Students are at risk of rental scams
What to watch out for and what to do if you are scammed
Over the last year, victims of rental scams have lost around $1,230, a loss that is 160 per cent more than the data collected around the same time frame last year, according to data from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
The BBB describes a typical rental scam as a fake listing created by scammers to draw interests from customers and trick them to send money to secure the property before the customer finds out it’s fake.
Rental scams are a rising issue and the BBB works to improve “marketplace trust” and connect people with legitimate “businesses, brands and charities.”
Neesha Hothi, the director of marketing and communications for the BBB Mainland B.C. says the increase in rental scam loss from last year to this year has something to do with people slowly returning back to work and daily routines in the covid world.
“You’ve got students moving in, you’ve got people finally changing locations, there’s been a lot of changes happening,” she says.
Hothi says there have been many adjustments in the financial market due to the way the world is changing. From having students learning online to having the slow return to in-person teaching. Students who had to move back home are now looking to move closer to school and this creates the opportunity for rental scams.
Hothi says the BBB does not have exact data that shows students being disproportionately scammed than other people, but it is affecting people in all age groups.
The lack of experience plays a part in students being scammed, Hothi says. Scammers can often target students because they know students might not always be able to ask the right questions.
When moving to a new place, it’s important to see the place or send someone to see the place before sending money to secure the property, Hothi says.
She says even if you live in the same area as the property being listed, scammers can say they are out of town to make you feel like a deposit must be made quickly before the property is given to someone else.
Hothi advises against sending money or personal information.
“Even if someone is out of town, most of the time they would have appointed someone else to show the house or show the apartment. So the fact that they’re not letting you see it at all, that would be a red flag for me,” she says.
These types of scams can also affect a person who is trying to purchase a vehicle, and people should be wary when the sellers use elaborate stories to tug a buyer’s emotions.
“No legitimate business is going to try to rush you through. If you’re getting pressure tactics from anybody, whether private seller or not … that’s something to be [wary] of,” Hothi says.
“If they ask you to send a deposit through anything like Western Union or a gift card or anything like that. That is a huge red flag because no legitimate business or nobody wants to get paid that way. That’s a very strange way to do it. That’s a way to not trace it. That’s something you want to be mindful of.”
“Protect yourself by taking the extra steps in the beginning, so that later on, you’re not regretting it,” she adds.
Hothi says a person who has been a victim of a scam should report on the BBB scam tracker, which allows people to inform others about the scams, and they can report it to the Canadian anti-fraud centre, as well as the local authorities.
Along with contacting the police and reporting the scam, the Canadian anti-fraud centre also advises that victims of a scam have all the information relating to the fraud ready and report it to the financial institution they used to transfer the money.
