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
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.