Fraud alert!

[gsayer]

Hi there, some of you may have heard about this one already but thought it was worth mentioning.

Had a friend tell me someone responded to his ad on KIJIJI for a place to rent. This person told him he was a Dr. moving to Canada from the UK with his wife and child. He offerred up a bank draft to cover d. deposit and a full year rent. Sounds good right?
The bank draft looked like a valid draft from HBC. My friend deposited the draft, returned a few days later everything in the bank account looked good still. He then got a call from RBC telling him this bank draft was a fraud.
What normally happens is, these people send the bank draft, then something changes and they can`t rent they ask you to send the money back minus the d deposit and are even willing to let you keep 2 months rent but ask for the rest of the $. After you have sent the $ you find out the draft was a fraud and you have sent them $ that wasn`t yours to give back.
Apparently this fraud is being used to fund terrorism.
Just a heads up for those who haven`t heard of this one.

 

[brentdavies]

This is an old scam, and it must work because people continue to fall for it.

Similar to one from a government official from an overseas country who need help to move money to another account. Of course they just want to move your money to their account.

Or the bank inspector chasing crooked employees and wants you take out money or give him our banking information.

Or the toner salesmen or the light bulb salesmen on the phone.

One of the bank drafts we received from a gent coming from England was drawn on a bank from Texas, USA. The names did not match of the person sending the draft, applying for the rental, and the return address were all different. Of course we did not cash it, and after two email asking for the refund, never another word. The draft is sitting in my property management stupid stories scrapbook.

I continue to get one or two a year, and chuckle.

If it too good to be true, it is almost always is.

 

[markl]

Brent,

Take it easy on the poor toner salesmen. Once upon a time I was in the consumable business.

Regards,

 

[DenisEncontre]

I`ve received this email also. Systems will usually save you from most scams. When we receive emails from Kijiji the first step for the prospective tenant must do is send us a completed application form along with a government photo ID. He ignored my request and sent all his personal information by email. I replied that it`s our company policy that we cannot accept his application based on an email and he would still have to complete our rental application form and reminded him that we only process applications that have photo ID attached.

Never heard from him again.

Writing down your rules and goals and setting up systems will both protect you from yourself and crooks.

 

[EdRenkema]

Usually scammers are obvious in their approach as they begin their letters introducing themselves and starting with "Hi dear"
I usually respond with instructions to phone to book a viewing unless its obvious I`ll delete it.
I received one email several weeks ago that started with `hi dear` I replied with instructions to phone, indeed a phone call happened & after passing the initial screening I will be tenanting this Orthopaedic Surgeon in residence whose family is arriving from Libya. Deposit received, excellent credit and good references.
Always the scammers will not follow up with a phone call and certainly couldn`t pass the initial screening.
In this case not deleting what looked initially like a scammer turned into a good tenant - you never know....

 

[TheVancouverLife]

Thanks for posting as it serves as a reminder to always be on your guard.
Also good info for new investors who are looking for tenants for their very first income property.

I personally always get prospective tenants to complete a detailed application form, and get their permission to do a credit check.
Next step is to verify their references.

This screening system will reveal much about who you are dealing with.
Any potential tenant who hesitates should bring up some red flags.

I was showing a property to a couple one day and without asking me any questions they said "we`ll take it!".
That`s when I gave them my application form and told them to complete it and return it to me.

They looked at it and I could tell from their facial expressions they were not the real deal.
Needless to say i never heard from them again.

That probably saved me so much time and aggravation had I rented to them without requesting the information.

Remember, good tenants make all the difference in successful real estate investing.

Alan