35 people in Kitchener, Ont., out total of $40K, say police about one of latest online rental scams
CBC
Despite being aware of the many online rental scams in Canada, Suraj Thomas of Kitchener, Ont., says he was stunned to learn he can now be counted as one of the victims.
Police in Waterloo region said at least 35 people have been identified as victims of a recent online rental scam in the city, resulting in a total loss of $40,000.
In Thomas's case, his lease agreement was coming to an end when he saw a Facebook Marketplace ad in early August for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in the Laurentian Hills area of Kitchener that was going for $1,900 a month.
Thomas texted the phone number in the ad and was given a contact number for someone described as the owner. She got him in touch with someone who was called the current tenant, who ended up showing him the apartment. CBC is not naming the owner and tenant as they haven't been verified as the ones who spoke to Thomas.
Planning to move into the apartment with a friend, Thomas viewed it in person twice. The supposed tenant told him he had to give up the apartment because he was moving to Nova Scotia for a job.
Thomas agreed to take the lease and after sending the requested documents — including photo identification, pay stubs, credit scores and a credit report — he transferred $4,100 to the apparent owner for the first and last month's rent deposit.
The morning Thomas and his friend were set to meet who they thought was the unit's owner to receive the keys, they tried calling and messaging her once they arrived, but no one answered.
"Then we had a feeling that something bad was about to happen," said Thomas.
They also attempted to contact the apparent tenant, but again, no response. That's when they met a building representative who said they had been scammed.
"He told us the whole thing — yesterday there were like 15 people here. They were all trying to move into the same apartment, the same unit," Thomas recalled.
"We were absolutely shocked and devastated. Yeah, we lost our money, but other than that, we don't have a place to go."
CBC News attempted to contact both the alleged tenant and the owner by phone and via social media, but didn't receive a response.
The building is owned by Greenwin Corp. In an emailed statement to CBC News, the Toronto-based company confirmed it is aware of the scam.
"This incident was driven by bad actors who made attempts to exploit the system," reads the statement in part.
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