TIPS FROM HOMERENT.CA ON HOW TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL FRAUD

Although the vast majority of emails received via HomeRENT.ca are from quality, bona fide renters, you may receive enquiries from potential fraudsters when you advertise on the Internet. 

Beware of would be renters:

… who seem more interested in sending you money than in asking relevant questions about your property;

… who do not provide a telephone number and use an obscure hotmail, yahoo, or similar email address, especially if they claim to be coming to Canada from overseas;

… who refer to your property incorrectly (eg interested in your "room" when you are renting a condo), ask you the price, how much they have to pay to move in and for how long, the location of the property, ask you to send pictures.  All this information is on your advertisement;

… who offer to send you money in advance;

… who go into great details about his work, personal, or financial situation.

A potential fraudster may send you a fake "money order" and ask you to refund an "overpayment" to them.  Please DON'T refund overpayments unless you have confirmation from your bank that all deposits have been officially cleared. Even then, this is a very unusual request and should be treated with caution.
 

What can you do if you suspect a scam ?

Please ask the enquirer to telephone you, or to provide you with their telephone number. Call them.  Start a rapport.  Ask lots of questions.

Please make use of our FREE rental forms.  Ask your renter to complete an an Application to Rent form and do your homework such as checking references.

Finally, if you do find that you are uncovering a real scam, you can contact Phonebusters at www.phonebusters.com, a central agency that collects information on telemarketing, advanced fee fraud letters (Nigerian letters) and identifies theft complaints. The information is disseninated to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. The data collected at PhoneBusters is a valuable tool in evaluating the effects of various types of fraud on the public. It also helps to prevent future similar crimes from taking place.

PhoneBusters does not currently collect information on spam emails that have not been confirmed as fraud.  Their advice is "don't try, don't buy and don't reply.  Just delete it. "

Please be assured that HomeRENT.ca protects your personal information and does not disclose your email address to enquirers. All email is routed to you via HomeRENT.ca's own server. Only if/when you reply will you reveal your own identity.

We encourage you to use our forum to communicate information on possible scams… Landlords helping Landlords.