U.S. Olympic bobsledder Steve Mesler says his parents have secured places to stay to watch him compete in Whistler, B.C., after they lost $8,000 in an Olympic rental scam.

Ben and Lois Mesler posted an ad on a website looking for accommodation in Whistler during the 2010 Winter Games in February so they could watch their son Steve compete.

They were contacted by someone who offered them a place, but after paying $8,000 to book, they eventually realized they had lost their money to a fake homeowner.

RCMP are investigating, but Mesler says thanks to the media attention and the people of Whistler, his parents now have new accommodation — for free.

"There's been dozens of different people saying that they'd like to help, and right now, I think my parents have a place for the last seven days," he said.

'It was such a nasty story anyway, so we just thought it would be a good cause.' —Whistler condo owner Michele Moore

"I think they're there with a woman from Whistler, who said — you know she asked if she could remain anonymous — and there was a family, the Moore family of Watson Gloves, they said they could crash there for the first two days of the Games, so it's been amazing," said Mesler.

Michele Moore told CBC News she heard the Meslers' story on the radio and decided to help by letting them use a townhouse in Whistler her family had recently acquired.

"We just didn't want it sitting empty for that time if they could use it, and it was such a nasty story anyway, so we just thought it would be a good cause," said Moore.

Mesler said he hopes the media attention helps prevent the same thing from happening to anyone else.

But apparently it already has.

Kimberley Winchester and Jodi Nobel said they also contacted a man calling himself Jason Hartlen who was advertising Olympic accommodation in Vancouver.

A man by the same name allegedly took money from the Meslers.

Winchester and Nobel wired Hartlen $2,500 as a downpayment.

In October, they got a call from Hartlen's former roommate.

"I guess she was cleaning out his stuff," said Winchester, "and found all these lease agreements from people for the same dates for the same place that he doesn't even own anymore."

Winchester said they filed a report with the RCMP but had heard nothing more about the incident.

Don't send money

The B.C. Better Business Bureau says it's aware of two cases of similar scams so far, and expects to hear about more as the Games approach.

Manager Lynda Pasacreta fears some victims won't learn they're fraud victims until they show up at the properties and find they've been scammed.

Pasacreta says when renting for the Games, people should watch out for the warning signs.

"They are asking for all the money, or a large sum of money, or they are asking for cash, or to wire money. That is a huge red flag right there," she said.

Never wire money to anyone, especially if they're outside the country, and try to deal with an established company with a good track record, Pasacreta advised.