Ontario man loses nearly $3,000 in rental scam

An Ontario man said he was “really excited” to find an affordable apartment near Toronto before he was scammed $2,800.

“I thought, wow this is normally something I couldn't afford, but with this price I could," said Kyle De Luca of Burlington, Ont.

De Luca was anxious to find a new place and while searching a rental listing website he came across an apartment that seemed like a great deal.

“The offer was around like a thousand dollars a month less compared to some other units and it was supposedly newly renovated," he said.

De Luca said when he responded to the listing the landlord said he lived in Spain and had purchased the unit for his son who would now be going to school in California for the next four years.

The landlord said the rental price was $1,400 a month and if De Luca transferred first and last month's rent, the unit could be his.

“It included internet, it was all furnished, included hydro, water and all utilities as well as two parking spaces," said De Luca.

De Luca transferred $2,800 to the person he thought was the landlord of the unit and was told he would be sent the keys to the unit, but days later he was told he needed to send another $2,800 to secure it.

“That is when it occurred to me, wait this sounds really fishy. Why is he all of a sudden asking for more money? None of this was mentioned and I don't like this," said De Luca.

When De Luca refused and asked for a refund he never heard from the person again.

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre more than one thousand Canadians lost almost two million dollars to rental scams over the past two years and three months.

Those are only the victims who reported their losses so it's probably much more, according to officials at the centre.

Geordie Dent is the Executive Director at the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations and said with low vacancy rates and rising rents many people feel they have to act quickly which leaves them vulnerable to being scammed.

“It creates this pressure because they are giving money (to secure an apartment) because they think they have to give money to get a place as fast as possible," said Dent.

To avoid rental scams, never be pressured to send first and last month's rent or a security deposit before signing a lease. Be cautious if the owners claim to be out of country and only communicate within the rental platform.

Dent said always try to visit the property in-person to make sure it exists.

“It’s a really tight rental market and scammers are taking advantage of that. They know people are desperate and they know there aren't places available," said Dent.

De Luca now has to save his money and start his apartment search all over again.

“Moving forward I’ll be a lot more skeptical and careful with these types of things. I really learned a lesson in a very difficult way," said De Luca.