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Kelowna  

Beware of rental scam

Renters beware. A new rental scam has reached the Okanagan.

According to the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board, there have been at least four instances where people have gathered pictures and information from other sites, and used them to post fake property rentals.

These are occurring on sites such as Craigslist and Kijiji.

“The way it works is that when someone calls about the rental, they are sent the tenancy agreement
and asked to forward a deposit and pick up the keys from the previous renter on a particular date,”
explains OMREB spokesman Paul Cowhig.

“Since there’s no rental property, the potential renter is out the amount of the deposit and out of a potential rental that they may have been counting on.”

Local realtors will be checking online advertising to ensure none of their properties have been scammed.

People with active private listings are being advised to do the same.

Anyone looking for accommodations are advised not to forward funds without first conducting an in-person verification of both the property and the landlord.

Police have also been notified.



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