Fredericton resident scammed out of $1,700 for an apartment that doesn't exist

Since they were four years old, Milo Nunes has lived in Fredericton.

And recently, after working full-time for a while, they finally had enough money saved to get an apartment of their own.

Growing up, they lived on Simpson Court, so when Nunes spotted a Facebook Marketplace ad for an apartment on that street and recognized the outside photos of the building, they sent a message to the account that listed the ad — a decision they'd later regret.

"It didn't seem too good to be true," they said. "It seemed very believable."

Nunes got an email shortly after from a man claiming to be a nurse in Fredericton. He asked Nunes for a landlord reference, about their income and also for a photo — something they did find a bit weird.

Milo Nunes, pictured with their cat Olive, had saved enough to move into an apartment of their own. But they fell victim to a rental scam on Facebook Marketplace. (Submitted by Milo Nunes)

But after reading the lease contract, everything seemed normal. They also sent it to their parents who read through it and agreed.

Nunes said the man, who claimed the house belonged to his parents, said he was away until May 30 so Nunes couldn't immediately view the location.

But wanting to secure it, Nunes decided to send a deposit site unseen.

"I knew the place and so … from the photos alone, I felt that that was enough for me," they said.

Nunes said they didn't know that a lot of people send their damage deposit through Service New Brunswick, and neither did their parents.

So, they sent an e-transfer for $1,700 — a damage deposit and last month's rent.

"We agreed on a move-in date — it was all set. I was really happy, my parents were congratulating me," they recalled.

"The next day, he had told me that he would arrange for a courier to drop off my keys and a copy of my contract."

This photo of 47 Simpson Ct. was sent to Nunes. Since they had grown up on that street, they recognized the location. (Submitted by Milo Nunes)

That's when things started to go wrong.

The prospective landlord later told Nunes an additional $700 was required to "insure the package," with the money to be returned after the package arrived.

Nunes said they told the person that they had already exhausted their savings with the $1,700 so they wouldn't be handing over any more money.

That was when Nunes got suspicious and started Googling the name of the seller followed by the word "scam."

Nunes discovered a post showing a screenshot of the same listing with people replying to the post confirming it was a scam.

"Obviously, my heart just completely dropped."

Pictured are two screenshots showing the original ad that Nunes responded to. The seller later sent an email with additional information and more photos. (Submitted by Milo Nunes)

CBC News contacted Meta, the company that owns Facebook, to ask what it is doing to limit scams on its platform and if there was any vetting process in place for Facebook Marketplace ads. The company did not respond.

Nunes said the contract and the man's emails indicated that they could back out without penalty, so they quickly contacted him to say that circumstances had changed and they needed the $1,700 back.

Nunes said they received a response saying not to worry about the cost of insuring the package, but Nunes pressed on, asking to back out.

The man then agreed to send the money back by 6 p.m. the next day, but when that deadline came and went with no answers to their messages or calls, Nunes knew they had been scammed.

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, about $123 million was lost to fraud in just the first three months of this year. For all of 2023, the total was $569 million.

Jeff Horncastle, a spokesperson for the centre, said rental scams have been around for quite some time.

He said people should research a potential listing as much as possible. Fraudsters will often find photos from a home that's recently been put up for sale to use in their fake ad.

Jeff Horncastle of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said scammers prey on vulnerabilities and will often tell potential tenants that they’ll lose the apartment if they don’t put a deposit down right away. (CBC)

And if at all possible, people should view the place in-person before sending any money, he said.

Horncastle said that scammers prey on vulnerabilities and will often tell potential tenants that they'll lose the apartment if they don't put a deposit down right away.

"The market is very competitive for rentals, so fraudsters know this and they're unfortunately capitalizing on that vulnerability," said Horncastle.

After realizing they had been scammed, Nunes made a Facebook post warning others, which they said has garnered responses from others who also fell for the ad, but didn't get as far as making a payment.

They also filed a police report and unsuccessfully attempted to get the money back through their bank.

Nunes said they can see where they were naive in the process but they don't want others to end up in the same or a similar situation.

"I know that other people didn't make this mistake, but I did, and it almost feels shameful to be honest," they said.

But the sophistication of the entire process was enough to take advantage of Nunes and also their parents, who have lived in major cities, including New York and Toronto.

"It wasn't just me who got scammed," they said.

"It was me and a 65-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man who were both very well-versed in the world."