A Calgary couple is warning others to be vigilant of rental scams targeting immigrants or refugees after it had to turn several hopeful renters away.
Jaclyn Rhyno told Global News that over the past year, numerous people have unexpectedly popped by her home in Midnapore, claiming to be there to “see the place.”
“‘This is for rent. We’re here to view the home.’ ‘The keys are supposed to be in the mailbox, but we can’t find the keys,'” are all messages Rhyno heard from visitors.
Rhyno said some of them ring the bell and actually talk to her, but others just make themselves at home.
“They just start going around my house,” she said. “They’ll come right up to the gate. They start taking pictures. They’ll look through windows.”
Rhyno said when she tells them the house is not for rent and she did not post any ad, they are never aggressive but are shocked and dismayed.
“Normally they just look very disappointed,” she said. “It breaks my heart to see these people who, a lot of them, seem to be coming from crisis locations and they don’t speak a lot of English.
“I cried when the last gentleman came by. You come here thinking, ‘Oh I’ve got a place to live,’ and you’ve got nothing. Nothing.”
The Immigrant Education Society (TIES) in Calgary has also heard from several rental fraud victims. TIES CEO Sally Zhao told Global News these scams target the “most vulnerable” and a lot of newcomers to Canada are not scam savvy.
“They are not very well prepared for the scammers here,” she said. “So, when they receive emails or phone calls they take it for real.”
Zhao said there are other reasons for newcomers becoming targets, including language and culture.
“A lot of our clients, their first language is not English. So when they are in a new environment in an English-speaking country, their language proficiency is still limited.
“They are also not familiar with Canadian culture yet,” she added. “In their own country there may be different culture, different procedures for renting.”
Zhao added while TIES and other organizations are helping educate newcomers that they have nothing to fear from scammers, many old fears remain.
“Some newcomers are reporting but some newcomers are not reporting, especially refugees. They are so afraid of being sent back.”
Zhao also called for more accountability — as a society and governments — when it comes to all frauds. She said regulations need to be in place in Canada to stop scams as well as prosecute those who carry them out.
Rhyno has done what she can do. She has put up posters on her home, advising those who walk up that it is not a rental and that they are being scammed. The great thing about those posters is they are in languages other than English.
She told Global News she knows it won’t stop everyone from being scammed, but she hopes it will help at least someone.
“They come here expecting us to be kind and compassionate and help them out. Instead, they just get someone who wants to take their money.”
Renters are advised to never give any money up front before seeing the property, as well as making sure it is in fact vacant.