A Member has reported that a property for sale has been fraudulently displayed for rent on Kijiji and Craigslist. The rental amount shown is unusually low for the area. This alerted a person familiar with the area to question the amount and contact the Member.
Another person contacted the poster of the ad and asked to view the property. They were advised to view the pictures and send a deposit, as the poster was out of town due to a family member being ill. When the potential renter drove to the location, they saw the for sale sign on the property and contacted the Member, who let them know it was not available for rent and had been fraudulently posted.
The homeowner has reported the situation to the local police.
In order to guard against such fraudulent activity, Members may choose to routinely undertake an Internet search of their listings. Once alerted to such occurrences, they can be reported to local police and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre, which is jointly managed by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Competition Bureau.
For more information, visit www.antifraudcentre.ca
Did you know? The following are all accessible from the Stratus home page via the Your Resource Centre button.
- Member Alerts (including archived items);
- A Fraud Red Flag Checklist;
- CREA’s ‘The Safe Side - REALTOR® Safety Issues’ brochure; and,
- REALTOR® Safety Tips.