Squamish RCMP is investigating a rental scam in the community. On May 18, a renter signed a subrental agreement with someone but were unaware the person who was supposedly leasing the property didn’t have the authority to sublease or sign legal documents.
This person was also not authorized by the landlord to take any money on their behalf. A Squamish RCMP investigation has revealed that the landlord had not authorizes anyone other than the original tenant to live on the property. Police didn’t provide any information on what action was taken on the file.
Scammers will advertise online fake rental listings luring consumers into making bookings and sending money, cautions Better Business Bureau. Once the renters send payment to secure the listing, they often find out that the property doesn’t exist, is unavailable for rent, or isn’t the scammer’s property to list in the first place.
One BC student shared her experience with BBB last summer, stating, “I found a two-bedroom apartment on Craigslist for $1,475 a month. It seemed to be a great deal, so I contacted the landlord. He told me that he had moved to Spain due to work reasons. Therefore, the apartment was vacant, and I could move in anytime. He added that he had never rented this apartment before and wanted to find a responsible tenant to take good care of it. He told me he was using a global rental company to find the tenant and provided me with a link to the company. Since the company’s policy required me to transfer a deposit before seeing the house, I sent them $3,000 using the link he provided. At first, I could talk with the customer service on the website. But now, I can’t reach them anymore. I tried to find the legitimate founder of the company, only to learn the company had been closed and it was probably a scam.”
If you encounter a rental scam, be sure to report it, Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker at BBB.org/scamtracker. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre can be reached at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or at 1-888-495-8501.
