Please be aware that a number of institutions in other cities have reported that individuals have been contacting people with listings on their off-campus housing registries and offering to pay the entire years rent with a cheque or money order. This is also known to have occurred several times in our area.
We would ask that you be cautious with this as in some cases the money order or cheque is fraudulent. Typically what happens is that the individual sends several month's worth of rent and almost immediately asks for all but one or two month's rent (deposit) to be returned. They do this in the hope that your bank will not recognize the forgery until the normal clearing process has happened. This would result in you being out the money that you have returned to them.
You may also receive an email in response to your ad from someone asking you to send them a cheque. DO NOT RESPOND! Please Contact the Off Campus Housing Department..
Revised: August 3, 2010