TalkScams Team · Educational guide · Reviewed 2026-11-07
Sent a deposit for a suspected fake rental listing?
Preserve the transaction details and contact the payment provider as soon as possible. This guide covers a suspected rental scam; it does not declare any named landlord, address or property fraudulent.
What to do now
- Stop additional payments and preserve the original listing, advertised address, receipts, messages and payment destination privately.
- Call your bank or payment provider immediately using official contact details. Ask whether the transfer can be recalled, disputed, frozen or otherwise investigated.
- Do not send identity documents or more money to a person claiming a refund, key delivery or deposit release fee.
Follow-up checks and reporting
- File a report through Canada’s official fraud reporting portal and consider a local police report, especially if funds were transferred.
- Report the suspicious listing through the platform’s real abuse-reporting process. Avoid publishing private identifying information about an unverified person.
- If identity documents were shared, follow the appropriate identity-exposure guidance and monitor financial accounts.
Watch for a follow-up scam
- Pressure to pay before independent verification of the property and landlord.
- A follow-up recovery agent promises to retrieve your deposit for an upfront fee.
Original source: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre / RCMP — Report cybercrime or fraud
Educational information only. No guarantee of recovery.