The Niagara Regional Police wish to inform the public of an increase of an old scam with a new twist. It is perpetrated via the Internet usually targeting Internet auction sites or domains that advertise items for sale or services available for rent. Recently a number of instances have emerged that target landlords offering rooms for rent to University or College students.

A landlord legitimately post rooms for rent and is contacted by a person wishing to rent the room. The potential buyer states they are the parent, guardian (or similar title) for a student that wishes to arrange for the room rental, someone that would pay the full-advertised price for the item.

A counterfeit or forged cheque is received by the victim for an amount far in excess of the agreed upon rent. The fraudulent buyer next explains the excess amount as an inconvenience and requests the victim to deposit the cheque to their bank account and wire the overpayment via Western Union back to an address provided by the buyer. The victim takes the cheque to his bank, deposits it to his account and wires the excess amount, minus the agreed upon price, to the address provided (usually a foreign Country).

The buyer next contacts the victim to inform them that the deal for the room rental has fallen through and requests the remaining money also be wired to the address provided. Afterwards the original issued cheque fails to clear through banking channels and is returned as a counterfeit item. The victim’s bank notifies him/her that the original cashier’s cheque was not negotiable. The bank provides the next surprise, by pursuing civil action against the victim for the entire amount wired from their account.

The public is reminded to exercise diligence when conducting financial transactions via the Internet and should question any transaction that meets similar circumstances.