Waterloo international student warns of rental scam as police investigate

An international student at the University of Waterloo in Ontario says she was eager to settle into new housing ahead of the fall semester, but was stripped of her savings and is fighting poor mental health after falling victim to a rental scam.

"Before, I had one problem: Finding a place. But now, I have two problems: Finding a place and getting my money back ... I can't focus on my studies," said Armina Soleymani, who moved to Ontario from Iran three years ago to pursue her PhD in systems design engineering.

Soleymani's experience comes following a slew of warnings by the Waterloo Regional Police Service, and as officers confirm they're probing multiple reports of rental fraud in the university area this month.

Soleymani said she began searching for a new rental unit near the university about two months ago in order to secure a place before her current lease expires Aug. 31. 

Earlier this month, she found an online listing from someone calling themself a tenant through a Facebook group that's popular among students. The woman said she wanted to sublet a unit at a building on Columbia Street West in Waterloo. Soleymani arranged an in-person appointment to meet with the woman on Aug. 6. 

Soleymani said the woman, who claimed she was a student, gave her a tour of the furnished unit, and then they signed a lease agreement.

She said the woman requested that Soleymani pay $2,000 in cash to cover first and last month's rent and a key deposit.

"I got suspicious and asked her for her ID," said Soleymani. "I asked her to come down in front of the building's main entrance door where there were two security cameras and I paid her."

Soleymani said the woman gave her a key, which turned out to be fake, and was told it would work on the move-in day, so there was no opportunity to try it out beforehand to see if it would gain her access to the building. 

Soleymani also said she kept in touch with the woman through Facebook, but after a few days, she noticed the woman's Facebook page had been deleted. When Soleymani went to check on the unit, she happened upon a building manager, who advised her she had been scammed by the woman and there were other victims. 

From what Soleymani understands, the woman didn't actually live there. She also understands, based on what the building manager told her, that the woman had been subletting the unit herself from another person who was subletting it. 

It's uncertain who actually lives there. CBC News reached out to the current and former property management company to clarify details, but did not hear back in time for publication.

Soleymani said she immediately reached out to local police and campus administration.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service told CBC it can't comment on specific cases, but confirmed it was investigating a report of rental fraud in the university district that occurred on Aug. 6 and 7.