Craigslist rental scams twice detected by couple seeking tenancy
Merilin Balanza and Bob Bailey want to warn others about the scams they ran into on Craigslist
A North Vancouver couple say they were almost scammed twice while apartment hunting on Craigslist.
Merilin Balanza and Bob Bailey have been looking for a place to rent for a month. But they say it hasn't been easy because of the number of fraudulent listings they keep encountering.
- Read more about Craigslist rental scams
- Read about victims who tried to make a citizens arrest
- How to avoid a rental scam
The first time was three weeks ago when the couple saw an ad for a two-bedroom house. They became suspicious when the landlord offered to mail the keys in exchange for money.
"He's telling us, he's going to ask us to send the money," said Balanza on Tuesday morning.
"It seemed suspicious because how can we rent an apartment we didn't see?"
Another red flag went up for the couple when they noticed the landlord would only correspond by email and never answered the phone.
2nd listing raises more concerns
Not long after, they found another rental listing on Craigslist and once again, the behaviour of the landlord raised concerns.
"He was going to be out of town for six years, but he wanted to rent me an apartment," said Bailey.
When the couple drove by the unit, they realized it was already rented.
Craigslist scams are not new. Earlier this month, a CBC investigation uncovered a scam listing for luxury rentals in Vancouver's Coal Harbour neighbourhood had cost several families thousands of dollars.
In one case, the victims attempted their own citizen's arrest, leading to a warning from police about taking the law into their own hands.
The couple said they've contacted police about the ads, but believe online forums should be regulated.
"Craigslist should be monitoring their ads," said Bailey.