EDMONTON- A Whitecourt couple is warning others, after falling victim to an online rental scheme.
Tina Durocher and Mark McInnes began looking online for a place to rent in Edmonton, after the mobile home they were renting was destroyed in a fire earlier this year.
Durocher says they found a condominium that seemed just right for them. After several emails with whom they thought was the owner of the condo, they wired a $3,000 deposit to the United Kingdom.
“Shortly after we had sent the confirmation numbers and everything he just quit replying to us altogether,” Durocher explained. “That was kind of when I realized … we’ve been had.”
After losing almost everything they owned in the fire, Durocher was devastated. She says the deal seemed legitimate, and didn’t know what to do.
“Literally, that was our last dollar that we had sent to this man.”
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“I did not want to send money online, but it just seemed so above board, like everything was okay,” added McInnes.
They’re not alone. Online rental schemes are common. Fraudsters often copy real ads they see online and drop the price as a way to get consumers’ money.
Tracy Wilson says she’s given up on looking for rental spaces online, because of all the troubles she’s experienced.
“They’ll come up with some song and dance story of how they had to leave the country suddenly and you can go and look at the outside of the building, but unfortunately the keys are with them in some foreign country. But if you send your deposit and your rent, they’ll send you the keys,” Wilson explained with frustration.
She says she’s even been asked to send personal information like her driver’s license number and social insurance number.
“They wanted all the information that they could take,” she explained. “I had reached a point that I was so frustrated that I had given up on looking for a place.”
Wilson is now staying with a family member.
As for Durocher and McInnes, they’re currently living in motel, trying to figure out what to do next.
“We’re actually trying to get help from social services now, which is something I never thought I’d ever have to do,” McInnes said.
In situations like this, here are some tips to follow:
– Don’t be swayed by below-average rental prices
– Be suspicious of an owner or landlord who won’t show you inside the property
– Be suspicious of anyone who claims to have already moved or claims to be in another country
– Don’t wire money to anyone you don’t know, or claims they’ll send you the keys once they receive the payment
With files from Julie Matthews, Global News.