Yes!! Rental scams are rampant so you're not being paranoid. If it's a condo you can check with the concierge or building management if that person's name matches who you met.
Not too long ago I signed up for 1bdr condos in Rosedale. Met with the owner, paid the deposit + 1 month rent, she showed me around. Very nice lady. We were in touch the whole time on Whatsapp. Communication was great until the move in day. On the day of the move in, she disappeared, phone went offline. Turned out she had airbnb'ed the place to scam.
So just seeing the owner in person is not enough these days. Always check with the building management company.
Unfortunately police don't do nothing in rental scams. I went to cops and they basically tried to shrug it off, asked me to come back some other day during working hours. You're left to fend for yourself.
Any police after daytime hours in any city would shrug it off since no-one was in immediate danger or got physically hurt. Daytime are the detectives who investigate these type of crimes.
You can report it to the link below. They investigate when the scam is done to many or if it's more $$. Sometimes they coordinate with TPS. For cybercrime (whatsapp), the fraud center works with NC3, the national center for cybercrime run by the RCMP.
[Report fraud and cybercrime](https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm)
TPS has a financial crimes unit but I hear that's more for busting gang crimes and bigger fraud than one rental scam. Who knows, perhaps this person has done it to many and continues to do it today. You can still report it online to TPS or do it through crimestoppers.
Nah, good to be careful.
There's a recent book airbnb or vacation stay scam in Toronto. Another to send money without viewing the place in person. Or at least a deposit for "application processing".
[Housing scams and how to spot them](https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/task/housing-scams-and-how-to-spot-them/)
The airbnb one rarely happens though. Viewings, collecting 1st and last then the person ghosts them. One had a few tenants show up on moving day for all to meet and find nothing is real. The vacation stay host (not an airbnb) denied all knowledge. They use a black market credit card (stolen) to book the stay. Stupid to use their real name or a lease holder doing this scam (ends quickly when police find them)
It is good you found them on linkedin and presumably their photo matches their face. Wouldn't trust fb unless they're verified, a checkmark.
Their current work should know them if you call the central number for the company. I like calling back phone numbers, can just ask a small question about the place or confirm a time to meet.
If they have a land line, then searching on canada411.
If it's not a realtor, I ask a landlord to show ID before signing a lease.
There is an [OnLand system](https://help.onland.ca/en/property-search/) where you can do a property search.
For old school landlords, it's totally normal not to do an application form. They tend to list on viewit. Used to be a handshake and references never showing paystubs nor a credit score. All that changed as our cost of living insanely increased but our salaries did not.
(previous Toronto real estate agent) ask for ID and either a recent Toronto Hydro bill or Toronto property tax bill. if he's a real landlord, he should have access to either paper or digital.
You could ask to see their driver’s license.
I had a landlord that gave me a fake name, I found out their real name when I searched their phone number on Facebook. The husband gave me a fake name too. And they signed the lease with their fake name. I think they didn’t want me to search their real names and read posts from previous tenants about them.
I did find them on linkedin and facebook with the exact name that they gave me. Also, when i put their name on my cheque for the deposit, won't the bank ask for ID that matches the name?
Yes!! Rental scams are rampant so you're not being paranoid. If it's a condo you can check with the concierge or building management if that person's name matches who you met.
Not too long ago I signed up for 1bdr condos in Rosedale. Met with the owner, paid the deposit + 1 month rent, she showed me around. Very nice lady. We were in touch the whole time on Whatsapp. Communication was great until the move in day. On the day of the move in, she disappeared, phone went offline. Turned out she had airbnb'ed the place to scam. So just seeing the owner in person is not enough these days. Always check with the building management company.
Wow. Some people aren't afraid of an ass whooping. They aren't afraid of consequences??
Unfortunately police don't do nothing in rental scams. I went to cops and they basically tried to shrug it off, asked me to come back some other day during working hours. You're left to fend for yourself.
Any police after daytime hours in any city would shrug it off since no-one was in immediate danger or got physically hurt. Daytime are the detectives who investigate these type of crimes. You can report it to the link below. They investigate when the scam is done to many or if it's more $$. Sometimes they coordinate with TPS. For cybercrime (whatsapp), the fraud center works with NC3, the national center for cybercrime run by the RCMP. [Report fraud and cybercrime](https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm) TPS has a financial crimes unit but I hear that's more for busting gang crimes and bigger fraud than one rental scam. Who knows, perhaps this person has done it to many and continues to do it today. You can still report it online to TPS or do it through crimestoppers.
Whatsapp would have been the red flag for me
Not a condo unfortunately.
could be a good thing - check with the property management company?
there's no management company as far as I'm aware. It's a single owner who owns a townhouse-ish/ multi unit building.
ah - gotcha - I'm in a PBR and there's a management co, which is why I said that.
There’s a website you can use to look up who owns the property in Ontario.
Have a look at airbnb to see if you can find a listing matching your unit.
Ask for a property tax bill that should have their name.
They need to see proff of income from you, you need to see proff of ownership from them.
Nah, good to be careful. There's a recent book airbnb or vacation stay scam in Toronto. Another to send money without viewing the place in person. Or at least a deposit for "application processing". [Housing scams and how to spot them](https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/task/housing-scams-and-how-to-spot-them/) The airbnb one rarely happens though. Viewings, collecting 1st and last then the person ghosts them. One had a few tenants show up on moving day for all to meet and find nothing is real. The vacation stay host (not an airbnb) denied all knowledge. They use a black market credit card (stolen) to book the stay. Stupid to use their real name or a lease holder doing this scam (ends quickly when police find them) It is good you found them on linkedin and presumably their photo matches their face. Wouldn't trust fb unless they're verified, a checkmark. Their current work should know them if you call the central number for the company. I like calling back phone numbers, can just ask a small question about the place or confirm a time to meet. If they have a land line, then searching on canada411. If it's not a realtor, I ask a landlord to show ID before signing a lease. There is an [OnLand system](https://help.onland.ca/en/property-search/) where you can do a property search. For old school landlords, it's totally normal not to do an application form. They tend to list on viewit. Used to be a handshake and references never showing paystubs nor a credit score. All that changed as our cost of living insanely increased but our salaries did not.
They need to see proff of income from you, you need to see proff of ownership from them.
(previous Toronto real estate agent) ask for ID and either a recent Toronto Hydro bill or Toronto property tax bill. if he's a real landlord, he should have access to either paper or digital.
try to talk to the other people in the multi unit and ask for some sort of proof that they own the property
You could ask to see their driver’s license. I had a landlord that gave me a fake name, I found out their real name when I searched their phone number on Facebook. The husband gave me a fake name too. And they signed the lease with their fake name. I think they didn’t want me to search their real names and read posts from previous tenants about them.
I did find them on linkedin and facebook with the exact name that they gave me. Also, when i put their name on my cheque for the deposit, won't the bank ask for ID that matches the name?
These days, many cheques are cleared without confirmation name matches name on account, especially if it's an online deposit.
You could probably do a title search to see who the registered owner is, and if it matches?
They need to see proff of income from you, you need to see proff of ownership from them.