Ontario family out nearly $1,000 after being tricked by 'professional' cottage rental scam

TORONTO -

An Ontario family is out nearly $1,000 after being caught up in a cottage rental scam.

"The person who is doing this scam is very professional and I don't want any other family to go through this," Mississauga woman Zeljka Radovic told CTV News Toronto.

Radovic and her husband wanted to surprise their children and friends by renting a cottage, and were relieved to get one on short notice in Gravenhurst.

However, when they made the three-hour drive north from Mississauga, the actual owner of the cottage said it wasn’t for rent and that they were the second family to show up due to a fraudulent rental ad.

"He told us you have the wrong house and he informed me that I was the second person there this week who had been scammed," Radovic said.

Radovic found the cottage rental by posting an ad on Kijiji saying they were looking for a place to rent.

Someone contacted them to say they had a cottage available and had photos, a rental contract and said they could get a discount if they paid in advance.

Radovic said she e-transfered $980 dollars to the scammer, which she is unable to recover.

"I was disappointed that there are people out there like this. These are hard times and we just are doing what we can to get by to make the best of life right now and they're doing this in mass numbers," Radovic said.

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, rental scams are on the rise and last year there were 946 reports of rentals scams with 499 victims losing $729,944.

CTV News Toronto contacted Kijiji about the issue they said they take "all claims of fraud extremely seriously."

"Kijiji has a dedicated Community Support team and a variety of technologies in place that are devoted to spotting fraudulent behaviour," the statement said.

A spokesperson said they banned the scammer's profile from the website.

"When it comes to renting property on Kijiji, our guidance to our users is to exercise caution if something looks too good to be true," a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Radovic said being scammed was especially difficult because her husband lost his job a couple months ago.

To avoid cottage scams try to use websites that specialize in cottage rentals and pay with a credit card if possible.

Try to visit the cottage beforehand and watch out for special discounts or deals that seem too good to be true.