Rental scams, unfortunately, have become frequent with landlords and students who are advertising properties through online rental listings, websites and social media. A rental scam is one of many tricks used to defraud landlords, students, or potential tenants by gaining their confidence and potentially monetary compensation.

There are many websites on the internet that post rental advertisements. Please exercise caution with your rental search as there are also scams that specifically target potential tenants. Some, for instance, advertise an almost too-good-to-be-true property (sometimes even with photos) and require a deposit or a portion of the rent before letting you view the property. They may promise to send you keys upon receiving payment. Often the photos being displayed aren’t of the actual property address being advertised, and sometimes the photos and the advertisement itself are of a property that actually exists but the scammer has stolen the information from another website and only changed the contact information to theirs.

• Check out the location of the property, to ensure that the property event exits. Sometimes, the civic number for a property doesn’t exist.
• Do not send any money or personal information without meeting the landlord or property manager.
• Have a friend or relative enquire about the property information from the landlord and compare notes.
• Use an online search engine to search for the person’s name, email, telephone number or other identifying features to see if there have been other online complaints.