Why are rental scams so common on Kijiji in Toronto?
Kijiji sits at the centre of Canadian rental fraud for one structural reason: it doesn't verify who's posting. Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace do not require landlords to prove their identity before publishing a listing, according to the Kijiji Help Centre via Moving2Canada — so anyone can advertise a unit they've never seen the keys to.
That gap meets enormous demand. Kijiji describes itself as Canada's #1 rental marketplace and holds the top classifieds ranking in the country, with about 16.1 million visits over three months and 95.14% of traffic from Canada as of June 2026, per SimilarWeb. High volume plus zero identity checks is exactly the environment fraudsters look for.
The scale of fraud behind it is large. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recorded $643.7 million in total fraud losses from 108,878 reports and at least 35,587 confirmed victims in 2024, according to the CAFC 2024 Annual Statistical Report. Rental fraud is one slice of that — and Toronto, as Canada's largest rental market, absorbs a heavy share.
Red flag 1: A deposit by e-transfer before you've seen the unit
📷 www.kaboompics.com / Pexels
The single clearest signal is a request for money before you've stood inside the apartment. Scammers often ask for payment via e-transfer, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or cash — all untraceable — to "hold" a unit before any lease is signed, and the RCMP warns that untraceable payment requests are a primary red flag, according to the RCMP's Rental Scams Safety Tips.
Interac e-Transfer is the default digital payment in Canada, so a request for it feels normal. That's the trap. Once you send an e-transfer to hold a room, the money is effectively gone and the "landlord" goes quiet.
This is precisely how a documented scheme worked. Toronto Police issued a public warning about "GTA Rentals," a scammer posting fake properties on Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace, collecting first-and-last deposits and then ceasing all communication — with no access to any of the advertised properties, according to Toronto Police Service via Global News. Never send money to hold a place you haven't seen in person or over a live video walkthrough.
Red flag 2: The rent is suspiciously below market
📷 juan rojas / Pexels
Scammers price to hook you. A downtown one-bedroom listed at $1,200 when the real market is nearly double should stop you cold, not excite you.
Know the baseline. Average rent in Toronto as of July 16, 2026 was $1,724/month for a studio, $2,100 for a one-bedroom, and $2,712 for a two-bedroom, with an overall median of $2,411 — down 3.5% year-over-year, according to Zumper's Toronto rent research. A listing priced 30–40% under those numbers, with no clear reason, is a lure.
Below-market bait works because fake ads are everywhere. Some 43% of Canadian renters have encountered fake rental ads, according to liv.rent and CAFC data cited in GlobeNewswire. When a deal looks too good, cross-check the same address on other platforms — if the price is normal elsewhere and rock-bottom on one Kijiji post, the cheap one is the fake. For a reality check on what your money actually gets you, see our guide to rooms for rent in Toronto that one income can afford.
Red flag 3: The "landlord" can't meet you in person
A real Toronto landlord shows the unit. A scammer invents reasons they can't: they've moved abroad, they're a missionary, they're closing a work contract overseas — so they'll "mail the keys" once you send first and last.
This excuse is the backbone of remote rental fraud. Because Kijiji requires no identity verification, the person on the other end can be anyone, anywhere. If they refuse an in-person viewing or a live video call showing the specific unit and its quirks, treat the listing as fraudulent.
The human cost is real. A Toronto student lost $5,200 with a roommate to a Facebook Marketplace scam where a woman posed as a student subletting her apartment, and five other people were scammed by the same person, according to The Eyeopener. Sublets are especially exposed — the "tenant" is plausible precisely because they claim to live there. Insist on meeting inside the actual unit before any money moves.
Red flag 4: They demand illegal upfront fees
Many Toronto newcomers don't know what a landlord can legally charge, and scammers exploit that gap by demanding "security deposits," "damage deposits," or "pet deposits" that Ontario law doesn't allow.
Here's the actual rule. Under Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, a landlord can legally collect only first month's rent, last month's rent (capped at one month's rent), and a refundable key deposit equal to the real cost of replacing keys — damage deposits and pet deposits are prohibited, according to the Government of Ontario.
So if someone asks for a separate "damage deposit" on top of first and last, that request is illegal on its face — a strong signal you're dealing with either a scammer or a landlord who breaks the rules. The same goes for your personal data: a landlord can run a credit check with just your full name, current address, and date of birth, and you are not legally required to hand over your Social Insurance Number, according to Moving2Canada and CAFC guidance. Anyone demanding your SIN upfront is a red flag.
Red flag 5: The photos or details don't add up
Fraudulent Kijiji ads are usually built from stolen material — listing photos lifted from a real MLS sale, a legitimate rental on another site, or a staged Airbnb.
Run a reverse image search on the listing photos. If the same interior appears on a real-estate sales site, a different city's rental, or a hotel page, the ad is recycled. Watch for listings where the photos look professionally staged but the description is thin, generic, or riddled with mismatched details — a "two-bedroom" whose photos show one room, or an address that doesn't match the neighbourhood named in the text.
Another tell is the copy-paste feel: the same block of text appears across multiple listings under different names and prices. Because the median rental-fraud loss lands around $2,000 per victim — rental and home scams ranked as the 3rd riskiest scam type in Canada with a median loss of $2,000, according to the Better Business Bureau's 2023 Scam Tracker Risk Report — a few minutes of image-checking is cheap insurance.
Red flag 6: Pressure to decide right now
Urgency is a manufactured emotion. "I have three other people interested — send the deposit today or you lose it" is designed to shut down the part of your brain that checks things.
Toronto's tight market makes this pressure believable, and that's exactly why scammers lean on it. Real landlords and property managers expect you to view the unit, read the lease, and take a day. A stranger who insists you e-transfer money within hours, before any viewing, is running the urgency play.
Slow down deliberately. Verify the person owns or manages the unit — ask for the property address and confirm it exists, request a live video walkthrough, and cross-reference the listing elsewhere. If they escalate the pressure instead of answering, walk away. And if you've already lost money, report it: the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre estimates only about 5% of fraud incidents are reported, with actual annual losses across Canada likely exceeding $6 billion, according to the CAFC via GlobeNewswire — under-reporting is why these schemes keep running.
How to rent safely in Toronto without getting scammed
Build a short verification habit and apply it to every listing, no exceptions. See the unit in person or on a live video call before any money changes hands. Confirm the price against real market data. Refuse illegal deposits and never send your SIN. Reverse-image-search the photos. Pay only after signing a lease, and avoid untraceable methods for the deposit. If Toronto prices push you toward the suburbs, compare with genuinely affordable options like rooms for rent in Ottawa before committing.
Roommate arrangements deserve the same rigour — vet the person, not just the room, and put the money split in writing before you move in. Our breakdown of how to split bills with roommates in Toronto covers the real math once you've found a legitimate place.
If a platform lets you profile the actual human before you commit, use it. Coinquilino is a free room and roommate app from Italy, now available in Canada, built around verified profiles rather than anonymous classified posts — full disclosure, it's our app. It won't replace your own due diligence, but knowing who you're talking to closes the exact gap Kijiji's no-verification model leaves open.
Is Kijiji safe for finding rentals in Toronto?
Kijiji itself is a legitimate marketplace and Canada's #1 rental platform, but it doesn't verify landlord identities before posting, according to the Kijiji Help Centre via Moving2Canada. That means real listings and scams sit side by side. It's usable if you apply the six red flags above rigorously — never pay before an in-person viewing.
What should I do if I've already sent a rental deposit to a scammer?
Contact your bank or e-transfer provider immediately to try to reverse or freeze the payment, then report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 and your local police. The CAFC estimates only about 5% of incidents are reported, according to the CAFC via GlobeNewswire — reporting improves your odds and helps investigators.
What deposits can a Toronto landlord legally ask for?
Under Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, only first month's rent, last month's rent (capped at one month), and a refundable key deposit equal to the real replacement cost of the keys — damage and pet deposits are prohibited, according to the Government of Ontario. Any demand for a "security" or "damage" deposit is illegal.
Do I have to give a landlord my Social Insurance Number?
No. A landlord can run a credit check with just your full name, current address, and date of birth, and you are not legally required to provide your SIN, according to Moving2Canada and CAFC guidance. Treat an upfront SIN demand as a red flag.
How much are rental scams costing Canadians?
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recorded $643.7 million in total fraud losses from 108,878 reports and at least 35,587 confirmed victims in 2024, according to the CAFC 2024 Annual Statistical Report. Rental and home scams ranked as the 3rd riskiest scam type in Canada, with a median loss of $2,000 per victim, according to the BBB's 2023 report.
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This article was produced with the help of AI tools and reviewed by the Coinquilino editorial team.