Vancouver woman warns public of rental scam

A Vancouver woman claims she was the target of a rental scam and is sharing her story to help others avoid being duped.

Heather Mackay said she noticed a one bedroom apartment located in downtown Vancouver listed on the website zumper.com for $1,550. The price is well below average, so Mackay decided to try her luck.

"Well they kept saying, like, act fast," said Mackay, who applied and quickly received a response telling her she got the place. "Then they got back to me and said they wanted me to forward the damage deposit to a different email address that wasn't even the person I was corresponding with."

She noted several additional red flags, including the landlord's reluctance to meet in person and that no one checked her references or had any additional questions, despite Mackay only filling out half the application.

The lister also provided a contact number with an Alabama-based area code. She said the lister sent a driver's license to provide some proof of identification. That, however, only provided more concern, as Mackay did some digging and discovered the land title owner had a different name, despite the lister saying he owned and lived in the unit.

Mackay ultimately decided to not send money, but says due to desperation to find a place at a reasonable price, she admits she was tempted.

The listing has since been removed from the website.

In an email statement to CTV News, Zumper said:

"Zumper’s robust vetting process includes both manual and AI-fueled screening, plus contracts with third-party vendors to further mitigate scams. When a listing is flagged in our system, it will be reviewed and appropriately removed from our platform."

CTV News covered a similar story in March, with the lister requesting an E-transfer and using a U.S.-based phone number. In that story, the New West Police Department said it wouldn't investigate the matter because no money was exchanged.

Mackay says Vancouver Police gave her a similar response.

"They said that they weren't interested in reporting this because we weren’t out any money," said Mackay. "So that bothers me, just because I wasn't out money doesn't mean that these people aren't still out there trying to commit a crime and scam other people."

In a response to CTV News, Vancouver Police say their policy doesn't require an exchange of money.

"That's not our policy," said Cst. Steve Addison. "In fact, we've had success in identifying and arresting scammers thanks to people who have made reports to us before handing over any money."

Vancouver Police added that though rental scams are common, they haven't seen a particular increase in rental scams recently.