FORT ST. JOHN -- A woman is warning others not to fall victim to rental scams after she lost money to fraud on a Fort St. John property. The woman, who wishes not to be named, says as a result of the scam she had her identity stolen.
Earlier this year, the woman and her family began to search for a new place to rent. When she found what she thought was the perfect listing she gathered $2,900 to cover rent, the security deposit and the pet deposit.
She says once the papers were sent over that's when the red flags began. She was being asked to cover lawyer fees, mail costs and more.
All the fees were requested to be e-transferred to different emails. But it wasn't until the family showed up at the house and they saw a for sale sign on the lawn that they knew they had been scammed. The realtor says they did not know there was a fake listing under that address.
Last month, someone reached out to the woman asking if a Dawson Creek rental was still available. That's when she discovered the scammers had stolen her identity and are using it to scam others.
She wants to warn those in the Peace Region to be aware of rental scammers and to always verify the landlord's identity before sending any money.
