Avoiding rental scams

The Calgary Police Service is reminding Calgarians to be vigilant when searching for rental properties, particularly online.

In many cases, victims are using popular online sites to locate properties which leads to communication with the ‘property owner’. They are then asked to provide a deposit via money order, prior to seeing the rental property. In some instances this money is to be addressed to someone outside of the country.

The following tips are being offered in order to avoid being victimized:

• Only deal with landlords or renters who are local
• Be suspicious if you’re asked to only use a wire transfer service
• Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower
• Do not give out personal information such as social security, bank account, or credit card number

Anyone with information about these types of frauds is asked to contact Calgary Police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers anonymously using any of the following methods:

TALK: 1-800-222-8477

TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org

TEXT: tttTIPS to 274637