There's a warning of the 'rental scam' going on in the Windsor area.
Windsor Police Constable Andrew Drouillard says rental scams happen all over.
He told AM800's Kathie McMann a recent call to police has investigators taking proactive steps on The Afternoon News. Drouillard says it's the first time this type of fraud has been brought to his attention locally.
"More often than not it's a fraudulent advertisement, sometimes on Kijiji or other ad posting sites," says Drouillard. "The scammer sometimes uses previously used posts and this is usually in an attempt to victimize people who are interested in renting property."
Drouillard says people need to get over any embarrassment over being defrauded, if police don't know what's going on, they can't help or warn others.
"Definitely give us a call so we can investigate and apply as many resources that we can to assist with whatever's happened. If all else we keep the information and we can get it out to the public to let them know it's happening."
Scammers will take payments through various methods with a promise to arrange for the victim to get the keys.
He says once the money is received, the victim is left with a deposit on a property that's not available, or not owned by the fraudster.
Drouillard says the best way to avoid this type of fraud is to view a property in person, ask for a lease or contract and review it thoroughly, and never send money to strangers.
— with files from AM800's Kathie McMann —