“Dear PoPville,
Just wanted to give a heads up that there is a fairly active apartment scammer on the DC Craigslist. They seem to be borderline psychopathic in their approach. They list an actual local property as a local real estate agent. Both the property and the real estate agent exist. They even go so far as to look up the real estate agent’s local license ID and the property owner information.
The red flags are pretty apparent, like them requesting a “deposit” upfront to lock in the lease before viewing. I spent the last few weeks toying with the scammer a bit before they ghosted me (understandable).
I just saw the same ad I originally responded to go back up, and figured your readers might benefit from being aware of this scam and spread the word.
I’ve attached a screenshot of the CL ad as well as the huge red flag in the “lease”:
“ARTICLE V: DEPOSIT AGREEMENT: I NANCY XXXXXXXXXXXX TRUSTEE & AARON XXXXXXXX (Landlord), MARY XXXXXXX (PROPERTY MANAGER) agrees with _______________ (Tenant) that the first month’s rent of $2800 and the security deposit of $2800 was paid prior to viewing, if for any reason tenant does not like or find the apartment not in perfect condition as advertised after viewing, tenant can terminate this agreement and the full deposit payment of $5600 will be refunded immediately on the spot.””
14th and V Street, NW
Watch your wallet! Thanks to Geri for sharing the heads up:
“if you’re being harassed, distracted, someone else might be stealing your wallet behind you. This happened to me in a busy Busboys and Poets yesterday, caught on tape. Also if you see this happening, say something (lady drinking wine next to me).
It was at 14 and V. The staff has seen them before. It was two guys working together. The man who was harassing me was prob 50, bald, 5,9, called himself Michael. I couldn’t watch the video I was so angry but the manager saw the guy behind me. I did not.”
Shawn notes: “Yup! Happened to me at Whole Foods.”
The month of March has provided a bountiful supply of Last Christmas Trees in Town. Thanks to all who sent photos. I’m now holding out for April trees. While we’re waiting for April – when you do bring your dried carcass of a tree outside – please – don’t be this guy. Just don’t.
Photo by PoPville flickr user Ted Eytan
“Dear PoPville,
I’m writing as a PSA. Thursday night I left a club downtown and got into what I thought was my Uber. He had rolled down his window and asked “Uber?” I stated my name and he said “yes, get in.” I was headed somewhere in Virginia about 20 minutes away and didn’t realize he headed towards Maryland. Admittedly I had been drinking and I would have noticed I was going in the wrong direction had I been sober but was looking down at my phone and wasn’t paying attention. He said he needed to pull over to get gas which I immediately thought was strange so I looked up my location, saw I wasn’t in Virginia and bolted out of the car booking it 10 blocks or so until I saw a security guard parked outside an apartment building. We called the cops so I could file a report and thankfully made it home safely. I can’t remember what the car or the driver looked like so unfortunately he’ll get away with it. It could have ended a lot worse and I’m thankful I made it out okay but want to remind everyone, especially women at night, to check the license plate and ask your driver for your name.”
14th and Irving St, NW
Columbia Heights Washington Sports Club cannot catch a break lately.
“Dear PoPville,
I wanted to let people know what happened to me at the Washington Sports Club in Columbia Heights so they can take extra precautions. Someone is cutting locks and stealing the content of the locker, at least in the men’s locker room. This just happened to me. (more…)
So, long story short – a donation was given to a fundraiser I was participating in and somebody expressed shock that a donation of $18 was given. I said it was a Jewish thing and they replied that they were glad that I said that with a big smirk (me being Jewish and all, implying that it was a cheap thing.) Damn it!! Reminds me of when I was in college and somebody’s shirt ripped and they replied “Ah the fucking Jews.” Just as Jews don’t run all textile industries, nor are we part of the Pentaverate – we are also not being cheap when we donate $18 instead of $20. In fact:
“Eighteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew word “chai” which means “life.” It is a Jewish custom to give monetary gifts in increments of 18, thus symbolically blessing the recipient of the gift with a good long life.”
OK – back to ice cream news.
I know I always appreciate these reminders cause I’m terrible at it – always back up your hard drives! Hope this guy/gal gets theirs back!! So for folks who regularly back up their computer – what do you use? The cloud? External hard drive? For those who use the cloud – which service do you use and how much does it cost?
“Dear PoPville,
There’s no rules posted on how to behave while on metro but I think it’s important to review these unspoken rules from time to time.
The unspoken rules of riding the metro/bus:
When riding the escalators, stand on your right and walk on your left
BUS
· If you need to add money to your metro card, please let other riders enter the bus first.
· If you notice a bus is full, proceed to stand at the very back of the bus to allow more space for incoming riders.
· Do not take up more than one seat, especially if you’re just using it for your handbag.
· If you’re riding public transportation only for a couple stops, do not inconvenience other metro riders by squeezing yourself into a seat only to have to get back up again soon after.
TRAIN
· To avoid holding up foot traffic, take out your metro card well before you must tap it into the station.
· Do not take up more than one seat, especially for your belongings. (more…)
A reader requests:
“Could you pass this PSA along? It applies to all cyclists, but dockless bike users may be less likely to have thought about it.
Do NOT lock bikes to bus stop poles. This impedes access to and from the bus, especially for those with disabilities.”
hahaha thanks to Tracey for sending “this fake tree out at the curb on Capitol Hill (7th Street NE). Seriously, people–that’s not how this works!”
