Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Rental Scam

Fraudster advertising non-existent Salmon Arm rental suite scams victims out of thousands

Apr 23, 2021 | 2:34 PM

SALMON ARM, B.C. — RCMP in the Shuswap say a scam artist has been victimizing people looking to move to the region.

According to a news release, a recent case saw a victim e-transfer two separate payments totalling nearly $2,000 to the scammer in order to secure a basement suite located on 18th Street SE in Salmon Arm.

The victim arrived in Salmon Arm ready to move in, only to find the suite does not exist.

In an earlier instance, another victim paid $1,000 to lock up the rental, and also passed along personal information as well as copies of identification. This victim, who was planning on moving from the Lower Mainland to Salmon Arm, became suspicious when the fraudster asked her to purchase Bitcoin and gift cards for him.

A third instance, similar to the others, involved someone seeking to move to Salmon Arm from Northern B.C.

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RCMP say this type of scam is relatively common, usually involving the fraudster posting photos of a property online, then saying they are unable to show it in person. In this case, the scammer claimed to be living in Ontario.

RCMP shared these tips to avoid being taken advantage of in a rental scam:

• Arrange for you or someone you trust to visit the property in person
• Talk to others in the area to confirm who owns the property
• Conduct an online search of any photos of the rental or the address to see if it has been associated to scams in the past
• Ask to see previous utility bills for the address to confirm the person is indeed the landlord
• Ensure a proper rental agreement is provided and signed by both parties
• Consider paying with something other than cash of e-transfer, such as a personal cheque, a bank draft or certified cheque