be a quick 1-minute call so I first quoted Tom that I will be late only 2 minutes! I was late for 17 mins! I lied that I ended up in a wrong location which helped to gain more time but I just can’t emphasise how bad and stressful it was and how long does the 17 mins felt! Below you can find the conversation and time with Tom:

Meeting Tom and Chasing Him in Barcelona! 😱

At 19:46 PM, the police from 📞 112 finally confirmed that they are sending someone there so I went to the McDonald with no idea how the police could identify me but I was hoping they would just walk around and I could ask them. I was actually pretending I am running there and when I arrived, Tom wasn’t there. I texted “I am here.”, “Where are you?” — then he came from a further place where he was probably hidden. I pretended I am short of breath and that I really run and apologised to him for being late. He went to McCafe for a pen for signing the contract and I bought a bottle of water to add more authenticity to my story of running. We sit outside and there was an old lady very close to me and I checked my pocket if my phone is still there. He thought I am protecting the money and laugh about it, which gave me some points that I am carrying his money with me. But I was so careful all the time and even asked him a total of 9 times for his valid ID so I wonder how greedy he was to ignore it and meeting me again.

I asked him in small talks where he was flying and he told me to the US so I asked what he is going to do there. He told me he is attending a cryptocurrency conference. I was so nervous and I was constantly looking around with my head and eyes for police but I couldn’t spot any. He gave me the contract and he went through the text with me. I couldn’t focus at all. I was just checking surroundings and I am still amazed he didn’t notice it. I then told him if I can read it myself but I just had the paper in front of me and I was still looking around for the damn police 😡. The time runs very slow and I didn’t know what to do next as I couldn’t spot anyone.

The paper with the contract (Rental Agreement) was the same text as the pre-agreement. He only changed the title and added RULES section with the following terms: No animals, no one besides me to live there, no illegal activity or excessive noise ~.

Eventually, a police car drove slowly around with beacon on but it didn’t stop in McDonald. I tried to raise a little bit my hand, but nor the thief neither the police noticed. “That was dangerous,” I thought. Then 🔴 I asked him if he has the ID with him. He said no because he is flying. And I told him that I requested it many times so how come he didn’t bring it. He had some excuses. He also starts to feel uncomfortable and mentioned that he had to go soon. I asked him if he has any social media accounts or something and he told me yes, that he contacted me through it. But it was the June Crawford profile. He told me he has the key with him and he showed it to me, I took them but I continued with my suspicious activity…

The police didn’t arrive. He then said he is really in a hurry and he has to go now and if it’s ok. I knew I am fucked up. I didn’t have any more time and I lost hope for the police and I didn’t have any other way to prolong the conversation so I told him directly that I know he is a scammer and scamming people of money. He told me he does not know what I am talking about. He was a bit shock when I confronted him. He was probably very comfortable in his role of scamming people, he is been doing it at least for 4 months (the first case found) and probably no one ever accused him directly like this. So it escalated pretty quickly:

• He stands up, tried to verbally defend himself while he wanted to walk away.
• I continued attacking him and told him that I filled a police report and that police is coming.
• He started walking away and I told him to stop to wait for the police. He ignored that and told me to go away from him.
• I followed him — this was the only way to get him arrested. If I lost him, the police won’t be able to do anything about it.
• I started to use my camera to capture his face at least. At 19:56 PM I took the first photo of him walking away.
• 19:57 PM: I called 112 but don’t recall the conversation, it took 34 seconds.
• 19:58 PM: I asked him what is his real name. He started to run and then tried to get into taxis.
• 19:59 PM: He was inside a taxi for more than one minute, the taxi almost drove him away but eventually stopped 2 meters forward and told him to go out.
• 20:00 PM: Another call to the police, don’t remember the conversation but it took 1 minute

• 20:02 PM: He was calling to someone. I shouted around “Police, Police” and eventually I saw a policeman on a motorbike so he stopped us and asked us what is happening and for his ID. I gave him the rent contract and told the police about the report. The police requested his ID and the thief gave him his ID which he claimed he does not have during our appointment (it was probably a fake ID anyway). The policeman slowly walked back to his motorbike away from us and ❗let the scammer free to walk in the opposite direction again❗. I recorded this how the police stopped us and how he walked away again. I couldn’t fuking believe that!* I kept following the thief and not the police. The thief was my only target and I didn’t care about anything else even though it could end badly for me.
• At 20:04 PM he runs again and tried to get another taxis and even public transport! In total, he got into at least 4 taxis and I was blocking them by standing in front of them not letting them drive him away — putting my physical life in danger! ❌
• 20:05 PM: Another call to police, they asked me for my location but I stressed up that I am moving all the time following the thief and if they can locate me. They couldn’t. I got angry because I couldn’t see any valid point talking to them if I don’t know where I will be in the next a couple of seconds so I hang it out. The call took 3 minutes.
• 20:09 PM: The police called back and tried to calm me down and asked for any location in the street corners which I later quoted.
• 20:13 PM: We passed by two policemen on motorbikes so I called “Police, Police”. The scammer tried to run again so I stopped carrying about the police and instead of following him. He then went inside a restaurant nearby — I guess he wanted to hide. He asked there for water and he was evidently exhausted and stressed as hell. I stayed outside of the restaurant keeping eyes on him and praying for the police. The police finally arrived and took the situation over from this point. The scammer who I paid 1000 EUR deposit for rent and who wanted to give me keys pretended he does not know me. ❗
• There was a total of 6 police motorbikes and 2 police cars, around 10 police officers
• I was chasing him for 20 mins! So crazy! I visited police stations and I called 112 prior to the appointment so how I could end up with the thief for so long? Not to mention that I met the polices randomly on the streets!
• 21:54 PM: With the police, we filled another report and they told me more details about the potential trial and gave me papers with my rights. They also arranged an appointment at the police station to validate my story again. On the end, they said that they will work with my version of the story and recommended me to get a lawyer and to wait for a letter from the court.

PS: One of the police officers was the one who gave me a penalty for riding the scooter on the road the previous day! He told me he recognized me! The atmosphere was already relaxed so I tried to ask if I still have to pay the penalty after all of this but unfortunately, I have to since it’s in the system. Such a coincidence!

Happy Ending of Scam + 4850 EUR

I went for a good dinner after the arrest and to relax my mind before sharing this crazy story to my friends. It was just so surreal! The next day I sent the photo of the guy to Alexandrea Crawford who reported it first and she finally started to communicate with me. She apologised to me as she thought that my case is not relevant to her story and I am just some random guy messaging her. She confirmed that all the 6 people were scammed by this same guy and she added me to a group on WhatsApp with the 6 other victims!

This is another point. You can’t imagine how helpful it would be to be a part of this group from the beginning, to belong… and to be able to share all the stuff with someone! If she would just be more emphatic and communicate prior without making assumptions that I am just random guy bothering her! Not being in this shit alone for ~3 weeks would be so helpful for mental health and probably I wouldn’t be facing and chasing him alone on the appointment! Just imagine if you get scammed and no one is helping you! I asked a couple of people how to verify ownership, I went to police three times, I contacted this account etc but no one was able to help! So that’s why I ended up in freaking dangerous situation chasing thief across streets in Barcelona for 20 minutes! 😧😖

We identified at least 7 other victims who this guy scammed with a known value of 4850 EUR. The first case was dated 20th November 2019. He was arrested 7th March 2020. There was a total of 4 police reports (including mine) for this guy in Spain and one police report in the US for identity fraud. He was apparently thief and stole things on the street as well. They said his real name is Atayih Wiliam Pandya but this is not confirmed. On the end of this story, I included some photos of his Instagram account to make him famous.

The current situation is that I followed up with the police, asking to connect the other police reports and I am still waiting to get a letter for the court. I don’t have any information if he is in jail or they let him go. I have no idea if we, the victims. will get any money back. I am just concern that with his experience with cryptocurrencies and identity fraud, he could just run away again if they let him go.

How Does This Scam Work?

I met him and he was handing me the keys for the apartment I wanted to rent if I pay the full deposit and one-month rent. How I could know if it is a scam? What if he would give me the keys? I don’t know… but we know that:

• He collected deposits and run away from the other victims
• He used a fake identity
• There is a possibility that I wouldn’t be able to access the property with the keys
• He could be a tenant or rent the place from Airbnb and pretending he is the owner — I could access it but eventually got fired from the real owner and the contract would be worthless
• There are also stories on the internet when some scammers will rent the same place to many people and all of them will come to the place at once.

And I guess we could come up with more ways and hypothesis how badly it could turn out for me if I pay him and get the keys.

How to Avoid Scams

There are many lessons to take out of this story:

• If something is good to be true, go away from it + listen to your instinct
• Don’t give up! If someone rejects you, it can be a personal opinion and personal opinions could vary (viz the story of how I visited the police station 4th times before they accepted my story and started with the investigation)
• It is also useful to listen to feedback. The police helped me not because of the Facebook post, but because I told them that the scammer failed to validate his ID 9 times and he also looked older than the age of his fake ID.
• Rent directly is a good way to save money but if you want to be safe, go through third parties (agencies, Airbnb and other websites). There are already many online solutions to rent property safely.
• Never pay through the internet without seeing the property! There are some scams during this coronavirus crisis that people tell you to pay in advance due to the lockdown and you will lose your money.
• Try to avoid cash and instead use the official financial system (your bank) because they would be able to revert the transaction if necessary. Particularly with PayPal, you can even fill a dispute yourself within 180 days without going to the police!
• Have plan B — this was my mistake with the “Verify ID goal” but not having a plan B. Also, communicate clearly and set correct expectations (I made the mistake that I expected he will bring his ID on the first meeting).
• The contract could be useless if it is not verified by a third party. I should also minimise loses by not paying the deposit and rather pay ‘a reservation fee’ — 200 EUR should be enough.
• Try to get a friend with you when dealing with contract and money, so you have an independent person with you who won’t have any attachment to the place.
• Be careful what you shared in public. I put my social media in private mode just in case he would be stalking me.
• Privacy is important but sharing data could be helpful. You can access your location data in Google Maps, Facebook and Apple, viz screenshot below — a data about the movement when he wanted to run away including times and routes — so useful! To write this article, I also use photos/videos information, calls history, WhatsApp history and browsing history:

How the Police Could be more Useful

It’s 2020. All big companies have all kind of data but when I was talking to 📞112 and chasing the thief, I asked them if they could simply locate me. They weren’t able to do it. It’s good that we have such privacy but the problem is that I could easily share my live location with all my friends via WhatsApp or Messenger but I wasn’t able to share the location with the police!

Also, young people don’t call anymore. It’s just so difficult to deal with serious cases over the phone call. The call centrum on 112 didn’t understand my accent. And how they could ask me to call them when I will be with the thief? It’s so silly! It would be better if I could chat with the police and share files, location etc. I could simply tell them in one or two sentences that I have an appointment, share my police report number and ask them to come when I will be sitting with him just by texting them. Waiting 17 minutes on the call to confirm if police will come during an emergency is a joke, there is no more I could say about it.

What to do Next

I was thinking to do some project where people could report scammers (identity or addresses). Like an open database as a website but I am not sure how I would go around it. I realised that there are already many third-party websites where you could be safe renting a place like Airbnb and agencies so it’s not really a problem unless you want to save money and rent a place directly.

But there are tens of hundreds of thousands of people getting scammed such a way everywhere around the World so actually it’s still a big problem. I can do websites and applications so if you have any suggestions about project preventing such scams, please let me know.

Lastly, if you know any other scammers or have similar stories, please let me know and we could start listing similar stories in centralized place on the internet so other people could Google them. I would also update this article with other stories. There is no use pretending something didn’t happen!

PS: I want to thank so much to Alexandrea for posting the warning on Facebook about the scam and being able to connect other victims together! Although she wasn’t very responsive to me, as I mentioned previously, but she definitely did her part by being proactive, connecting people and reporting this crime publicly and to police (even getting two lawsuits on him)! We can hardly imagine the feeling when someone is abusing your Identity to steal from others and you are powerless. So THANK YOU 🙏.

Also, I want to thank the translators in Policia Nacional, Plaça d’Espanya, they were excellent and helpful!

Here are the promised photos of the scammer! Enjoy!

If you get into a scam, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to share your story or just the details of the scammer. If Alexandrea 🙏 wouldn’t warn people on Facebook, my story would be different and I could even lose the other 1050 EUR! There could be also more people falling into this trap! Remember, it’s not your fault and if you are not comfortable sharing the details of your story, then just write the scammers’ names and phone numbers! So others would be able to search for them if they have doubts! ✨

There are also people who didn’t understand how I could pay him the deposit after so many clues. This story was written backwards after all of this happened and with a lot of thinking about each detail. But we, human beings, are primarily emotional species and the rationality is a secondary instinct. We are still driven by feeling, comfort and safety. It’s like the ice-cream you bought a while ago, it makes you unhealthy and you even pay for that — not a rational choice but a choice of how you feel in the present moment🍦.

Help me to collect a database of scammers

Got into a scam? Send me details and I will link it and add more details below:

Other cases in Barcelona:

• Facebook: Avonon Keny, WhatsApp: +34932710230 — collecting deposits and excuses about the lockdown — story here. The person uses other Facebook profiles and phone numbers and doing this scam in other places online. The other numbers: +351968236426, +34641651519, +33756804184. He/she is using a fake identity. In the profile picture, she has an elder lady with a baby and some other photos holding the fake ID. He/she is asking for a deposit to his/her bank account before seeing the place (due to the lockdown). If you get into this scam, it’s easier to recover it by contacting your bank and police.

There is a useful Facebook group where you can share your experience with scams and robbery called Barcelona Residents Against Robbery 👏