Woman loses $6000 in Vancouver rental scam

Sandy Irving

Police are warning renters to be cautious when looking for apartments after a woman lost $6,000 in a fake landlord scam in Vancouver. Sandy Irving found an 1,800 square foot apartment in Coal Harbour on an online classifieds site. She visited the condo four times but each time, the fake landlord claimed he was too busy to go with her. Irving and the fake landlord met at a coffee shop to sign the rental agreement and gave him $6,000 in cash for the first month's rent and deposit.

The condo was not actually for rent but for sale by the owner residing in Korea. Pictures from the real estate listing were used in the fake ad. The fake owner tricked the building concierge into letting Sandy into the suite saying the condo was being taken off the market and used for renting instead. He arranged for the concierge to give her a key.

Police warn renters to get a copy of the passport, drivers licence or other ID from potential landlords before handing over any money.

Police are currently examining surveillance videos to try to locate the scam artist.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/06/04/bc-rental-fraud-kijiji.html