Renters beware: Fraudsters using old real estate listing in scam

Real estate scam targets renters A real estate scam is using old listing to dupe would-be renters. CTV Barrie's Mike Arsalides reports.

Fraudsters are using old real estate listing to try scam would be renters.

Crystal Colclough moved into her Midland home four years ago. To her surprise, that old listing is now being used by online scammers to attract renters with too good to be true deals.

Colclough received a knock on her door from a woman looking to rent the home.

“She showed us the ad and sure enough it was on there and really cheap,” she says.

Colclough’s friend recently had the same thing happen to him. So she started looking into the scam.

“They send them the deposit and then they send them fake keys and the keys don’t work,” she says.

According to Barrie real estate broker Peggy Hill, this happens all the time.

“It's terrible. Awareness is the only thing that's going to help solve this problem,” Hill says.

Barrie is the third most expensive city to rent in all of Canada, according to a recent report.  That makes homeowners and prospective renters perfect targets for fraud.

“It's happening all over the world and with spoofing software and other information that's available now. It's hard to track any of them,” says Det. Sgt. Tim Ticknor, OPP anti-rackets branch.

Police are asking anyone who thinks they've been taken advantage of to call the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre.