Quebec cottage owner says fraudster used her property in online scam
If you're looking to rent a cottage for a weekend getaway, be careful. Fraudulent activity has increased during the pandemic, and one cottage owner found that out when she got a bizarre knock at her door.
It all began when Gren Cowper thought he found a great deal to rent this cottage in Wentworth North. But when he was emailing with the person who posted the ad on LesPAC.com, he sensed something was off.
“It sounded like a Google translation of English,” he said. “His greetings and salutations were not typical of a Quebecer.”
When Cowper researched the listing, he discovered that the property actually belonged to someone else, Tracy Goodson, who runs a website called CozyCottages.net, where the real ad was posted.
“Someone has stolen my property’s identity,” Goodson told CTV News.
The poster was trying to get interested renters to send a deposit before they could see the place, something security experts warn against unless you're convinced the person on the other end is legitimate.
Goodson says she repeatedly asked LesPAC to take down the ad, but it kept popping up. Once, someone even knocked at her door looking for the person who posted it.
He must have driven all the way from Montreal, she said.
“So, he spent an hour and a half, two hours in traffic on a Sunday. And I said, ‘oh no, did you see the ad on LesPAC?’ He said ‘yes.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry to tell you it’s a scam.’”
Goodson is angry LesPAC kept letting the fraudulent ad appear, but LesPAC says the poster kept using a different email and IP address to post it.
“Every time, our team was quite fast to take action, identify the fraudulent ad, then block it and remove it,” LesPAC Operations Vice President Luc Morin told CTV News. “But the moderation that was in place was not sufficient.”
Morin says they have learned from what happened to Goodson and have improved security as a result. But, he says, fraudsters still find a way to get through.
He says anyone using online platforms should be careful. Sometimes, he said, “you will see a note ‘please contact me at the following email address’ — this is a [red] flag. Don’t do that.”
“If it doesn’t work with the phone, just stop and go with another property.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.