Barrie, Ont. fraudsters are using old real estate listings to try and scam would-be renters.
A Barrie woman moved into her home four years ago and to her surprise, the old listing for the house is now being used online by scammers to attract potential renters with too good to be true deals.
A hopeful renter walked up to the woman’s door and was looking to rent the home.
“She showed us the ad and sure enough it was on there and really cheap,” the home owner said.
“They send them the deposit and then they send them fake keys and the keys don’t work,” she says.
According to Barrie real estate broker Peggy Hill, this happens all the time.
“It’s terrible. Awareness is the only thing that’s going to help solve this problem,” Hill says.
Barrie is the third most expensive city to rent in all of Canada, according to a recent report. That makes homeowners and prospective renters perfect targets for fraud.
Read more at CTV News Barrie
