RENTAL SCAM

[MichelSelim]

RENTAL SCAM
By Emma Poole November 09, 2010 05:00 AM Category: Police, Public Safety
The Calgary Police Service is warning the public about an online rental scam.
Last week, five people contacted police about an advertisement on the popular website Kijiji, that seemed to mirror another ad, but with different contact details and a lower rental price.
In the fraudulent ad, the so-called renter was asking $1,000 a month to rent a four bedroom home in the 0-100 block of Mount Aberdeen Grove S.E., well below the $2,000 fee in the legitimate ad.
An investigation by District 8 officers has determined a person using the name David Rodriguez had copied the legitimate ad, changed a few basic details and lowered the price of the property to be more appealing. They then corresponded via e-mail with five Albertans who inquired about renting the property.
Four of the complainants caught on to the scam after discovering the original ad on the same website, but one victim wired a $600 damage deposit to the suspect, who is believed to live in New York state.
In order to avoid rental scams, remember the following general words of advice:

• Only deal with landlords or renters who are local;
• Be suspicious if you`re asked to only use a wire transfer service;
• Beware of e-mail correspondence from the "landlord" that`s written in poor or broken English;
• Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower;
• Don`t give out personal information, like social security, bank account, or credit card numbers.Also, there are commonalities with all rental scam e-mails. Below are some tips when dissecting a rental scam e-mail.
• Does the e-mail start out with Sir / Madam?
• Are there misspellings in the e-mail?Are there character mistakes in the e-mail? i.e Hello,my nameis Susie.Is there excessive capitalization?Does the e-mail reference God, UK, Cashiers Check, Doctor, Nigeria, Reverend, etc.Is the e-mail from a free e-mail provider, i.e gmail, yahoo, AOL, hotmail.Does the e-mail refer to another person or agent?Does the e-mail reference wanting to move in site unseen?

If the e-mail has a majority of these commonalities, then the chances are very good it is a scammer. If you are unsure, it is best to not reply. For more information on rental scams, go to www.rentalscams.org. Const. Martin West is available to speak to the media today, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010, at 9:30 a.m., in front of 27 Mount Aberdeen Grove S.E. The owner of the home in question will also be present[/b]

RENTAL SCAM: MEDIA AVAILABILITY
http://newsroom.calgary.ca/pr/calgary/rent...ity-178756.aspx

 

[kfort]

This scam has been very prevalent in SK since 2007 when the boom hit here. So much so that it has actually driven many people to avoid kijiji when looking for rental accommodations. A friend of mine was about to wire money to Florida before someone told her not to...