Alarm bells raised about Facebook-based P.E.I. cottage rental scam
'I couldn't believe that this woman did this to me. I thought I did my homework.'
Two women who lost money to a Prince Edward Island cottage rental scam are sounding the alarm.
They say the perpetrator reached out to them through the P.E.I. Cottage Rentals Facebook page, promised a cottage rental and took their money, and then completely shut off all communication with them.
Jenna Lightfoot, who thought she was renting a cottage in Bonshaw, said she couldn't believe someone would actually do this.
"I was upset and angry, because as an Islander you tend to trust people, big time," she said.
Lightfoot said the person reached out to her in a private message after she posted on the Facebook page that she was looking for a cottage to rent on the Island for July. They exchanged phone calls, texts and emails, which included images of the property in Bonshaw and a business reference.
Feeling it was safe to book, Lightfoot paid for the rental through the Square platform and received an email receipt.
"She seemed legit. She provided me her business licence, she provided me where she worked, and I'm like 'Okay, someone's not going to scam me if they're telling me where they work because they know I can find them.'"
But shortly after booking, Lightfoot said she saw Facebook posts from other people claiming that the person offering the Bonshaw rental should not be trusted. Others described a pattern of reservations being cancelled at the last minute for reasons such as the detection of bed bugs, followed by no communication from the apparent host.
"It got me very concerned," she said.
Lightfoot reached out to the person multiple times after learning of this, and never received a message back. She was out almost $1,300.
I was upset and angry, because as an Islander, you tend to trust people, big time.— Jenna Lightfoot
She isn't alone. Krista Bartley told CBC News she was scammed for over $1,700.
Bartley had also posted on the Facebook page that she was looking for a place where she could spend some time with family members, and was contacted by the same person Lightfoot described. She also paid with her Mastercard on Square and also received an email receipt confirming she was booked for July.
There were no red flags during the transaction, Bartley said.
"She sent me all the information. We talked back and forth. She told me that she owned a [business] in Charlottetown and that I was free to call her at her [business] and to make sure she was a legit person," she said.
A few months before Bartley was supposed to check in, she reached out to the person she had booked with to confirm a few details, but didn't get any response. The phone number she had previously used was now out of service, her Facebook messages were ignored, and the Charlottetown business had shut down.
"I thought, 'Oh no, I've been scammed,'" she said. "I was devastated, devastated. I was crying...
I thought I did my homework. I thought I checked her out as a legitimate person.— Krista Bartley
"I couldn't believe that this woman did this to me. I thought I did my homework. I thought I checked her out as a legitimate person."
When Bartley posted on Facebook to ask if anyone else had been affected by this person, she said at least 40 people responded to say that they too had had a negative experience.
CBC News also spoke to a third person who said they were scammed by the same individual, but would not give an interview.
Bartley did get her money back through her credit card company and reported the incident to police. Lightfoot also got her money back by reporting the fraud to her credit card company, but felt it was too complicated to report the incident to police since she no longer lives in the province.
There is no record of any charges being laid against the person cited by the two women.
Online fraud 'a sad reality'
The P.E.I. RCMP's media relations officer, Cpl. Gavin Moore, said the Island is no different from the rest of the country and sees a significant amount of fraud.
"I think you're more likely to be a victim of fraud in Canada than any other Criminal Code offence, and that's largely due to the tools that fraudsters now have," he said. "Unfortunately, it's a sad reality that all Canadians have grown accustomed to."
Moore says that regardless of the type of scam or how much is taken — or how embarrassed you feel — you should report such incidents to police.
"If you've found that you've become a victim of a particular scam, by sharing that with police, police can then help to inform the rest of the public," he said. "We can also make connections with other crimes and that helps with investigations.
Certainly the primary goal would be to bring the person to justice in that particular crime.— RCMP Cpl. Gavin Moore
"And certainly the primary goal would be to bring the person to justice in that particular crime."
Moore said fraudsters may face jail time if there is evidence and they live near where the crime was reported; offshore scammers are much harder to track down. However, he added that the police only have so many resources so fraud cases may take a backseat to other crimes.
He suggested going through a civil process like Small Claims Court can be a good way to try and get your money back, if you've paid with an e-transfer and can't appeal to your credit card company for coverage.
Protecting yourself
The Canadian Bankers Association has spoken out often about internet-based scams, since its member banks are the ones paying compensation for credit-card transactions that turn out to be fraudulent.
Adrian White is the director of financial crimes for the organization. He told CBC News that internet fraudsters are constantly adapting their pitches and becoming more creative with their schemes.
With regard to cottage rental scams, White said it's not very hard to create a fake website, stealing images from elsewhere to post a fraudulent listing. But there are steps you can take to protect yourself, he said.
First, White recommends keeping on top of the latest scam trends and threats to prepare yourself for internet interactions.
"If you feel uncomfortable about the transaction, do not proceed," he said, but instead do some research and look for reviews of the provider. "Ideally, deal through people that you know or people that have had a positive experience that can attest to the legitimacy of an ad or rental property."
"Look for established organizations that have a track record, that [have] a presence in a business or in a community that you can verify through other means, a brick-and-mortar location with a phone number that you can call. Things like that can help address the uncertainty of the unknown," he said.
If you are scammed, White said you should contact police, your financial institution and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Tourism P.E.I. reaction
CBC News also reached out to provincial tourism officials about what Bartley and Lightfoot went through.
"Tourism P.E.I. is aware that accommodation fraud can be an issue," they said in an emailed response. "If we become aware of it, we refer victims to the police to investigate the situation as fraud is an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada. We also work with victims to ensure platform operators remove fraudulent advertisements."
The province also noted that registered tourism operations are a safer bet for anyone looking to book online.
"We would encourage individuals to verify if the property they are staying at has a licence. Tourism P.E.I. has a searchable database that can help guests verify their accommodation bookings: Licensed Tourism Accommodations Search | Government of Prince Edward Island."
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