December 25th, 2012
.
The RCMP Is Warning Canmore Landlords & Tenants To Be Careful of a Rental Scam
A New Rental Scam?
Yes. The Calgary Herald reports the RCMP wants to warn landlords in Canmore about a new scam.
There are lots of these types of scams across the country, and more and more are occurring here in Alberta.
Similar scams have been revealed recently in Grand Prairie and Lethbridge.
I’m Not Familiar With Kijiji
Kijiji is a site similar to Craigslist. You can post free advertisements on it. Many landlords and tenants use this free service. It’s growing fast in Alberta.
What Are the Details of the RCMP Warning?
Canmore is a hot spot for holiday visitors. We receive a lot of people coming each year.
In the past couple of weeks fraudsters posted ads saying they have properties for rent. If you want to rent the property, you are told to send money via an email payment.
Then, at least twenty-four hours before you arrive in Canmore to move in to the property, you are told you will receive a Pin Number to enter.
So You Can’t Get In?
No only can you not get in, in reality you haven’t rented out the condo or house.
One person sent thousands of dollars to rent out a place and never received a Pin Number. An investigation showed that none of the condos or other rental properties advertised this way were actually on the market for rent!
How Can Landlords and Tenants Avoid These Scams?
Tenants should never send money without seeing the property and getting a receipt for any payments sent.
Landlords should make sure tenants know who they are, where the property is, and give a receipt for any rent paid. Landlords can also avoid sites like Kijiji and use a professional rental agency or tenant finder company to find good tenants for them.