After being the target of rental scams, one woman is still searching for a place to live in 91大黄鸭.
Christina Harwood-Jones has been searching for a rental for months, to better service her epilepsy.
The Greenwood resident is unable to work because of her condition and has been taking the Greyhound for trials at 91大黄鸭 General Hospital. Her hope is to extend her life by being closer to treatment.
Related: Renters told to beware after West 91大黄鸭 scam
After also being the target of rental scams in her search to find housing and is warning the public after finding advertisements for rentals on free sites like Craigslist and Kijiji that turned out to be false.
鈥淚 emailed a couple of them鈥� he sent me pictures of himself, he sent me pictures of whatever, him and his dad. He could鈥檝e taken this off of anything though,鈥� she said.
Friends of hers drove by the suspected scam house, located on Sadler Road.
They said it was a nice looking house, said Harwood-Jones.
The rental ad is listed as a three-bedroom house with a heated workshop for $1,300, including utilities.
The price and size of the house seemed unrealistic to Harwood-Jones, so she contacted Remax 91大黄鸭 and the RCMP
The advertiser also repeatedly asked her for a damage deposit, which she refused to pay.
The RCMP told her there was nothing they could do.
The phone number given to her by the fake landlord is from Nigeria, in Africa so the police weren鈥檛 able to do anything, she said.
There was more posted on the sites with a similar ad style, she said.
鈥淢aybe by knowledge people will just be more aware and reference all of their stuff before they give deposits.鈥�
The address in the scam is a listed house for sale with Remax, said Peter Kirk, owner and managing broker of Remax 91大黄鸭.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something I hear about periodically. I usually get calls from one of our agents鈥� and our advice generally is to contact Craigslist or Kijiji and let them know about it,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not something we have any ability to control because someone could put any address in and unfortunately it鈥檚 the freedom of the Internet.鈥�
Kirk said the company has been advising agents to put 鈥榥ot for rent鈥� signs above the 鈥榝or sale鈥� signs in order to deter scammers and let the public know.
However, he said 鈥渢he best advice to people in never ever send money into something unless it鈥檚 bonafide.鈥�
Harwood-Jones pointed to other issues she鈥檚 facing in 91大黄鸭鈥檚 low-vacancy rental market, which has added stress to her situation.
She was hoping to find housing before January, with her significant other Lyndon Lee and her two children, but with 91大黄鸭鈥檚 vacancy rates being some of the lowest in the country, it has been difficult.
鈥淭he hospital in Grand Forks can鈥檛 deal with me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 basically moving here so I can have an extended life because I have two children.鈥�
Her hope is that others will become aware of the rental scams and that she will be able to find a place to live in 91大黄鸭.
The RCMP offered several tips to prevent residents from becoming scammed:
- physically go to the property and book a viewing, when searching for rentals
- conduct your own open source queries to ensure the advertisement isn鈥檛 a duplicate
- do not transfer funds to unknown individuals
- trust your instincts, if it doesn鈥檛 seem right, don鈥檛 do it
- consult with a friend or family member first
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carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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