BEWARE: Tom Conner AKA Edward/Esward Nowicki

These two scammers have recently shown up on TUG again, and been banned again.

Their newest scheme involves making a very expensive hotel reservation at a TS related hotel in the renter's name (but not paying for it) and trying to pass it off as a timeshare reservation at the same resort. Then Conner asked the renter to wire the money to Edward Nowicki.

They were also involved in the DVC scheme in this thread: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202118&highlight=conner

Great detective work Denise!
Thanks for sleuthing and letting us know about all the "bad guys" you discover! It's a great service to the TUG community.

I can't claim credit - a savvy Tugger (the potential renter) reported it to me, and TUG Brian recognized the scoundrel.

And this is how it goes:

Me: Hi - I'm interested in your 2 bdm. Harborside rental for a week in May or June.
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Hi Roy,

Thank you for your interest in my holiday rentals advert, kindly let me know your intended date so I can check my reservation Calendar for availability.

Thank you,
Edward
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Me: I'm looking for a 2 bdm. for May 2-9, or 9-16.
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Edward: Thank you for your response in my holiday rentals advert, have check my reservation Calendar for availability and i still have your date available for rent, check-in May 2nd to check-out May 9th 2014

The Unit is a Beautifully Appointed 2 Bedroom Suite,1 KING BED, master bath with whirlpool tub, 1 Queen bed , 2 Bath, 2 Sofa beds, Included are many luxurious upgrades, including microwave and refrigerator,washer dryer,kitchen, colour TVs with satellite programming, VCR and DVD/CD player. The suite includes private balconies.

I charge $2,240 per week with inclusive of Cleaning, utilities, Tax and vat, get back to me if you will like to lock-in your dates with me so i can guide you on how my reservation procedure work.

Thank you,
Edward
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Me: That's a great price - please forward the confirmation to me so I can look it over, and then I will be ready to pay in full.
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Edward: I will send you the resservation number in my name once I have your payment I will change it to your name, is that okay with you?
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Me: Sure - send me the resv number and I can confirm with Starwood
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Ed: Here is the reservation number in my name 1630705 once I have your payment it will be change to your name so do call Harborside to confirm and get back to me asap.
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Me: Is it in your name right now?
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Me: Hi Edward - Starwood was not able to verify the reservation - can you please forward the confirmation to me that they sent you.
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Ed: Starwood has a lot of resort, can you please call harborside and give them the confirmantion number sent you.
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Me: Ed - I did call, and they said that isn't a Harborside reservation number - it has too many numbers in it - reservations at Harborside only have 6 numbers in the confirmation number.

Please forward the confirmation to me, and we can clear this all up.
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Ed: Okay Roy once I get there email I will confirm the number and let you know, it might be me that write the wrong number.

Sorry about that.

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Me: Hi Ed - I'm confused - haven't you already made this reservation?
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Ed:
Sorry for my late response to your mail as I have been out of tower and am just getting back my desk now, also I just got of the phone with the reservation desk at Harborside resort to confirm the reservation number which still the number I sent you (1630705).

Please call them again and give them the reservation number or you can use my full name (Edward Nowicki) to confirm your intended date which is for May 2-9 2014 once I have your payment the reservation will be change to your name.

Thank you,

Awaiting for your response.
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Me: Ed - is that reservation for the Harborside timeshare resort, or for the Atlantis Hotel?
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Ed: This is for the Harborside Resort At Atlantis
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Me: Ed - I am a Starwood owner, and I know how to confirm reservations - I called again and there is no owner reservation under that number. How did you make this reservation?
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Ed: Are you sure? And what number are you calling?
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Me: Ed - Please just forward the confirmation to me, and let's get this done, OK?
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Ed: Look I wish I cloud because since yesterday have been waiting for there email even I still ask them today how come have not yet receive the email they sent yesterday and I even ask them to resend it today and yet I haven't received it.

Can you call this number +1 9548092705 or any of there other number and give them my full name with the reservation number I sent you. Am over %100 sure that you will find it there.
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Me: Ed - I'm a Starwood owner, and that is not the number for Starwood Reservations. I have made and confirmed many Starwood reservations, and that's not the number you use.

9548092705 is the number for the ATLANTIS HOTEL - they do not handle Harborside timeshare reservations.

Do you have a HARBORSIDE TIMESHARE reservation for rent or not?
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Ed: Well I don't why it so had to call and find out if I have Harborside timeshare or not.

Can you send me the number that you are calling so I can know what is happen.
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Me: Don't you have the number for Starwood reservations? How did you make the reservation without the number?

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Look I don't know what am getting out of this front to back email, please just call the number I sent to you and ask them anything you like about this reservation if is starwood or if is timeshare or anything you will like to know.

WHAT NUMBER ARE YOU CALLING?
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Here is the correct Starwood Reservation number: 888-786-3548

The number you gave me is for the ATLANTIS HOTEL - I already called.

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Good read. Gives a good sense of how the scammer thinks.

DeniseM said:

I can't claim credit - a savvy Tugger (the potential renter) reported it to me, and TUG Brian recognized the scoundrel.

Click to expand...

Thanks to the Three Timeshare Musketeers that was excellent detective work. Excellent audit trail.

Thanks for letting us know what to look for.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

"kindly let me know your intended date..."

These aren't just two "local" doofuses, right? That "kindly" stood out for me. We really can't just look out for these two names. "Ed Nowicki" today will become "John Adams" tomorrow. Is this just a variation of the old Nigerian scam?

the tom connor name has been used for quite some time now...so clearly they arent bright, or just dont care.

however I agree, just going off the name alone wont protect folks...its the underlying theme that should trigger a red flag.

and for goodness sakes, dont pay for anything without confirming ownership/availability first!

ME: Ed - My apologies - I called the front desk at Harborside directly, and they do have the reservation under your name and they gave me your address on Church Street and your phone number.

But they said it's not a timeshare owner's reservation - what does that mean?

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Edward Nowicki

It is Timeshare reservation. They said it's not a Timeshare owner's reservation because my Timeshare points had been banked as a Timeshare owner, to easily have reservation completed for prospective renters.

Get back at your earliest convenience if you are ready to proceed with your reservation.

You won't have any problem whatsoever renting with me as I do protect the interest of all renters.

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ME: Thanks Ed - As soon as you receive the Starwood confirmation, forward it to me, and I will be ready to pay in full.

Please send me the rental terms.

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ED: I have attached the Rental Agreement & Booking Form to this mail which payment instruction, so please find attached file, fill correctly the appropriate spaces as the information you enter will serve as the basis for me to have your reservation.

I will like you to get back to me with your Payment confirmation from the Bank, so that i can have your deposit confirmed and as soon as its confirmed a rental receipt will be issued and sent to you immediately which will contain your reservation details and you can use this to confirm your booking from the resort.

My cancellation policy states that in a situation you have a change in vacation plans, a notice should be made known to me at least 2 weeks prior to your arrival date or a 5% of your total rent due paid would be deducted from your rental fee.

Awaiting for your response.

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[The contract asks for a bank transfer to Ed's Bank, and has a blank spot where it says "security deposit."]

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ME: I see that one of your payment methods is Paypal - that's the method I'd like to use to make my payment.

The contract says there is a security deposit - how much is it?

As soon as you forward a copy of the Starwood reservation (in your name) to me, I will be ready to proceed.

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Ed: Sorry I have stop receiving PayPal and check payment due to past fraudulent experience with renters.

The security deposit is $500, I have try to call the resort again today once I receive the email from them I will send to your email. This could be due to my spam filter settings. To avoid last minute rush from other renters I could have your dates lock in and the reservation changed to your name so you can receive the email directly from starwood.

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Ed: Sorry that i took long to send you this info, i had to called them back today to make them send it to my other email.

i will like you to get back to me with the name and address that you want me to put the reservation on.

[FINALLY - THE RESERVATION!]

MY ATLANTIS RESERVATIONS

Travel Plan Number: 1630705
Travel Dates: May 02, 2014 - May 09, 2014 (7 Nights/ 8 Days)
Balance Due: USD $2240
Status: Hold

21 CHURCH ST
ROCKVILLE, MD 25850

Dear Mr. Edward Nowicki ,
Thank you for choosing an Atlantis vacation, where water meets wonder! Below are your reservation details.

You can add more amazing adventures to your reservation at any time. Simply visit www.myatlantisvisit.com or call 1-800-ATLANTIS to speak with one of our Travel Specialists.

Vacation Summary

Price Summary

Check-in: May 02, 2014
Check-out: May 09, 2014
Duration: 7 Nights/8 Days
# of Rooms: 2

Adults: 2
Children: 0

Accommodations USD $2240
Grand Total USD $2240
Accommodations

Room Category Guests in Room Guest Names Date Room Rate/Night

2 Bedroom Deluxe Villa - Harborside Resort at Atlantis 2

Mr. Edward Nowicki
May 02, 2014 USD $320.00
May 03, 2014 USD $320.00
May 04, 2014 USD $320.00
May 05, 2014 USD $320.00
May 06, 2014 USD $320.00
May 07, 2014 USD $320.00
May 08, 2014 USD $320.00

All room preferences and special requests, including connecting rooms, are not guaranteed and based on availability.
Accommodations Total USD $2240.00

Sub Total USD $2240.00

Trip Add-Ons

Transfers

Ground TransportationGuest Names

May 02, 2014 - Dan Knowles Tours - Harborside Resort Arrival Decline Transfer Mr. Edward Nowicki
May 02, 2014 - Dan Knowles Tours - Harborside Resort Arrival Decline Transfer Mrs. Tbd Nowicki
May 09, 2014 - Dan Knowles Tours - Harborside Resort Departure Decline Transfer Mr. Edward Nowicki
May 09, 2014 - Dan Knowles Tours - Harborside Resort Departure Decline Transfer Mrs. Tbd Nowicki
Travel Insurance

Insurance Type Guest Names

Click to expand...

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ME: Ed - That is clearly not a timeshare owner's reservation. I am a Starwood owner and I know exactly what a home resort, or Staroption reservation looks like. That is a reservation that you made with a credit card - it may or may not be paid for. At this point I have no interest in proceeding with this deal.

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Ed: Please show me what it looks like

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[Yeah, right, like I'm going to send him a copy of a real Harborside reservation so he can photo shop it!.]

Yeah, he would love to get a Starwood reservation copy, so he can do exactly that. He is a crook. How can a community like ours stop these people?

I googled his address - it's a nice looking office building: http://investmentproperties.net/21church.html

This address has offices for:


But no one named Edward Nowicki or Tom Conner.

BTW - I started this by responding to Tom Conner's Ad on TUG, so I think "Tom" is Ed Nowicki. Or they are both phony names.

BEFORE YOU ASK - I did not use any "confidential TUG info." for my search - it was all provided by "Ed" himself.

"Ed's" email address list him as "Esward." Where is the name "Esward" from?

His bank routing number is a Bluebird Acct., which I believe is an internet account through American Express.

should also forward this to the atlantis resort, I am sure they have had dealings with these folks as well.

Ed's grammar is so bad, there is no way anyone named Ed would have such bad spelling and grammar. That is a red flag, especially when he said "he has been out of tower (town?) and is just now getting to his desk". He doesn't have an education to have a desk! (at least not on Chuch St) English is my second language, I sure hope my English is better but I don't have an American name like Ed either

DeniseM said:

"Ed's" email address list him as "Esward." Where is the name "Esward" from?

Click to expand...

"D" is right next to "S", so likely he mis-typed when he set up email:
ESward=EDward
:hysterical: