Rental Scams Exposed: How Fake Listings Trick Renters

There is a rental scammer operating near me in a landlord/rental group on Facebook who is running a bait and switch scam using real, active listings from legitimate landlords.

I found out about this last week when a someone texted me wanting to confirm whether a rental property was really mine and why the price didn’t match what they were being told on Facebook Messenger. They had gotten suspicious, googled the address, and found my real contact info on Zillow.

How This Rental Scam Works:

• He posts a fake 3 bedroom rental house publicly in a Facebook group using details pulled from public rental listings.
• When people message him in Facebook Messenger and then ask if he has any 2 bedroom houses…
• He sends my listing details privately to them (a 2 bedroom coming available soon)
• He sends a screenshot of MY real photos, the house address, and the actual availability date I posted
• He claims to be the owner
• Then he sends a Google Form asking how they want to pay the deposit, with options like: gift cards, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle
• He prices it WAY under market – he told people $900/month with a $480 deposit
• My real listing is $1,275/month with a $1,400 deposit
• He runs everything privately in Facebook Messenger so nothing shows up publicly

This is a classic rental scam that targets both tenants and landlords.

And yes – my photos weren’t watermarked. Once your photos are public, they tend to get reused in ways you didn’t intend. Most of us don’t watermark every rental photo, and scammers know how to take advantage of that across landlord groups and rental sites.

I have screenshots of everything: the fake listing, his messages, the stolen photos, and the bogus payment form. The random person who messaged me last week sent me everything when I asked.

My concern now is how many moving trucks might show up on the availability date thinking they “rented” the place from him. If he’s doing it with mine, he’s doing it with others – especially anyone advertising a vacancy this month or next.

Just putting this out there so no one gets blindsided.
Scammers are getting more creative every year.

If You Are a Landlord…

• watermark your photos.

If You Are a Renter…

• Verify the owner’s name on county property records
• Never pay deposits via gift cards, Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle
• Zillow warns renters never to send deposits before seeing a home in person
• Don’t believe prices that are way below market rent
• If they won’t show the property in person? RUN AWAY SCREAMING!!! 🚩🚩🚩

These scams are exploding right now, and landlords need to know how they work so they don’t get copied or targeted. I’ll be sharing more landlord tips like this, so you don’t get taken advantage of while trying to run a rental business that actually makes money.

If you want to drastically reduce risky applicants before they ever see your property, here is how I prescreen tenants before a showing.