**** Bww Glasgow Police Release
New Glasgow Regional warns the public of online rental property scams.
New Glasgow Regional Police is warning residents of an online rental property scam circulating in the community.
In the last several days, police received two reports of property scams. In both cases, a fraudulent ad for a rental property was posted on an online kijiji ad.
In one case, the victim had reached out to the seller who had posted the ad. The victim then sent a deposit. The victim then visited the apartment that turned out to be fake. They could not reach the person and lost the deposit.
In the other case, the victim was looking for a rental property that they saw online and made contact to the seller through email. Upon investigating the property in-person, they realized the property was not for rent. They could not reach the person who posted the ad.
Persons posting Fraudulent ads online can be very convincing and appear to be true. Police warn that these online ads can be from a variety of online sources and anyone can be a victim of a scam.
Police provide several tips to assist you in your search for the right property.
Always verify your search before making any purchase and deposit. Visit the property in person.
Double click the address to see if the property isn’t being used elsewhere online. Search the address to see if it’s been used in a duplicate post, or image search the photo. If there are, this could be a sign of a scam
Visit by scheduling a visit to confirm its availability.
If you feel rushed or pushed to do something, it could be a sign of a scam.
Request a lease agreement or contract and check it over.
If the person requests payment in other forms of payment, gift cards cryptocurrency, gift cards or E-transfer, may be a sign of a scam.
Know your rights as a tenant. If it seems to good to be true it is.
If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact the New Glasgow Regional Police at 902-752-1941. If you encounter a scam but you have not been victimized, you can also contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm.
