The West Shore RCMP are looking into two separate cases of rental fraud both taking place in Greater Victoria.

When the victims of the fraud attempted to move into their new homes, they ended up being informed by the real owner of the property that their residence was not available for rent and that they had been scammed.

The police say that the suspect uses the alias Jason Leblanc and had previously lived at the property. RCMP would like to speak with anyone else who was defrauded in a similar manner by someone who identifies himself as Jason Leblanc.

RCMP advise renters to protect themselves to avoid rental scams.

Officers say to only use a reputable rental website and to search the residence's address on the Internet to see if anything suspicious pops up.

The police also say that renters should never provide personal financial information and should always avoid paying in cash or through wire transfers, as these are difficult to trace.