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Williams Lake resident warns of rental scam on Craigslist

A Williams Lake woman is warning of a rental scam in the city.

A Williams Lake woman is warning of a rental scam in the city.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said her stepson and his girlfriend recently inquired about an ad for basement suite on Craigslist.

They received an e-mail reply that immediately made them suspicious.

When the stepmother saw the e-mail she sent an inquiry off herself just to see what kind of response she would get.

“The reply was lengthy, but the gist of it was that the homeowners had moved to the U.S. and the keys for the place would be sent via courier, and the damage deposit/rent would have to be wired to the U.S,” she told the Tribune.

Convinced she was now on to a scam, she went to the address of the rental suite, spoke with the real home owner, and learned she had not placed an ad on Craigslist.

“She thanked me for letting her know what was going on,” the stepmother said. “I want people to know about it because I am concerned not only that a less-aware person might actually fall for the scam, but that if someone does fall for it they might actually show up to try to get their money back and cause problems for the real homeowners.”

Craigslist has posted warnings on the internet for users to avoid scams and suggests that it is best to deal locally and face-to-face because doing so will mean avoiding 99 per cent of scam attempts that are out there.



Monica Lamb-Yorski

About the Author: Monica Lamb-Yorski

A B.C. gal, I was born in Alert Bay, raised in Nelson, graduated from the University of Winnipeg, and wrote my first-ever article for the Prince Rupert Daily News.
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