What is a Rental & Housing Scams?
How It Works — Step by Step
- Fake listing appears on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or even Zillow with photos copied from legitimate listing
- Price is significantly below market to attract many inquiries quickly
- Landlord is unavailable to show in person (traveling, out of country, missionary work)
- Offers to mail keys after deposit is paid
- Deposit collected via wire transfer, Zelle, or crypto before victim ever sees the property
- Keys never arrive, victim discovers property is already rented or doesn't exist
Top Countries (Victims)
Top Platforms Used
⚠️ Warning Signs
- Price significantly below market rate for the area
- Landlord can't meet in person or show you the property
- Being asked to pay deposit before viewing the property
- Payment requested via wire transfer, Zelle, Venmo, or crypto
- Listing photos appear on Google Image Search for other addresses
- Only communicates via email or text, avoids phone calls
✅ How to Protect Yourself
- Never pay a deposit without viewing the property in person
- Reverse image search all listing photos
- Verify the landlord actually owns the property (check county records)
- Use a credit card or secure escrow service for deposits — never wire transfers
- Meet in person at the property — not a coffee shop
- Verify listing on the property management company's official website
Real Cases from Our Database
Is this a known scam? "Andrew P***r" (Philippines) wants to use my US profile for Fiverr clients (50/50 or 20%) Hi everyone, ...
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I received this message from someone using the name "Andrew P\*\*\*r" who claims to be a Senior AI/ML Engineer. In the message he says he is based in the Philippines, but his Fiverr profile (@palmera1...
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He is proposing a long-term collaboration where I (as a U.S. resident) use my LinkedIn or Upwork account to land clients, while he handles the te...
Warning: Facebook Marketplace Car Rental Scam in Bellevue, WA Hey everyone, wanted to share my experience to warn others in the area and hopefully help someone avoid the same mistake. ...
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I found a car rental listing on Facebook Marketplace in Bellevue, WA. He was operating under a fake business email called [[email protected]](mailto:goluxeluxurycarrentalinsuran...
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He asked m...
(US)Possible Airbnb Scam??? Any experienced Airbnbers please help a girl out!! ...
I messaged a host on Airbnb about a room in LA. He told me about another guest house he had in a similar area and that he was down to rent to me for a little cheaper. He wasn't pushy about it or anyth...
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He sent me the listing for this other place and the price was listed higher than what he said so I asked him about that. So, he...
Possible apartment scam? My friends and I have been looking for apartments and we found a place that looked suspiciously cheap on Rent.com ($1500 a month for 2bds in DTLA). We aren’t moving for anothe...
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He explained why it’s cheap and I explained to him that we wouldn’t be able to move in for a few more months. Me and my friends are all moving out for the first time so we are unsure if this is approp...
Rental Scam, What Do I Do? My boyfriend and I fell for a rental scam. He found someone on Facebook, who sent us links and asked for screenshots when we completed them. There were 5 links in total, and...
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It wasn't until hours later that he told me its a scam. We froze our credit and locked our debit cards. ...
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I did what I could to cancel most of the "subscriptions". I will be going to my bank tomorrow to get a new card and see what I can do about blocking charges. ...
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The sites are...
[US] What Kind Of Rental Scam Is This? I came across this listing for a house on Craigslist that seemed a little too good to be true but just believable enough that I thought it was at least worth an ...
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The email was a firstlast at gmail with a profile picture of an older man, and the personality in his email seemed to match. ...
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I kept waitin...
📋 Where to Report Rental & Housing Scams
- FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov)
- Listing platform (Craigslist, Zillow) fraud reporting
- Local police
- State Attorney General consumer protection