SCAMMERS Nicky Syo/Miguel Angel Air BnB Apartment Scam Portland, Oregon Internet

Someone calling himself Miguel Angel contacted me via email re: an apartment he was renting. He claimed he was renting it through Air BnB. This person gave me factual information about the way Air BnB works so I presumed it was a real apartment for rent.

I received a reservation confirmation email with a link to a site that looked exactly like Air BnB. Same logo, same format, even the URL looked correct (at first). I chatted with & asked questions of a representative via a chat box on that fake Air BnB link, who must have been in on the scam.

When it was time to pay I was asked to pay $2000 in the form of four $500 pre-paid Visa gift cards. Again, Air BnB confirmed this is not terribly unusual. I put in the card numbers/codes, then let "Miguel" know I had paid. After I paid, "Miguel" told me that someone else came along & offered to pay six months up front, so he asked ME if I could match that (would have been another $4000). He said if not, I will give you your money back. Because I had not yet seen the apartment, I declined & said to please refund me. However at this point I had caught on. I never heard from this person again. 

I checked the gift card balances online & they were being drained. I contacted the gift card company directly in order to get my money back (which was its own long process but I was 3/4 successful) & they gave me the contact info for the stores where this person was buying stuff. One of those stores gave me the name Nicky Syo, along with a shipping address in Portland OR, an email address & contact number.