As University students get ready to return to school, many are starting to look for a place to rent and Kamloops RCMP want people to look out for possible scams.

Corporal Jodie Shelkie says there are two main scams. One is people offering a rental property they have no connection to. The other is a phantom rental where the property doesn’t even exist.

Shelkie says always verify the renters identity and never exchange money until you view a place in person. “One of the ways to tell that it’s a scam is that the scammers will almost always ask for money up front. They want first and last month’s rent and a security deposit or some combination of that. What we want to tell potential renters is that they need to verify all kinds of information.” Potential renters are advised to always verify all information on the property and the owner and always visit the property before money changes hands.

Shelkie adds that if you’re looking at an ad online, you can make a complaint to police and the website you’re using. “Sometimes Craig’s List and Kijiji can go through and try and find out who the owner of that site, but unfortunately there’s not a lot the police can do because sellers on these sites don’t provide much information that links them back to where they physically are.” She says if the renter is from out of country then they need to, if they can, have someone go check out the property physically for them. That’s the only way to confirm that it matches the pictures you’re looking at.

By Jeff Andreas