A Surrey woman was scammed out of almost $9,000 after trying to rent her home out during the 2010 Olympics by placing an online ad on Craig's List.
Surrey RCMP Sgt. Roger Morrow said the victim has asked police not to make her name public. He said she was contacted by someone claiming to be a doctor from England, who raised the ante by saying he and his family would like to rent her place for a year for $30,000.
She bit. The "doctor" then sent her a cheque for $39,000, and then contacted her to say he'd sent too much and needed $8,900 back to cover his moving costs.
The Surrey resident waited seven days and checked twice with her bank to ensure the cheque from the "doctor" was legit before wiring $8,900 back to him.
"Having taken as many precautions as possible and exercising due diligence, the fraud was cast in stone," Morrow said. "Following the monies having been wired to this individual, the bank has since withdrawn the original amount of $39,000 from the victim's account and has advised the cheque was a fraud."
This scam has also played out in Toronto, Squamish, and Delta, where the victim was bilked out of $6,000.
No one has been arrested in any of these cases.
"To ensure you do not become a victim of a similar scam, it is suggested that you have any monies agreed upon be wired to you in cash and not via cheque nor money order," Morrow advised.
