Whistler has always been a tough place to find housing.
But since the dawn of the internet, renters are contending with more than just scarcity or high prices—now they have to deal with the absolute scumbags who think it’s fine to scam their fellow humans, often the desperate and vulnerable type, out of their earnings.
It used to be you could follow a few general rules to avoid being scammed: make sure you can view the listing in-person, and preferably get the keys, before handing over any money.
And if it looks too good to be true, it usually is.
But like a persistent infection or a viral strain of bacteria, the lowlifes and scammers keep evolving, and renters in Whistler now have to be even more careful when seeking out permanent shelter.
Take it from local chef Hegel James, who told Pique last week about a near-miss scam involving a rental property he viewed, in-person, in Bayshores.
James said the landlord was willing to turn over the key right then and there—just as soon as he paid up. But when he asked to try the key first, it didn’t work.
So now it is entirely possible to fall victim to a housing scam in Whistler, even if you’re viewing in-person first.
Pique’s archives are replete with stories about online housing scams, which tend to follow a similar pattern: a place is listed online as available, with a real address and photos attached, and often even a legitimate-looking rental application form.
But inevitably, the scammers have some excuse for why they can’t meet in person, and request money up front.
There’s the classic “I’m on a Christian mission but you can wire the money to my wife,” which was common in the lead-up to the Olympics.
Once people started to get wise to that yarn, the scammers adopted a new tactic, targeting housing seekers directly via their personal Craigslist ads.
In some cases, the scammers weren’t even after money, but something more, er, disgusting? Perverted? Sexually abusive?
“So someone contacted me through Craigslist saying they had a room in Whis village and would I like to FaceTime to talk about it?” one woman posted to the Whistler Winter Facebook group in December 2016.
Of course she did—a good portion of the town’s workforce was in need of a bed for the winter.
But when the video call connected, the woman was met by a man vigorously masturbating on camera.
“Sick (f#*&),” she said. “I’ve been searching for housing for three months now to no avail.”
Another man, in 2018, also got a response to his Kijiji post looking for housing. After a long conversation and even a (presumably non-sexual) video call, he ended up sending about $2,400 in Visa gift cards to a guy calling himself “Frank.”
Frank was manipulative, and had an answer for every misgiving the man conveyed.
“They played it out in a way that this was all a misunderstanding from my side, and after talking to this guy, about 50 times over the day, writing messages, he kind of convinced me that I was being a little bit rash and made a mistake,” he told Pique. “For every doubt I expressed, there was a somewhat reasonable explanation from their side.”
There are often common themes: a “landlord” who is out of country for some reason; requesting unusual forms of payment like gift cards or crypto; rates out of line with the current market; unusual sob stories; pressuring the prospective renter to do the deal.
Absolute scum of the Earth, every last one of them. Preying on desperate and vulnerable people, using what should be a human right for their own financial gain.
It hasn’t always been this way, of course. It was much harder to scam someone before the internet. But people (on both sides of the keys) have always had to watch their wallets in Whistler when it comes to housing.
Whistler Councillor Cathy Jewett recalled her first winter in the resort in 1976, when “we had to pay all our rent in advance—six months worth. Then the mountain closed in January,” she said (ouch).
“Getting soaked was up front—pre-internet. No online ads, everything was in person. I don’t recall any scams.”
And of course, homeowners have to be wary, too—Jewett said as a landlord she “got hosed twice by people moving out while I was away.”
So it goes both ways, and finding, or providing, housing in Whistler clearly comes with risk attached.
According to the Whistler RCMP, there has been an increase in the number of reported scams this year compared to last.
“We see a variety of frauds/scams being reported in Whistler, including short-term and long-term rentals/housing, romance fraud, crypto investment scams, and Canada Revenue Agency fraud (to name a few),” Sea to Sky RCMP Cpl. Katrina Boehmer wrote in an email to Pique.
To avoid falling victim to rental scams, Boehmer recommended avoiding cash payments; asking the landlord for proper ID; ensuring a tenancy agreement is in place, signed by both parties, before paying up; verifying the listed address is accurate in-person; consulting a friend or family member for their thoughts on the ad in question; or, if you’re trying to secure housing from abroad, asking your employer what they know about the unit/address in question.
Some red flags to watch out for: being asked for payment without an agreement in place; lower-than-average rental rates; a landlord who won’t meet in person, or who does not require credit or reference checks; or landlord names that don’t match the documents you’re asked to sign.
You can learn more about common frauds at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca, and fraud victims are encouraged to contact the Sea to Sky Whistler RCMP at 604-932-3044.
The scammers won’t quit, and will only keep evolving.
Stay vigilant.
