With the school year approaching, Waterloo Regional Police Service is reminding students and residents to be aware of rental scams.

Rental scams occur when fraudsters post fraudulent rental advertisements for properties that are unavailable or do not exist, with the goal of convincing victims to pay deposits or other fees. 

Fraudsters typically:

• Use stolen images from legitimate rental websites.
• Advertise below market rental prices to attract interest.
• Create a false sense of urgency, pressuring victims to send a deposit or first month’s rent upfront, often before any viewing.

Once the money is sent, the fraudster disappears, leaving the victim without a place to live and without a refund.

On August 22, 2026, police received a report of a rental fraud from a victim in Waterloo. The victim believed they were communicating with the landlord of a rental unit and provided a key deposit and rent deposit to secure the unit. When the victim later attempted to contact the landlord regarding their upcoming lease, they were unable to reach anyone and subsequently discovered they had been defrauded of $2,400. 

The investigations remain ongoing by WRPS’ Fraud investigators. Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact Waterloo Regional Police at 519-570-9777.

To help prevent being a victim of a rental fraud scam, please consider the following tips:

• Use trusted rental platforms.
• Avoid verbal or text only agreements. Ensure everything is documented and you also have a copy.
• Be aware of landlords who refuse to meet in person.
• Do not provide payment before signing a rental agreement.
• When signing the lease agreement, do not provide confidential information, such as a Social Insurance Number and bank information, to avoid identity theft.
• Be suspicious if there appears to be urgency or pressure to get the deal done quickly.