CALGARY – A rental bargain turned out to be anything but for at least one person who lost $600 to an online fraudster.
The scam was perpetrated by someone who copied a legitimate Calgary rental ad on the popular online classified service Kijiji – but dramatically lowered the monthly rate to attract plenty of potential tenants.
The fake ad listed the four-bedroom home on Mount Aberdeen Grove S.E. at $1,000 a month, compared to $2,000 being sought by the legitimate landlord.
The scammer told prospective renters that he had recently moved to New York and wasn’t able to meet them in person – asking instead for them to send him $600 via wire transfer.
“Our suspect was encouraging people to drive by, but he made up some story about how he just moved and couldn’t get back to let people in,” said Const. Martin West.
The low rent got the scammer the kind of attention he wanted – 800 hits in a short period of time – but the attention also helped bring the case to the attention of authorities.
Kijiji users who had seen the legitimate ad became suspicious and alerted the legitimate owner and police.
“It was good teamwork,” West said.
So far, police have been able to determine at least one person fell victim to the scam.
The suspect used the alias David Rodriguez and authorities tracked the ad to a phone number and Internet address in New York state, however, West said police don’t know whether either clue has any connection to the culprit’s true identity.
With technology making it easy for criminals to mask their location and identity, it’s especially important to prevent people from becoming victims in the first place, said West.
“Public awareness is our best tool,” he said.
In the case of rental ads, West said prospective tenants should investigate properties and landlords in person and be suspicious of anyone seeking payment via wire transfer or advertising rental rates that are far below local market value.
For more information on rental scams, go to www.rentalscams.org.
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