Postsecondary students searching for a place to live before school starts are being targeted by an internet scam, Ottawa police warn.

The scam involves dozens of listings posted on internet sites, such as one that university student Alex Yeaman stumbled across on Craigslist, describing a fully furnished condo in the heart of downtown at an unbeatable price.

"I was happy," Yeaman recalled. "I thought I'd found kind of the diamond in the rough."

He emailed the landlord and received a strange reply the next day, saying the landlord was doing missionary work in Africa but could courier the keys to him if he sent a security deposit.

"I realized it was a scam," Yeaman said, "and I just cut off communication with him."

Many others haven't been quite as quick to recognize the fraud. Hundreds of people in Ottawa fall victim to similar scams every year, police told CBC News.

"If the deal sounds too good to be true, it is untrue," said Const. J.P. Vincelette.

Students may be desperate

John Dickie, chairman of the Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization, said students may be particularly vulnerable.

"At this time of year, students … can be rather desperate to rent an apartment."

Vincelette recommended that prospective renters visit in person what they are renting or ask a friend or acquaintance to check it out for them. He also recommended that people use methods of payment that protect against forgery, and said additional tips are available on the Ottawa Police website.

"Don't send money to a person you have never met to reserve a place you have never seen," he added.

Dickie also suggested using websites such as viewit.ca or gottarent.com that record a landlord's address and bank information.

Those who do stumble on a scam are asked to contact police or Phonebusters so they can keep track of cases.

However, police cautioned that many of the fraudsters operate internationally and the number of frauds is so large that most of the time police don't have the resources to tackle them.

"It would require an incredible amount of manpower to even make a dent in the situation."