The Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMRB) is warning about a rental scam that is making the rounds in the Okanagan.
The professional standards coordinator for the OMRB said there have been at least four recent instances where someone has taken photos and information from legitimate ads and used the information to post bogus property rental ads on sites like Kijiji or Craigslist.
“The way it works is that when someone calls about the rental, they are sent the tenancy agreement
and asked to forward a deposit and pick up the keys from the previous renter on a particular date,”
Paul Cowhig said in a news release. “Since there’s no rental property, the potential renter is out the amount of the deposit and out of a potential rental that they may have been counting on.”
Local realtors have been made aware of the scam and will be checking online to ensure their own advertisements have not been compromised.
The RCMP have also been notified.