By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Nanaimo man falls for Airbnb scam, loses thousands

Mar 23, 2017 | 5:06 PM

NANAIMO — The search for a high end condo rental resulted in a Nanaimo man being scammed several thousand dollars.

According to Nanaimo RCMP, the victim responded to an advertisement on Airbnb of the condo within Nanaimo. After talking to the alleged seller for several weeks, the victim was told to send the money to a third-party, not through the Airbnb website.

“The official Airbnb website warns users to not pay for rental units through off-site locations as it could lead to personal information being compromised and subject the payer to potential fraud,” Cst. Gary O’Brien said in a release.

After sending the initial transfer, the victim was told more money was needed to secure the rental of the condo.

RCMP said it was at this time the man realized he had been scammed.

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