Woman scammed out of Manitoulin cottage rental by fraudster

A vacation property owner on Manitoulin Island, Ont., is warning others about rental listing scams.

Chet Skibinski, who owns the Mutchmor House in Providence Bay, says a woman tried to book a stay at his property earlier this summer through his VRBO listing, but at some point the woman got directed to a fake rental agreement.

The customer's money ended up in Ireland.

Skibinski wants people to know that scammers are getting more sophisticated, and everyone needs to watch out for signs of trouble.

"Not every person on Manitoulin is internet-savvy," he says. "And we're going to get some cottage owners who go in naively and get involved with things like that."

"I think the right thing to do is to have both sides, both owners, and guests, contact each other directly," Skibinski says.

A spokesperson for VRBO says there are many ways to stay safe, including only talking with hosts directly through its chat system, paying for stays through the official website, and looking carefully for reviews that might suggest a problem with a given property.

Red flags in fake rental agreement

Skibinski says there were parts of the spoofed rental agreement that should have raised concerns for the would-be guest — especially because she works in the internet privacy field. The guest declined to comment to CBC News.

Some of the concerning details included a wrong name for the host, a modified listing ID number, the agreement was with an agency no longer affiliated with VRBO, and a request for payment via a funds transfer, rather than using a credit card on the website.

The incorrect information was mostly similar to the real values, to make the fake form appear more realistic. Skibinski says the biggest concerning factor should have been the request to pay on a platform different from the VRBO website.

That list of 'red flags,' plus the would-be guest's background, has him questioning the full story of what happened and how she could have missed so many signs.

"I want to get back to this guest and ask her what she thinks, because she's got insider information that I wouldn't know. So I don't know if she's going to talk to me about that, but I'll be interested to get some expert advice on this," he says.

Growing demand adds more opportunities for scams

Skibinski says he decided to share his story because of the growing popularity of closer-to-home rental properties, especially on Manitoulin Island.

His property has steady bookings and this incident only happened because of a last-minute cancellation that opened his listing for a new guest.

Skibinski tried to help the woman find new accommodations but she could not find a place that worked with her schedule on the island.

"Scamming follows the money. Cottage rentals are exploding on Manitoulin."

"Our Mutchmor House rental in [Providence Bay] is getting 2022 bookings now; Muskoka and Kawartha cottages are out of reach for many," he says.

Fraudsters continually evolve their techniques to keep ahead of the public's awareness of their activities. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre keeps track of new scams and shares advice through its website to help people avoid becoming victims.

The centre says non-delivery scams, a category that includes vacation rental scams, have increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far in 2021, the number of reported frauds in Canada is down compared to 2020, but the total amount lost is nearly the same as the previous year.