Fraud Awareness Tips for Renters
While the vast majority of apartment listings on RentBoard.com are legitimate,
you should be aware that certain individuals post rental listings on RentBoard.com
for the sole purpose of scamming potential renters.
In the same manner, the vast majority of e-mail and phone leads sent to apartment
managers using our Web site are from real, interested buyers. However, you should
be aware that certain individuals may contact a property manager or express an
interest in leasing an apartment for the sole purpose of scamming the landlord or
property manager.
When using the Internet, you should always exercise caution and common sense. When
using the RentBoard.com web site, you can help protect yourself by learning more
about how the RentBoard.com service operates and taking the precautions outlined
below. If an activity seems suspicious or a transaction seems unbelievably good,
you should beware.
Deceptive E-Mails & Claims
RentBoard.com merely acts as forum in which potential renters can search listings
of apartments for rent and contact landlords to discuss the specifics of the apartment,
arrange for a showing, and/or possibly enter into an agreement to lease the apartment.
All transactions are between renters and landlords. Be aware that RentBoard.com never
participates in transactions between renters and landlords. Specifically, we do
not lease apartments or collect payments or deposits for rental properties.
Finally, given the nature of our service, you should be aware that we do not and
cannot verify the authenticity or legitimacy of any renter, landlord or property
advertised for rent.
Advice for Renters
- Avoid ads that are "too good to be true." Ads for apartments in big
cities such as Edmonton with rents significantly below market value are almost always
lures used by scam artists. Check other listings in the general area and see what the
going rates for apartments are before responding.
- Always see the apartment in person before sending any money or providing personal
information such as your social security number, even if it's just to fill out an
application. Under no circumstances should you do business with an overseas landlord
unless you have personally verified their identity and that they actually own the apartment
advertised.
- Dealing locally is best. The safest way to deal is in person and face to face. Be
wary if the prospective landlord only wants to communicate via e-mail. Be more wary
if the landlord is currently out of the country or resides overseas or far from where
the apartment is located. Be extremely wary if the landlord flat out refuses to talk
on the phone or claims they cannot talk on the phone.
- Exercise extreme caution before wiring deposits or rent payments using Western
Union or MoneyGram, especially to foreign countries. Sending money in any form overseas
will likely result in losing all of it. Western Union and MoneyGram are very popular
for Internet scams because the funds are available instantly, untraceably and worldwide.
- Scan any attachments from landlords with anti-virus software before opening. One of
the latest scams involves a "landlord" e-mailing an unsuspecting renter
additional photos of the apartment for lease. However, one or more of the e-mail attachments
contains a virus that can fool your Web browser to make it appear as though you're going to
a legitimate site but in fact are being sent to a site controlled by the scammer. The best
way to protect yourself is by using commercial anti-virus software, keeping it up to date
and by scanning all e-mail attachments before opening or double-clicking them. Commercial
Web-based e-mail services such as Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail provide virus-scanning services
free of charge.
Who should I notify about fraud or scam attempts?
- Internet Fraud Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov
- FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
- FTC online complaint form (www.ftc.gov)
- Non-emergency number for your local police department.
- If you suspect that an ad posted on the Rent Board may be part of a scam, please email the details to
info@rentboard.com.
Be sure to include the ad ID in your message.
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