Three tips to avoid real estate rental scams

One of the biggest stresses we can face in life is finding a new place to live. Whether we’re talking about a short-term rental for a vacation or a ‘permanent’ move to new digs, there’s plenty to think about. Scammers are well aware that people who are looking for a place to rent feel compelled to jump on a good deal, and that’s why they’re working overtime to cash in on real estate rental scams.

Moving or vacationing, the rules are the same

It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking for a new home or simply a vacation stay, real estate rental scams work the same. It all begins (as the old Godfather line went) with an offer you can’t refuse. Here are a couple of examples. A man from Idaho was relocating to Rhode Island and needed a one-year rental. He responded to an ad on Craigslist and subsequently agreed to wire over $21,000 to lock in the rental. In Cambridge, a man was moving from one apartment to another. He paid a security deposit plus first and last month’s rent, then received a text after his check had cleared. The text advised him he’d been scammed.

The two main types of rental scams

Option 1 – Ad hijacking

A scammer duplicates a legitimate ad for a rental and changes the contact information. He then posts it and waits for someone to call. 

Option 2 – the fake place

Another favorite is creating an ad for a fake location. The ad might include photos take from other attractive rentals on the Internet as well as descriptions, testimonials, etc. 

Three tips to avoid a real estate rental scam

Tip 1: Watch the money. If you find a listing on one a trusted website such as VRBO, Airbnb, or an apartment rental site and are asked to send payment via a different platform, be very wary. Payments sent via Zelle, money order, or other ‘instant’ methods are not reversible, Michelle Couch-Friedman, executive director at Elliott Advocacy, a non-profit consumer advocacy organization, said, “As long as you stay within the platform from start to finish, from payment to deposit, it’s very difficult to become scammed,”

Tip 2: Check the reviews. A new listing with no reviews can be a sign of a scam just starting up, but the opposite is also true. Are there a lot of reviews with similar language? Are phrases repeated? Be skeptical of all those 5-star reviews, especially if they all come in near the same time.

Tip 3: Visit the property. If you’re purchasing or renting long term, visit the property before turning over any funds. If you can’t go in person, have someone you trust visit for you.

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