When Matthew Richardson was on the hunt for a new rental property in at the end of 2024, he didn’t expect to get caught up in an elaborate rental scam.
And even more to his surprise, he wasn’t the only one.
After spending months searching for an ideal property for his young family, Richardson came across a posting on Facebook Marketplace in December. With a location close to his office, a big yard and low rent, it seemed “too good to be true,” he said.
He reached out on Dec. 8 and within days had set up a meeting and tour with someone he believed to be the owner of the property. Richardson said his previous lease was ending on Dec. 31 and he was desperate to secure a rental property before then.
A few days later, he set out to take a look at the property himself. The supposed landlord said he wouldn’t make it for the first meeting, because he was out of town for his son’s hockey tournament. Instead, they scheduled to meet on Dec. 27, where Richardson would be able to sign a lease. He sent a $1,600 for a security deposit before then.
“Me and my wife got there, and just nothing,” he said. “Then more people started showing up.”
That’s when he realized he had fallen victim to a rental scam.
That day, 18 people had already shown up with signed leases, according to Richardson. But the landlord never made an appearance.
The Edmonton Police Service told CBC that a number of people — police did not provide s specific number — were victims in that particular rental property scam. All told, people caught up in the scam lost a total of almost $11,000, police said.
How rental scams work
EPS Const. Amanda Trenchard said there were about 90 reports about rental scams in 2024, with total losses of about $100,000.
But that isn’t the whole story, Trenchard said.
“Unfortunately not everybody comes in to report to us,” she said. “[Rental property scams] are quite prevalent, whereas scams themselves are just escalating yearly. So this is just one of many other types of scams we see.”
Trenchard said the rental scams usually start out as an ad on an online forum like Facebook Marketplace. People interested in the rental can get pressured into sending a deposit, sometimes without ever meeting the landlord or seeing the property in person, she said.
But this scam was different.
“This one was unique because most of the people … did the right steps,” she said.
“They went to the property, they got to see inside the property and they met a person there, and then only after that did they put the deposit down.”
While Richardson wasn’t one of them, multiple victims reported that they had met with the supposed landlord before signing the lease and paying a deposit.
What to watch out for
According to a 2024 report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Edmonton’s rental market has a low supply of affordable rentals. High demand put pressure on prices, which pushed about 94 per cent of units to expensive for renters with a household income of less than $38,000.
Richardson filed a police report and consulted his bank in an effort to retrieve the $1,600 security deposit, but learned that the bank couldn’t get the money back because he sent it willingly.
Once money is sent out, it’s hard to get back, according to Lisa Rufiange, a moderator for a Facebook page called Edmonton Apartments, Houses, Rooms For Rent.
That’s why people should take extra steps to avoid being caught up in a scam, she said.
“Sometimes the scammers will actually post the same photos, so it’s almost like they’ve taken the pictures off of some kind of stock website,” Rufiange said.
A reverse Google image search can help spot photos that have been taken from elsewhere, she said.
Echoing the words used by Richardson, the ads often seem “too good to be true,” said Darlene Reid, board chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton.
This means that the listed price could be extremely low, or the rental property might include deals or add-ons. In some cases, this means they might offer a free month or waive utility costs.
“A lot of people are rushing because they’re worried the rentals are going to disappear on them, so they want to get it deposited,” she said. “My advice is take your time, ask the questions, make sure you do your due diligence.
Scams are getting harder to recognize
Rufiange said she is finding it increasingly difficult to detect these scams.
“They’re getting smarter and it’s getting harder to recognize,” she said.
She spends time vetting rental ads before they’re posted to her page, looking for suspicious ads.
She said she has observed what appears to be scammers replying to their own ad from a different profile in order for the listing to appear credible.
Rufiange recommends house-hunting in places where it’s more likely the ads have be verified. She vets all the ads posted on her Facebook group, and removes anything that seems suspicious. Similarly, websites that allow real estate agents to post listings might provide another layer of security.
Getting a third party involved, like a real estate agent, can also minimize the risk of falling for a scam, she said.
“The biggest thing is really awareness … we need to be spreading the word out so that people don’t fall victim to these scams,” she said.
Matthew Richardson was able to find a place to live at the beginning of January. But he says he’s not optimistic that he’ll get his security deposit back, although his case is still ongoing.
Radio Active8:59Rental scams
If you’re looking for a new place to call home, you might start your search online, on Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji. But one must be careful to watch out for scammers. Recently, several Edmonton families found themselves living a nightmare scenario. They arrived to pick up the keys to what they thought was going to be their new home and they discovered the person they thought was the landlord didn’t own the property. And now their deposits are gone. Our Lisa Catterall is digging into this.
While touring their current place, he took a photo of his new landlord’s drivers’ licence to make sure they were who they said they were.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a huge learning point,” he said. “You definitely can’t trust someone over the internet.”
#rent #Edmonton #Beware #scams #experts
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