How to Spot and Avoid Rental Listing Scams

Rental advertising scams cost renters millions of dollars every year. Scammers copy photos from legitimate listings, create fake ads at below-market prices, and collect deposits or application fees for properties they do not own or manage.

In the Puget Sound region, where rental demand is high and competition for units is fierce, these scams are increasingly common. Knowing the red flags and verification steps protects you from sending money to someone who has no connection to the property.

Rental fraud reports climb year after year, and younger renters are targeted most often, partly because renters in their 20s are frequently moving after graduation or for a new job and may be renting sight unseen.

Rental scams happen in a variety of ways, but most commonly the scam is a nonexistent property at an unbelievably good price, or a fake landlord "renting" a listing or property they have no right to. This article describes what you can do to identify and avoid rental scams.

How to Avoid Rental Advertising Scams

Start by learning to identify the common red flags. The list below covers the tactics scammers use most often.

1. Too good to be true rent amount

Get familiar with the median rents in your city or prospective city. Scammers will often price a fake listing below the market rent, hoping to attract more attention to the property because it's such a "deal".

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. 

2. You can't verify the listing anywhere else

Most professional property management companies maintain an active rental property list, so it is easy to verify the information is correct. Go to the company's official website by typing the address yourself rather than clicking a link or scanning a QR code in the ad; scammers clone listings and swap in their own contact details.

If the property is advertised directly by the owner, confirm the listing appears in more than one place and that the details line up:

• Verify the property is listed on multiple rental platforms.
• Check that the price matches from one listing to the next.
• Confirm the property details match across every listing.

If you can't find the listing on multiple platforms, or there is a drastic price difference between them, there is a high chance at least one of them is fake.

3. No screening / application

Avoid listings that advertise no screening. Although it may be tempting if you have something in your background that you are worried may exclude you from many rental properties, scammers often advertise no screening to play into this concern.

Always have a conversation with the property manager or landlord before you apply to learn whether your application is likely to be accepted, or to ask whether conditional approval options exist.

4. Can't meet in person or tour the property

If the landlord or property manager is not available to meet in person, either at the property or at a rental office, move on to another rental. In a common scam, the landlord is conveniently "out of town" but tells you to send money and that there will be a key box available for you to move yourself in.

Be careful with photos and video too. Scammers now use AI tools to generate convincing listing photos, virtual tours, and even video calls.

Insist on a live, scheduled tour of the actual unit, or a live video walkthrough where the person responds to your requests in real time. That is much harder to fake than a polished set of pictures.

5. Asks you to send money before applying or seeing the property

Sometimes people have to rent sight unseen, and this is when scams most often occur, because you are usually required to send a deposit to reserve the property. To avoid being scammed when renting sight unseen, research the property management company first.

Confirm that the company and its people exist before you send anything. You should be able to verify them through the property management website, LinkedIn profiles, or the phone numbers and email addresses included on the listing, so you can contact and speak with someone.

For privately owned rental properties, you should still be able to call or email and connect with someone. Be wary if they are unwilling to show you the property virtually or want you to send money before providing a virtual tour. 

6. Demands payment through an untraceable channel

Legitimate landlords and management companies use traceable payment methods: a resident portal, cashier's check, or money order.

Treat any request for an untraceable payment from someone you have never met as a near-certain scam:

• Gift cards
• Cryptocurrency
• Wire transfers
• Person-to-person payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App

Those payments are gone the moment you send them, and there is no dispute process to get them back.

Never send or give cash to a landlord. All deposits and rent should be paid by cashier's check, money order, or electronically through a verifiable resident portal. 

If a listing turns out to be fraudulent, report it to the platform where you found it and to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Finally, if you are having trouble or need to find a place quickly, work with someone you can verify. A leasing agent or licensed real estate broker can help you confirm availability, avoid scams, and in some cases negotiate more flexible lease terms. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Related Sagareus Services:

• Tenant Screening Services
• Professional Leasing Services