Kelowna couple uncovers rental scam involving their home

KELOWNA – Kelowna residents Emily Nan and Chris Barr are selling their home through a realtor. However, it seems that someone else is also trying to profit off their property.

“It turns out that our house is for rent on Craigslist,” says Nan.

Someone copied the information from their online ad and used their photos to put up a post on Craigslist offering to rent out the home.

“I was shocked to see our house and our pictures on there for rent,” says Barr.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I was shocked to see our house and our pictures on there for rent," says Barr.

The ad was up for less than 24 hours before it started sparking interest. Some caught on quickly that the rental ad was fake but others fell for it.

The couple’s realtor, Paul Neufeld, says it was on December 19 that someone came into his office confused after seeing both ads online: one to rent and one to sell the home.

Neufeld says another potential renter e-mailed to warn him after realizing it was a scam. That same day, someone even showed up at the house unannounced.

“A woman showed up at our house with a couple of little kids and was kind of surprised to see people in the house,” says Nan.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "A woman showed up at our house with a couple of little kids and was kind of surprised to see people in the house," says Nan.

“I saw her pull into the driveway, I was just watching her unload her kids, no realtor,” says Barr.

Barr opened the door when he saw the trio walk right up to it. He found the woman hunched over looking underneath the door mat for a key to the house.

“She was surprised to see me so she explained to me that she just talked to the landlord and that he sent her over looking for the key…and if she liked the place to contact him again,” says Barr.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "She was surprised to see me so she explained to me that she just talked to the landlord and that he sent her over looking for the key…and if she liked the place to contact him again," says Barr.

They called police and soon after the fake ad was taken down. RCMP are putting out a simple warning: trust your gut.

“It’s often going to be suspicious if someone offers to leave the key and have you just attend on your own and just take a look at their property or peer through the windows. Trust your instincts,” says Cst. Jesse O’Donaghey with Kelowna RCMP.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's often going to be suspicious if someone offers to leave the key and have you just attend on your own and just take a look at their property or peer through the windows. Trust your instincts," says Cst. Jesse O'Donaghey with Kelowna RCMP.

Nan and Barr acknowledge things could have been worse.

“I was angry at first that somebody could do that and at Christmas time. This lady with two kids could have lost her Christmas money or whatever it was for,” says Barr.

But they’re grateful they caught on early and as far as they know, before anyone lost any money to the scam.