Cottage Owner Scams

Cottage owners are attractive targets for scammers. The property often sits empty for months, the owner lives far away, and much of the business, from rentals to repairs to bills, happens online or by phone.

Most of these scams share the same pattern: urgency, an unusual way of paying, and a request to skip the normal checks. Learn to recognize the pattern and you’ll recognize the scam, whatever form it takes.

1. Someone else is renting out your cottage

One of the most common cottage scams in Ontario doesn’t target you directly. Scammers copy photos and descriptions of real cottages, including ones that have never been rented, and advertise them on social media and classified sites at attractive prices. Renters pay a deposit by e-transfer and arrive to find the real owner, or a locked cottage. Police in Ontario issue warnings about these scams regularly.

You can’t completely prevent it, but you can make it harder and catch it sooner:

• Search for your own cottage every spring. A reverse image search finds copies of your photos; also search your lake name with “cottage for rent” and your road name.
• If you rent, use one or two clearly identified channels, and say so in every listing: “We only rent through [your website or platform]. Any other listing is a scam.”
• Watermark your photos with your website address to make them harder to reuse.
• If you find a fake listing, report it to the platform, the police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and tell your neighbours and lake association.
• Be kind to anyone who shows up with a booking you never took. They’re victims too. Point them to the police.

2. Fake guests and overpayments

If you rent your cottage yourself, watch for the classic overpayment scam. A “guest” sends a cheque or payment for more than the rental amount, often with a plausible story, and asks you to refund the difference. The original payment later bounces or is reversed, and your refund is gone.

Never refund an overpayment until the original payment has fully cleared with your bank, and be wary of guests who won’t use your normal booking process.

3. Title fraud on an empty cottage

In title fraud, a criminal impersonates the owner using fake identification, then sells or mortgages the property. Ontario has seen several cases, and properties that sit empty for long periods without a mortgage, a description that fits many cottages, are attractive targets.

The Ontario government recommends steps like these:

• Protect your identity. Shred documents and guard your personal details. You can ask Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada for a free security freeze.
• Keep your contact details current with your township, MPAC and your lawyer, so notices reach you.
• Watch for unusual mail or calls, such as a mortgage statement for a loan you didn’t take out, or a real estate agent asking about “your” listing.
• Ask your lawyer about title insurance and other protections.

If you suspect fraud, contact the police, your lawyer, the Land Registry Office where the property is registered, and your bank. Ontario’s Land Titles Assurance Fund may compensate some victims of real estate fraud.

4. Door-to-door water treatment and heating sales

Water softeners, filters and treatment systems are an easy sell at cottages, where many owners are unsure about their water. For years, aggressive door-to-door sellers signed homeowners to long, expensive rental contracts.

Since March 1, 2018, Ontario has banned businesses from entering into contracts at a consumer’s home for water treatment devices, water heaters, furnaces, air conditioners, air purifiers and duct cleaning, unless the consumer contacted the business first. Ontario also prohibits registering a notice of security interest, a type of lien, against a home for consumer goods like these.

If someone shows up uninvited offering a “free water test” that leads to a contract, or claims to be inspecting your water heater on behalf of the utility or government, close the door. Have your water tested through your public health unit or an accredited lab instead. And when you buy a cottage, ask your lawyer to check for old notices of security interest on title.

5. Utility and government impersonation

Scammers pretend to be from Hydro One, other utilities, the Canada Revenue Agency or the township. Typical tactics:

• A call saying your power will be cut off within the hour unless you pay immediately
• A text or email about a refund or rebate, with a link asking for your banking details
• A demand for overdue taxes or fines, payable by gift card or cryptocurrency

Hydro One says it will never demand immediate payment by prepaid card, disconnect you without advance notice, or ask for credit card or banking information by phone. Hang up, then call the organization back at the number on your bill or its official website.

6. Fake invoices and “registrations”

• Pleasure craft licences are free from Transport Canada. Some third-party websites charge fees to “process” or “renew” them.
• Invoices from organizations you’ve never heard of, for “road maintenance,” “lake association dues,” “mandatory septic registration” or “dock registration.” Check with your township or your real association before paying.

7. Storm chasers

After a major windstorm, ice storm or flood, people show up offering to remove trees or fix roofs immediately, for cash, with a deposit up front. Some do poor work; some do none at all. Call your insurer first, then the local trades you already know. Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act requires written contracts for home repairs over $50, and gives you 10 days to cancel a contract signed at your home.

Rules of thumb

• No legitimate organization demands payment by gift card, prepaid card or cryptocurrency.
• Urgency is a warning sign. Real problems can wait for you to call back on a number you trust.
• Verify through a second channel: the number on your bill, the official website, your own lawyer.
• Never let anyone talk you out of normal checks, such as permits, contracts, receipts and references.
• Tell your neighbours and lake association. Scammers rarely target just one cottage.

If you’ve been targeted, report it to the police and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501, even if you didn’t lose money.

This article is general information, not legal advice.