Rental scams: spot a fake landlord

How rental scams work

Most rental scams start with a real listing. The scammer copies the photos and description, lowers the rent, and reposts it with their own contact details on Facebook, Craigslist or a listing site.

When you reach out, there’s always a reason you can’t see inside yet, and a reason to pay now to hold it.

• Hijacked listings. A real home for sale or rent, reposted by someone who has no right to rent it.
• Phantom rentals. Photos of a home that doesn’t exist at that address, or isn’t on the market at all.
• Fake application fees. You pay to “apply” or run a credit check, then the landlord disappears.
• Holiday rentals. A cheap vacation home booked outside the platform, paid by transfer.

Red flags in a rental listing

• The rent is well below similar homes nearby.
• The landlord is abroad, on a mission or too busy, and can’t show the property.
• You’re asked for a deposit, first month or a fee before you’ve seen inside or signed a lease.
• Payment by wire transfer, gift card, crypto or a payment app instead of a check or a portal.
• Pressure: other people are interested, so you need to pay today.
• They’ll “mail the keys” once you pay.
• The listing’s photos also appear on another listing with a different price or contact.

How to check a rental before you pay

1. Search the address online. If it’s listed for sale, or listed elsewhere by a different agent or price, ask why.
2. Reverse image search the listing photos with Google Lens to find the original listing.
3. Look up who owns the property in the county assessor or recorder’s records, and check the name matches the landlord.
4. If an agent or property manager is involved, check their license with your state’s real estate commission.
5. Tour the home in person, or have someone you trust do it, and make sure the person showing it can get inside.
6. Search the landlord’s profile photo to see whether it belongs to someone else.
7. Read the lease before you pay, and pay by a method you can trace and dispute.

What a real landlord will do

• Show you the property, or arrange a showing with an agent or a current tenant.
• Give you a written lease before taking a deposit.
• Take payment by check, a property-management portal or another traceable method.
• Answer questions about the building, utilities and neighbors without dodging.

None of these prove someone is honest on their own. But a landlord who refuses all of them isn’t one to pay.

What to do if you paid a rental scammer

1. Stop paying, even if they ask for one more fee to release the keys.
2. Contact your bank, card issuer or payment app right away and ask to reverse or dispute the payment.
3. Report the listing to the site where you found it, and keep screenshots of the ad, messages and receipts.
4. In the US, report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov and, for losses, at ic3.gov. File a police report too.
5. Tell the real owner or agent if you found them: their listing is being used.