Rental scams: how to spot a fake listing before you pay a deposit

The FTC describes two main versions (FTC, Rental Listing Scams):

• Hijacked listings. “Scammers take over real rental listings and make them their own.” They copy the photos and description of a real home, often one listed for sale, change the contact details and post it on a classifieds site or social media at an attractive rent.
• Fake listings. Ads for places that are not for rent or do not exist, usually at a low price, with an owner who is never available to show it.

Either way the goal is the same: collect an application fee, a deposit or the first month’s rent, and sometimes your Social Security number and bank details for identity theft. Vacation rentals get the same treatment, with fake listings for beach houses and cabins at peak season.

• They want payment by wire, gift card, crypto or a payment app. The FTC says if anyone insists on these methods, “it’s a scam.” Zelle and Cash App deposits to strangers are just as hard to reverse; see is Zelle safe.
• They cannot show you the place. The owner is overseas, on a mission trip, or will “mail the keys” after you pay.
• The rent is well below the area. A cheap rent is the bait.
• Pressure. Other applicants are waiting, so pay today to hold it. “If anyone pressures you to make a decision quickly, walk away.”
• They want sensitive details too early. The FTC notes that until you have agreed to rent, a landlord does not need your Social Security number, credit score or other sensitive information.
• The same home is listed for sale, or listed elsewhere at a different rent under a different name.

1. Search the address with the owner’s or company’s name. Several ads for one address under different names is a red flag.
2. Check who owns it. County assessor or tax records (usually searchable online) show the owner’s name. If it does not match the “landlord”, ask why.
3. See it in person, or send someone you trust. If a management company is involved, find the company’s own website, check the listing is there, and ask the agent for ID and a business card.
4. Contact the owner or company yourself, using details you found independently, not the ones in the ad or the message.
5. Get a written lease before paying, and pay by a method you can trace and dispute, such as a check to a verified company or a credit card through the company’s own portal.

Real applications do need personal information, but only once you are applying for a place you have seen, through a landlord or company you have verified. Some ways to share less:

• Use the property manager’s own application portal, not a form sent by text or a link in a chat.
• Never send photos of your driver’s license or Social Security card over email or messaging apps.
• If you are moving and want to keep your current or future home address off people-search sites and junk mail, a virtual mailbox address such as Anytime Mailbox can stand in for deliveries and non-official forms. Many landlords and banks still need a residential address, so it is not a substitute there.
• After a move, freezing your credit stops a stolen application from being used to open accounts in your name.

The FTC warns that money sent by wire, gift card or crypto is like cash: you “probably can’t get it back”. Try anyway, fast: contact the payment company and ask for a reversal (the first call for each method is in what to do if you sent money to a scammer). Then report the scam to local police, to the website where the ad appeared, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general. If you sent your Social Security number, use IdentityTheft.gov. More in the scams hub.