Skip to content

Rental scam hits Okanagan

Realtors are warning of a rental scam in the Okanagan.
18419kelownarental
Rental scam hits Okanagan.

Another rental scam has hit the Okanagan.

Realtors with the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board are warning the public that there has been at least four recent instances of fraudulent rental ads online.

Paul Cowhig, OMREB’s Professional Standards Coordinator says in these instances someone has scraped photos and information from other sites and used this information to post bogus property rentals on advertising 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,” explained Cowhig.

“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 advised of the scam and will be checking online advertising sites to make sure none of their listings have been scammed. Property sellers with active listings are recommended to do the same.

Those seeking rental accommodations are cautioned to not to forward funds to anyone without first conducting an in-person verification of both the property and the potential landlord.

RCMP have been notified of the scam.