I understand how Slim Shady felt way back in the day when all he wanted was for the real Slim Shady to please stand up. Being impersonated is strange. Somewhat flattering, but mostly just annoying.
So this is the story. My wife and I are currently looking for a new place to live. We’ve been searching online through the posted ads and seen a few places and recently we contacted someone claiming to be in Denmark trying to rent out an apartment here in the city. Hindsight being what it is, this sure does sound sketchy and knowing the end result it may seem obvious to anyone reading this but hey, it sounded good at the time.
An artist rendition of my dastardly imposter.
Long story short, we ended up sending photos of our passports to this person in exchange for the delivery of a key to see the apartment. A few days go by and no response from said Denmarkian. Yesterday, I’m contacted by a man who found this website after googling my name who says that somebody may be trying to scam his son using an image of my passport. Sure enough, he forwards me an email chain that looks very similar to the pitch used on me and my wife except for the name and email address.
Mr. Imposter had “cleverly” registered a similar email address to my own and was using my likeness to attempt to rip another person off, the fiend. For those who are interested, the false me’s email is “tomtraplin1@gmail.com”, feel free to drop him a line. See the email clip down below for inspiration.
Notice the 1 at the end of my name for that extra touch of legitimacy. Now I’m in the process of contacting the fraud department of various agencies to make sure I’m not on the hook for any of this guys shenanigans.
Moral of this story: trust no one, the internet is filled with dopplegangers who want to take your place and assume your life, and it’s super useful having a strong online presence to prove you’re the real Tom Traplin. This is me standing up.
I almost became the next person for him to scam. Luckily i checked him out online and found this. thanks!
Glad I could help. Accept no substitutes.
Heather, Where are you trying to rent/where was the ad posted? It could help us catch this guy.
Kelly-Ann (the real Tom’s wife)
He was posting on kijiji in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island. if you need any more info please feel free to contact me.
http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/canada/calgary/convicted-rental-property-scammer-resurfaces-on-kijiji-1.2753228
Not sure if this is the same guy but my boyfriend found this article the next day.
I just got contacted by this guy re: a place for rent in Toronto! I don’t remember what site I found the original ad on but I have been using kijiji.
He might be at it again.. or is this is actually you?
Someone posted this ad on Craigslist in Vancouver
Title: “$1050 / 2br – Spacious & Bright 2 Bdrm Suite in the Heart of Downtown”
Original email in the job went to patsyandkellytogether@gmail.com and I received an email back from thomastraplin@gmail.com.
It was certainly not me. Don’t fall for it.
This happened to me as well in Vancouver except his email is traplintom@gmail.com. Thank you Thomas so much for posting this!! I knew it was too good to be true.
Yup, was in touch with a Kelly-Ann Callagan about a 2 bedroom in Toronto. Saw the ad on Kijiji. she seemed shady so I did a quick Google search and discovered a couple scam alerts. I let her know that I wasn’t interested anymore and why. Tonight I got an email from Thomas Traplin about the same apartment, same email message that Kelly-Ann sent me earlier.
I still have the emails and a WhatsApp number if it would help at all.
It’s happening to me as we speak. He’s using “thomastraplin@gmail.com” this time around.
Since I’m likely to be one of only a few Thomas Traplin’s in Canada, anyone using my name and a variation of my email address is almost certainly trying to scam some rent deposits. Don’t give them any info they can use or you might become the next “person” trying to rent out apartments in Vancouver.
Interestingly enough, this will make it very difficult for me if I ever did actually try to rent out a place. How could anyone believe it was the real me. It’s worth it though to keep this doppleganger on the back foot and save people from losing significant sums of money.
Report it to your local police and maybe they can stop this guy.
Anyone talking to a “Kelly Ann Callaghan” about renting out an apartment or place is also being scammed by the same guy. Kelly Ann is my wife and up until this point she hasn’t had any issues but he’s now trying to make use of her identity as well. Heads up anyone who might be reading this.