Real estate scams could be increasing
St. Catharines realtor Patrick Burke is warning rental property shoppers to make sure the deal they’re offered isn’t too good to be true, after a home he’s selling was recently targeted by a scammer.
Local realtors are concerned that similar scams could become more prevalent in Niagara, as rental property becomes increasingly difficult to find.
Burke said he was shocked to find an advertisement on Craigslist a few weeks ago asking for $1,000 a month in rent for a newly built 1,700-square-foot home featuring nine-foot high ceilings, quartz counter-tops and triple patio doors leading out to a huge covered deck — to name a few of the amenities in the Fonthill home that was so new the sod had yet to be laid in its yard.
It wasn’t just the incredibly low asking price that Burke found perplexing — it was the fact that he’s legitimately selling that same house for $694,500.
The phony advertisement was removed this week after Burke repeatedly complained to Craigslist about it.
But during the weeks that the
advertisement was still up, Burke said his office was receiving as many as six calls a day from people asking if it was legit.
And if that many people were calling him, Burke wonders how many fell prey to the scam.
“If he (the scammer) can get 10 people over the course of the two weeks to fall for it, or even five people, we’re talking about $10,000.
“And how many of these (scams) does he have running out there?” Burke asked.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre spokesperson Jessica Gunson said at least one Niagara resident has fallen victim to a similar scam this year.
She said the Anti-Fraud Centre received a complaint from a St. Catharines resident who lost $1,300 after responding to a rental property advertisement.
The victim became suspicious when asked for an additional $1,300, and then reported the crime.
Niagara Association of Realtors’ newly appointed president, Stephen Oliver, said he, too, had one of his listings targeted by a scammer last year.
“There’s really not much that I could do about it, because they’re scraping information, taking pictures and posting it. I made the seller aware of what was going on, but there’s not really much more you can do about it,” Oliver said.
“It’s not the first time we’ve heard of this.”
Realtor Randy Mulder fears Niagara could be becoming a prime target for the scam, due to the limited number of available rental properties.
“I think it may have more to do with the fact that we have less than a one per cent vacancy rate, so you know when you put something out for rent, there’s going to be attention,” Mulder said.
Oliver added, “We’re not isolated to it. The vacancy rate is opening this up to those opportunities, because people are struggling to find rentals in some cases.”
Gunson said scammers are looking for any advantage they can find, such as a lack of rental property in an area.
“They’re like a mouse: if they can see a hole they can fit through, they’re going to take it,” she said.
“If they get on to an area where they know rents are in high demand, it’s something they can exploit and get ads out there … When scammers see an opportunity to steal money from Canadians, they’re going to take it.”
Gunson said the Anti-Fraud Centre issued a bulletin last August warning people about it and advising people to research the property they’re considering renting to ensure it’s not duplicated, and to “go with your gut.”