Ontario man worries his property has become rental scam bait

A Cambridge man said strangers keep showing up at his new house unannounced – looking to rent it. CTV’s Jeff Pickel explains why.

A homeowner in Cambridge, Ont. is concerned his property is being used in a rental scam.

Brett Brohman bought a home in the Soper Park neighbourhood on July 8. He noticed, soon after, strangers kept showing up at his property.

“I saw on my camera there’s people walking around my yard,” Brohman explained. “I thought it was odd, I thought it was just a utility person.”

Then, last Sunday, he spotted three men standing in his backyard and looking around.

“They’re asking if I was Emmanuel and told me that some guy, Emmanuel, told them to come [to] check out the house,” Brohman recalled.

Eventually, the visitors explained they saw an ad on Facebook Marketplace. The person who made the post called themselves Emmanuel and told the would-be renters he was out of the country, so they could go look at the exterior of the home without him.

“It’s very nerve-racking knowing there’s an ad for your house and people could, at any time, just be trespassing on your yard,” Brohman said.

He reported the issue to police but was told that since no crime had been committed there was little they could do.

Brohman said he notified Facebook about the issue but, as of July 25, the ad has not been taken down.

While the uninvited guests are a nuisance, Brohman is more concerned about potential victims.

“I don’t know if anyone’s going to fall for the scam and pay them [the] first and last month’s rent,” he said.

Brohman also worried they would blame and come after him.

He understands, however, why the post generated so much interest. It set the rent at $1,500 per month for the three-bedroom house.

“People are probably going to be thinking like, ‘This is such a good deal, we don’t want to wait.’”

Brohman hopes people use common sense when looking for a rental and advises renters not to tour a property without someone on site.

“Make sure that you actually see the inside of the house, and whoever you’re talking to has a key and can go inside and can show you around, not just tell you to walk around outside.”

CTV News also reached out to Facebook’s parent company Meta but have not received a response.