Buyer Beware: Rental Scams

There is a disturbing trend of rental scams emerging in Winnipeg.  Classified ad websites such as kijiji.ca and craigslist.com are used to target desperate renters. 

Scammers will post pictures of apartments that are low-priced for the area, pet-friendly, and all-inclusive (such as including all utilities).  Once the consumer makes the initial interaction with the scammer by expressing interest, the scammer will then ask that the consumer wire a damage deposit fee and the first month's rent to a foreign address.  The scammer is usually forced to be "out of town due to work."  Once the consumer wires the money, the keys to their new apartment will be couriered to them so that they can move in immediately.  Unfortunately, these apartments do not exist.

There have been reports in Winnipeg (the Winnipeg Free Press, for example) of consumers getting keys that don't open the door to houses that are already occupied and owned (unbeknownst to the owner of that property that someone has advertised their address as a rental opportunity).  Other reports include the scammer asking for more and more money before the consumer can receive the keys, and of consumers driving by addresses advertised only to find out that the description in the ad and the building on that property do not match. 

To avoid being victimized, avoid responding to ads or replying to e-mails with consistently bad spelling, grammar, capitalization and syntax; consistent religious references; or, references to living outside of the country and not being able to return in the foreseeable future.  If you can't make an appointment to see the apartment or to see the person face-to-face, never rent from them.

Sussex Realty recommends that consumers always make financial transactions through a trusted rental agency.  Never give money directly to another tenant.  They also recommend that you make an appointment for a walkthrough with the landlord of the building before renting.

If you think that you have found a scam ad, warn the web administrators on the website that you found the ad posted on.  On Craigslist, for example, you can flag the ad as "prohibited" on the right-hand side of the ad.  You can also report scams to http://www.phonebusters.com/ or http://www.419scam.org/.