A university student and her boyfriend arrive at the hotel, bags in hand for a surprise romantic weekend stay, prepaid with the young woman’s long-saved $400.
At check-in, she discovers there is no booking for her, she’s been scammed.
She bursts into tears.
Out of funds, the couple leaves, feeling hurt and disappointed.
This is a situation that played out recently and it isn’t uncommon in the Sea to Sky corridor.
“The scammers, they are going on our website, taking pictures, taking descriptions, posting bogus things on Craigslist and then obviously scamming people to send money,” said Squamish’s Gerardo Galaz, who works for Whistler Superior Properties.
So far this year, the company has encountered 12 incidences of people either losing money to a scam or calling to check on a deal that turned out to be a scam, according to Dan Fear, operations manager at Whistler Superior Properties. “I can basically go on [the Internet] and find a bunch of these scams at any given time.”
Another recent case involved scammed tourists showing up at 11:30 p.m. at one of the properties that was already rented to a legitimate guest. The victims were even given a faulty door code they tried to use.
“They scared the guests,” Fear said. “They basically held a confirmation letter up to the window saying they had booked it.”
He feels for the victims. “We have had girls from Montreal, we’ve had overseas families coming to Whistler when there is nothing available. A lot of these people are investing a tremendous amount into a vacation that they don’t get to have,” he said.
Galaz and Fear said their company is going public with the issue because they want to warn potential tourists and other property management companies.
To combat the problem, on the advice of the RCMP, Whistler Superior is watermarking all the images of properties put up on its site, Fear said. “We think people will be more inclined to look up our website, find us and touch base,” he said. The company is also looking into making descriptions of properties less readily available.
Fear cautions that if a deal seems too good to be true, it likely is.
Often the fake advertisements offer rooms at unrealistically low prices, such as a two-bedroom condo in Whistler in February for $150 per night. It just isn’t going to be that cheap, Fear said.
The company contacted the police about the scams, but was told the crime has to be reported in the location where it occurred, which is not within the corridor, Fear said.
“We receive hundreds of calls daily from Canadians who suspect that they are being targeted by scammers, and even some who have lost money,” Sgt. Al Boulianne, the officer in charge of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, said in a news release. “The impact of fraud on individuals, families and businesses can be devastating.”
Fear answered one of the phony advertisements that featured one of his company’s legitimate properties and forwarded the scammers’ extensive reply email to The Squamish Chief. The lengthy reply email appears as legitimate, with none of the telltale spelling or grammar errors that sometimes give away other email scams, and is signed by “Andrei and Richard.”
“Our home is currently available during the period you mentioned. The rate would be $720 for the six nights plus refundable security deposit, $200. The total for everything would be $920. Rent includes all charges,” the email reads. Included in the scam email is a description of the property that Fear said is simply cut and pasted from a description on his company’s website.
Squamish RCMP told The Squamish Chief they have not received any reports of this crime happening in Squamish.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recommends people looking for a vacation rental take precautions: If possible, see the property before you pay for it. Verify the property exists using Google Maps. Do research on the rental property and landlord. Pay by credit card. Do not provide any personal or financial information over the phone, online or by email and if a phone number isn’t provided, ask for one.
Victims of Internet crime can report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
