Those who are attempting to move during the pandemic now have something else to worry about — a scam.
Alaina Nicholson, director of consumer affairs at the Financial and Consumer Services Commission, said this isn’t a new scam.
“What’s happening is individuals are taking photos and information from legitimate real estate listings and then posting them online as if they’re property rentals,” she said.
Nicholson said they’ve gotten more reports recently of this scam including from realtors. She said now the FCNB is working with the New Brunswick real estate boards, the local boards and the New Brunswick Real Estate Association.
“(Now they’re) making up excuses as to why the consumer can’t maybe go visit and look at the property in person and they’re encouraging them to act quickly and to either send by e-transfer money for their damage deposit and first months’ rent,” she said.
Nicholson said you should never send money to someone you’ve only met online and you should insist on seeing the property in person, but if you live out of province, you can ask for a video walkthrough or to get someone you know in the area to take a look at the listing.
“There’s been one particular instance we’ve heard that someone actually showed up with a moving truck to move in and found out that the property wasn’t actually for rent but was for sale and that they had been scammed out of their money,” she said.
Some of the red flags identified in rental scams are:
- No ability for the potential renter to see the property in person before providing a deposit.
- Asking the renter to e-transfer a deposit, or meet at a location other than the property, to provide a deposit.
- Asking the potential renter to ignore the for-sale signs on the property.
- Spelling errors and typos in the ads.
- Pressure to act quickly.
If you think you’re being targeted for a scam, call the police.
