$950 for an apartment? A steal if it's real, but an Ontario man is now just one of the latest scam victims

Chris Norris is running out of time to find somewhere to live. 

He needs to be out of his rental in Thunder Bay, Ont., by the end of October, and being on long-term disability means his budget is tight. It's even tighter now, after falling prey to a scammer who took a $400 deposit from him for an apartment that wasn't real. 

"It was very defeating — you're out that money, you're not going to get that money back, there's no recourse," Norris said. 

Rental scams are becoming more common across Canada, according to anti-fraud interests, and scammers are rarely held accountable. Norris and other victims say they want that to change and see action to stop fraud against renters. 

The scam against Norris took place on Facebook, when someone responded to his ad looking for a rental. They offered a unit for $950 a month all inclusive, which is a good deal in Thunder Bay's rental market, so Norris felt he needed to do whatever it took to sign that lease.

"I got to jump the gun and make sure I'm doing everything I can to secure a place," said Norris. "I desperately need a place because my landlord is selling where I am right now."

After paying the $400 deposit, the person started asking for more money, which made Norris suspicious. When he went to the house for a viewing, he found someone living there who said the apartment was definitely not for rent. When Norris tried to contact the person offering the unit, they blocked him on Facebook, leaving him out $400. 

• Have you been the victim of a rental scam? If you'd like to share your story, send us an email.

Non-delivery scams related to buying and selling online, including rental scams, have all increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. 

In 2021, frauds associated with buying or selling goods and services online accounted for $21.1 million in reported losses, the fraud centre reports. 

Housing-related scams are easy and lucrative for criminals, said Rachel Jolicoeur, director of the Cyber Market Intelligence and Financial Crimes centre at Interac. Compared to other online scams, rental fraud allows scammers to "cast a very wide net."

"They don't have to specify a certain demographic, age group. This really applies to everyone. We all need a home," said Jolicoeur. "The victim can be anyone."

Application fees, security deposits, pet deposits and asking for first month's rent before a move-in are all illegal under Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act (RTA). But many tenants don't know this or feel pressured to pay illegal fees because of how challenging finding a rental can be, said Dania Majid, a lawyer with the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario.

"Because of the low supply and the fact that there are next to no affordable units, they are sort of going outside of the norms set under the Residential Tenancies Act," said Majid. "That desperation for prospective tenants trying to find a place has generally has made everyone vulnerable to potential scams." 

Out-of-towners most at risk

One of the most glaring red flags is a reluctance to physically show the unit, said Jolicoeur. 

People moving to a new city from far away can be acutely susceptible to rental scams, she said. 

"Whether it's someone who is moving into province or someone coming from abroad, there is an opportunity for them to pretend that there is a a rental apartment or a house that is available, and the fact that people can't go visit the apartment or meet with the individual who is renting the home makes people a bit more vulnerable."  

Mohit Dudeja, a contract lecturer and PhD student at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, said finding a place to live as a newcomer is like navigating a minefield of potential scams. 

"When I was on Kijiji, I encountered lots of fraud. People sent me photos of amazing looking houses and said that's available for like $400 [or] $500," said Dudeja, who is originally from India. Many of the people who reached out to him wanted money up front before showing the apartment, he said, and would tell him paying up front before a viewing is the norm in Canada. 

"There was this hint in my mind that it could be fraud, but I didn't expect that from a country like Canada." 

His PhD supervisor was able to help him navigate the rental market and point out red flags in some of the rental listings, said Dudeja. He ended up finding a place to live, albeit well over his planned budget. 

Vanessa Owusu-Afriyie, a student in Lakehead's bachelor of education program, told CBC News she booked accommodation through AIrbnb, with the hope using the short-term rental platform would protect her from scams. 

When she got to the unit she paid the deposit on, she said, the person who answered the door told her, "'It was no longer an Airbnb. As a matter of fact, it was sold to somebody else.'"

"I basically flew from Toronto to Thunder Bay hoping to have a place to rest my head for my semester only to find out that I was homeless," Owusu-Afriyie said.

While Owusu-Afriyie said Airbnb refunded her deposit and put her in a hotel for three nights, she wants to see rental platforms do more to screen for potentially fraudulent listings. 

In an emailed statement, Airbnb corporate communications said the listing Owusu-Afriyie booked has been removed from the platform. Fake listings are rare as they use machine learning to detect red flags such as "template messaging, duplicate photos and other discrepancies," said the statement. 

Norris said he wants authorities to try harder to catch scammers. He tried reporting the person he sent the money to to Facebook, but said the social media company didn't ban the profile. He said he still sees the user posting rental ads.

Norris said he wasn't able to get help from his bank, either. Reporting it to the police felt futile, so he didn't bother. 

"You're not going to get that money back. There's no recourse," said Norris. "We need more stringent laws on accountability on the internet because I think there's far too much anonymity going on."

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Thunder Bay Police Service said it has taken fewer than 10 reports in the past year featuring this particular scam.

It advised against sending money to people you don't know, "regardless of the pretext," and meeting in person for all transactions.  

If you are looking for an apartment, here are some helpful tips from the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario and  Interac's Cyber Market Intelligence and Financial Crimes centre. 

Red flags to look for in rental ads:

• Seems "too good to be true" (i.e., below market rent, low price for a "luxury" unit).
• Ad lacks specific information about the location or seems generic. 
• Advertiser is unable to show apartment in person, provides excuses.
• Advertiser tries to create sense of urgency and requests money before showing the unit.
• Requests payment by wire transfer, bitcoin.

Resources if you've been the victim of a rental scam:

• Contact local Thunder Bay police to file a report online or by phone at (807) 684-1200.
• Report fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre on their website or by calling 1‑888-495-8501. 
• Contact your bank or the vendor you used to send the money.
• Alert Service Canada to ensure personal information provided such as SIN aren't used fraudulently at 1-866-274-6627.