A Craigslist scam put Kimberly Miller of Red Deer out her damage deposit by posting a house for rent that wasn’t available at all.
“That’s harsh to have that happen to you at Christmas,” she said.
“You give your notice at a house and then all of a sudden you’re not moving. It kind of sucks.”
After seeing an ad on the Craigslist website offering a house in Red Deer for rent, Miller sent a response and was shown pictures of a house.
She liked what she saw in the pictures so she asked to see the place, which also occurred. But it turned out the scammer didn’t own the place he was offering to rent out.
“I went to meet him and I liked the place and I put down a damage deposit,” said Miller.
“He said I was accepted and he took off with my money.
“I went back to the place and he didn’t even own the house.
“He broke into somebody’s house and showed it to me.”
Red Deer RCMP Cpl. Sarah Knelsen said two years ago these types of scams were more common, but they don’t get as many reports of it as they once did.
“A lot of times people won’t report stuff like this, because perhaps they are embarrassed they fell victim to it,” said Knelsen.
Even though the reported cases of these types of scams have declined, Knelsen said that doesn’t mean they don’t take place.
“Report it to the RCMP,” said Knelsen.
“These scams are prevalent but a lot of times they aren’t reported. If we don’t know about it, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
To report a crime like this, or any other crime, call the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575.