Con artists are using houses for sale in Greater Victoria as bait to lure desperate renters into sending them money.
The scam has hit several real estate agents and their properties, but it is not clear how widespread it is.
Here’s how it works: Scammers take a real online advertisement listing a home for sale. They post that information to an online classified ad website, offering the home for rent at below-market rates.
Would-be renters are asked to commit to the home sight unseen, to wire the first month’s rent and damage deposit to an account number, and to send photos of themselves as well, said Geoff McLean of Re/Max Camosun.
One of his listings in North Saanich was targeted by con artists and posted on Craigslist, he said.
The first time the fake rental ad went up, the rent was $1,050 a month and the second time it was $900 a month, McLean said. “Over the past week, we have had well over 100 phone calls and emails from people asking if this was a legitimate rental. Of course, it is not,” he said.
McLean and his assistant are spending one to two hours every day dealing with this, and have contacted police.
So far, 10 people have knocked on the door of the North Saanich house, in the hopes of viewing what they mistakenly believed was a rental property, McLean said.
As far as McLean knows, no one has sent money, although they have come close. When potential renters get suspicious, it seems that they check out the address on the Internet and discover the home is for sale.
McLean said he knows two women who sent their pictures, as requested by the con artists.
The scam deals are being marketed at a time when renters in the capital region are scrambling to find a place to live amid a very low vacancy rate
Brent Munro, also with Re/Max Camosun, saw one of his for-sale listings, now with an accepted offer, lifted by scammers last month.
He received about eight calls from people checking on the property after seeing it advertised online for rent at $1,300 per month, far lower than what it could command. In today’s market, the house would have rented for $2,000 per month or higher, he said.
In that case, the person pretending to be the owner said they were in the U.S.
One woman who responded to an online ad, for a different house in Saanich, received an email, filled with poor grammar and punctuation, from a writer who said he and his wife had moved to Nevada for work.
“We will be there for two to three years or more that is why I have made up my mind to put up my house for rent to whom ever that will take good care of it.”
The email said the for sale sign on the property should be ignored because they’ve decided to rent out the house instead.
It said the realtor should not be contacted.
“Get back to me so i can forward you the rental application form i would want you to fill out and also do get back to me asap with your picture as well so let me know whom i am renting my house to.
“Pls kindly contact me back via email instead of calling me because i will be very very busy at work.”
When the Times Colonist called the phone number, only messages were accepted. The number has a Missouri area code, not Nevada.
McLean offers these tips:
• If the rent seems too cheap, there’s something wrong
• If the person wants money before they have met you, there is something wrong
• If you get that spider-sense that something is wrong, check it out. And if it is listed for sale on a credible site, it is probably for sale.
Saanich police Acting Sgt. Jereme Leslie said it appears there have been two reports in the region this year of this kind of scam. It does not appear that people sent money.
“We suggest that you never rent a place before meeting with the property manager or owner, and ensure you have been inside the rental property to make sure it meets your needs and it's not a scam.”
This con has been carried out before, he said.
Scammers request a wire transfer or banking information. They promise to refund the money if a prospective renter is not happy after taking possession.
