Be wary of fake home rental ad scam

LAKEFIELD -- A new type of scam involving rental properties has surfaced in Lakefield.

Lawyer David McRobert recently discovered that someone has posted a fake ad, offering his house for rent, on two classifiedad websites.

McRobert lives in the house and isn’t offering it for rent. He figures a scam artist posted the ad, hoping someone would email and want to rent the house sight unseen – then charge rent.

Next, the scammer can arrange to have a set of keys sent to the tenant – keys that don’t work, naturally.

Next thing the tenant knows, they’ve sent a deposit – and the purported landlord makes off without a trace.

So far no one has arrived on McRobert’s doorstep, claiming they’re the new tenants. He found out about the ad by chance.

An acquaintance called and said he heard McRobert was putting his bungalow on Albert St. up for rent. McRobert said no.

“I thought nothing of it,” he said. “I thought someone started a weird rumour.”

But then the following day, as he was gardening in the front yard, a woman walking down the street admired the house and asked if it was for rent.

McRobert said no and asked why the woman thought so. She said she saw an ad online.

When McRobert checked, he found an ad featuring his house on two classified-ad websites that list properties for sale or rent.

One of the sites, Mitula, is operated by a digital classified-ad company based in Spain. The other site, Estates in Canada, allows people to buy and sell real estate across the country.

No comment was available from officials who run either of the websites on Wednesday.

The fake ads were complete with outdated photos of the interior and exterior of McRobert’s house. He believes the photos were copied from the Internet when the house was last for sale; he bought his home in 2014.

McRobert says he’s half-expecting someone to come to the front door with dummy keys, trying to get in. Nonetheless, he hasn’t called police.

“I’ve dealt with so many scams, as a lawyer,” he said. “The Internet is just a treasure trove of scams.”

No comment from Peterborough Police was available Wednesday.

But McRobert doesn’t think it’s difficult to protect yourself from being swindled, if you’re looking to rent.

If you drive by a property that’s advertised for rent online, he said, and there’s no “For Rent” sign outside, then maybe it’s a scam.

“Just ask hard questions,” McRobert said. “Like, ‘Why can’t I see the place?’ It just requires vigilance.”