Be on the lookout for fraud targeting landlords and tenants

In these times of housing shortage, fraud is rife, targeting both tenants and landlords. How can you avoid falling into the trap?

Fraudulent rental payments aimed at tenants

A common ploy to scam tenants is to send them an e-mail encouraging them to make an Interac transfer to pay their rent. The fraudster poses as the landlord, often claiming that a new payment method is being introduced and/or that a new manager will be taking over the next payments.

This e-mail, often sent via a simple Gmail e-mail address, seems legitimate at first glance, so tenants don't think it could be a fraud and, keen to keep their home, make the Interac e-Transfer.

Interac e-Transfer is not a risky method of payment, however, and remains a widespread practice. However, it's important to take precautions when your tenants pay their rent by transfer. Here are a few tips:

• Prioritize your cell phone number as a method of retrieving Interac transfers from tenants.
  
  
• Inform your tenants of the importance of being vigilant when it comes to paying their rent online by downloading our "Fraud prevention for rent payments" letter template to avoid potential cases of fraud.
  
  
• Inform your tenants that under no circumstances will their payment method be changed without prior communication from you.
  
  
• Encourage your tenants to contact you directly if they receive a communication supposedly from you informing them of a change in payment method. Ask them to contact you by telephone or via the e-mail address normally used by you (if not the one used in the e-mail) to confirm the information transmitted.

 

Driver's license fraud targeting owners

One fraud tactic not to be overlooked is the use of forged driver's licenses. A landlord asks a prospective tenant to provide identification to complete a rental application. The landlord quickly looks at the driver's license, deems it compliant and proceeds to sign the lease with the tenant. However, once the lease has expired and the tenant has left, the landlord notices serious damage to the property and wishes to obtain compensation from the former tenant. Once he had made his claim, targeting the holder of the driver's licence, a copy of which had been given to him, he realized that the actual holder of the licence was not the person to whom he had rented the property. It is therefore impossible for him to sue this person, who did not cause the damage and who was the victim of identity theft. It's also impossible for him to get reimbursement from the former tenant, who is nowhere to be found.

To prevent this kind of situation, there are a few steps you can take:

• Make sure you have been able to verify that the photo on the driver's license provided is actually that of the prospective tenant you are dealing with. You can verify this by asking the prospective tenant to take a photo of himself holding his driver's license up to his face. You can also verify this by asking the prospective tenant to meet you on a video call, where he or she can confirm his or her identity in the same way.
  
  
• Check the copy of the driver's license you receive by looking at the critical points set out in this document provided by the Société d'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ). Take note that licenses produced before August 24, 2015, as shown in the SAAQ document, are no longer in circulation. If a prospective tenant presents you with a piece corresponding to this type of permit, it's probably a forged one. Counterfeiters often use this old version, which is easier to forge than the new version in circulation.

 

Ultimately, the surest way to guard against fraud is to stay informed and vigilant.

Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@corpiq.com.