A rental listing that wants a deposit first

Scammers copy real listings, photos and all, and swap in their own name and number.

If it’s happening now

Don’t send a deposit, a holding fee, first month’s rent, or an application yet. Do these first, in this order.

1. Search the full address. If the same place shows up with a different price, owner, or company, or listed for sale instead of for rent, someone likely copied the listing.
2. Look up the owner. Search the web for your county’s name and “property search” (the office may be called the assessor, appraiser, or auditor), then enter the address. The record should name the owner.
3. Match that name to the person. A private owner should show you an ID that matches the record, in person. If the owner is a company, or a management company’s sign is out front, find its website yourself and call the number on it. Ask whether the place is for rent and who’s handling it. The home should be listed on its website too.
4. See inside, with the owner, the manager’s agent, or a self-tour you booked on the manager’s own website.
5. Pay only them, on their own website or at their office. Use a credit card if they take one. You can dispute it if the place isn’t delivered as agreed.

They’re out of the country or away for work, and they’ll mail the keys. The FTC says fake owners usually claim to be away or have some other reason they can’t show the place. A real owner who’s away can send a manager or a friend to open the door. If no one can let you in, stop there.

A self-tour app let you in. The app opens the door for anyone who signs up. Call the company named on the sign, on the number from its own website, before you pay anyone. Some self-tour homes post a scam warning inside. Read it.

They want a screenshot of your credit score from a site they link. Don’t sign up. Most landlords run the check themselves. The FTC says these $1 credit checks can enroll you in a paid membership, and the scammer gets paid for each signup.

They say someone else is about to take it. Look up the owner now. It takes minutes. If they won’t wait for that, walk away, even if it costs you a real place.

It’s a vacation rental. Pay inside the booking site only. Airbnb says a host asking to take the booking off Airbnb breaks its rules, and paying outside it loses Airbnb’s booking protection (AirCover). Booking directly? Get a copy of the contract before any deposit, and for a resort, call the front desk yourself.

What to say

• I'm calling about a listing for one of your properties. Is it actually for rent, and who's handling it? The person I've been talking to wants a deposit by Zelle.

• I sent a rental deposit to someone who turned out not to own the place. It's a scam. I need you to try to recall or reverse the payment, and I need a case number.

• If you can't get it back, can you send me that decision in writing?

If something already left your hands

Stop replying to them.

You paid

Call your bank or the payment company first, on the number on your card or inside its app. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment, and get a case number. Screenshot the listing, the messages, and the payment before the listing comes down: Save evidence without spiraling.

Credit or debit card. Ask for a dispute. On a credit card, put it in writing so it reaches them within 60 days of the first statement that shows the charge. Steps: I paid with a credit or debit card.

Zelle, a bank transfer, a payment app, a wire, gift cards, or crypto. You sent it yourself, so the bank or app may treat it as authorized, and it often isn’t reimbursed. Ask for a recall or reversal anyway. If they say no, ask for the decision in writing, then file a complaint with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. For a wire or crypto, also report it to the FBI at ic3.gov at the same time as you call the bank. Steps for each: bank transfer, wire, or Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, or Apple Cash, Western Union or MoneyGram, gift cards, crypto.

Then report the listing to the site it was on, and file at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov. The FTC also suggests your local police and state attorney general: Where to report it.

Anyone who offers to get the money back for a fee, including someone who says they’re with the FBI or a law firm, is running a second scam. Someone offers to get my money back.

You sent your Social Security number, ID, or pay stubs

Freeze your credit at all three bureaus. It’s free, doesn’t affect your score, and lasts until you lift it. When you apply for a real place, ask which bureau the landlord uses, lift the freeze at only that one, then put it back.

• Equifax: 888-298-0045
• Experian: 888-397-3742
• TransUnion: online

If someone has used your information, IdentityTheft.gov builds a recovery plan. If not, or you don’t know, follow the steps at IdentityTheft.gov/databreach. More: I gave out a code, password, or card number.

You signed up for their credit check

Cancel the membership on that site, and watch your card statement for the monthly charge. If it keeps billing you, dispute it with your card company. More: Fake apps and subscriptions you didn’t mean to start.

What it looks like

Sunday, 8:40 p.m. You asked about a three-bedroom house listed on Facebook Marketplace for $1,350 a month. The county's property site lists the owner as Mark A. Ellison.

Messenger Mark Ellison

8:52 PM

Hi, yes it's still available.

I'm the owner. I took a job in Anchorage for 18 months, so I'm renting it to someone who'll treat it like home. The rent is low because I care more about a good tenant than top dollar.

I can't show it in person. You're welcome to drive by and look in the windows.

If you want it, fill out the application and send the $400 holding deposit by Zelle. I'll take the listing down and mail you the keys. I've had a lot of messages.

Can I see inside first?

I understand being careful. Here's my ID so you know who you're dealing with.

(Photo of a driver's license for Mark A. Ellison)

His ID matches the county record. What do you do?

• Ask him for a video call walking through the house
• Tell him you'll pay once someone local has let you in and you've signed a lease
• Send the $400. The names match

Show the answers

• Wrong move Ask him for a video call walking through the house A video shows a house, not who owns it. He can replay the listing's own video or walk through someone else's empty one.
• Best move Tell him you'll pay once someone local has let you in and you've signed a lease A real owner who's away can send a manager or a friend to open the door. The FTC says fake owners usually have a reason they can't show the place. If no one can let you in, don't pay.
• Wrong move Send the $400. The names match The owner's name is on a public website, so anyone can put it on a fake ID. And a Zelle payment you send yourself often isn't reimbursed.

A name that doesn't match the county record settles it. A name that matches still isn't enough: see inside before any money moves.

Saturday. You just toured a house through the self-tour app the person from the listing told you to download. The app checked your ID and opened the lockbox. The yard sign says Fernhollow Property Management.

(469) 555-0187

Text Message
Today 11:24 AM

Glad you got in. It's a great house right?

Heads up, Fernhollow doesn't manage it anymore. I took it back from them last month so ignore the sign and anything they post.

To hold it I need deposit + first month ($2,950) by Zelle today. I'll email the lease for you to e-sign tonight.

You've been inside, and he's sending a lease. What do you do?

• Pay. He got you in, and you'll have a signed lease
• Call Fernhollow at the number on its own website and ask who's renting out this address
• Ask him for a copy of the deed first

Show the answers

• Wrong move Pay. He got you in, and you'll have a signed lease The self-tour app works for the real owner or manager. It opened the lockbox because you signed up, not because he owns anything. A lease from someone who doesn't own the house doesn't get you the house.
• Best move Call Fernhollow at the number on its own website and ask who's renting out this address The FTC says scammers copy listings from landlords who use self-tour services, then set renters up with a tour to look legitimate. Invitation Homes, a national rental company, lists being told it no longer manages the home as a sign of a scam. One call to the company on the sign settles it.
• Wrong move Ask him for a copy of the deed first Deeds are public records. Anyone can get a copy of the real one. It shows who owns the house, not that he's that person.

Being let in doesn't tell you who's texting you. Ask the company named on the sign.

You found the management company's website yourself, called the office number on it, and toured the house with its leasing agent. That evening, this arrives.

Next steps for 2214 Orchard Bend

L

Larkin Ridge Homes <[email protected]>

To: me

6:12 PM

Hi Dana,

Thanks for touring 2214 Orchard Bend today.

To apply, sign in at larkinridgehomes.com and choose Apply on the listing. Each adult who'll live in the home applies separately. The fee is $50 per applicant, paid by card in the portal. The application asks for your Social Security number for the credit and background check.

We never take payment by Zelle, Cash App, wire, or gift card, and we'll never ask you to pay by text or email.

Larkin Ridge Leasing
(214) 555-0129

It wants a fee and your Social Security number before you've signed anything. What do you do?

• Type larkinridgehomes.com into your browser yourself, sign in, and apply there
• Call the office number from the website first to make sure they sent it
• Skip it. A real landlord doesn't ask for a fee or your Social Security number before you sign

Show the answers

• Best move Type larkinridgehomes.com into your browser yourself, sign in, and apply there You checked the owner, reached the company yourself, and toured with its agent. A fee and your Social Security number, entered on the manager's own website, is how a real application works. Typing the address yourself means it doesn't matter who sent the email.
• Okay Call the office number from the website first to make sure they sent it Safe, and it takes two minutes. You'd already done the checks that matter, so this one is extra.
• Wrong move Skip it. A real landlord doesn't ask for a fee or your Social Security number before you sign Some do. Progress Residential, a national rental company, asks applicants for an application fee and a Social Security or taxpayer ID number. What matters is where it goes: the manager's own website, not a text, an email, or a form someone sent you.

A real application can ask for a fee and your Social Security number. The difference is that you found the company yourself, and you pay on its own website.

What they’ll ask for

“Send a holding deposit and I’ll take it off the market.” Not until you’ve checked the owner and seen inside.

“Fill out this application,” sent by text, email, or a form link, asking for your Social Security number, a photo of your license, and pay stubs. That’s what the FTC says fake applications collect. Apply only on the owner’s or manager’s own website, after you’ve toured.

“Send me the self-tour code you got.” Invitation Homes lists being asked for it as a sign of a scam. Don’t send it.

“Pay by Western Union, MoneyGram, gift cards, or crypto.” It’s a scam. Stop replying.

“Pay by Zelle or Cash App.” Invitation Homes and Progress Residential, two large rental companies, both tell renters not to pay that way. A small landlord may take it, but send it only after you’ve checked the owner, been inside, and signed a lease. A payment you send yourself is hard to get back.

“The company on the sign doesn’t manage it anymore.” “The door will be unlocked.” “Leave the key outside the lockbox.” Invitation Homes lists all three as signs of a scam. Call the company on the sign.

If you own the property

An applicant overpays by check and asks for the difference back. Don’t send it. Banks have to make deposited money available quickly, but a fake check can take weeks to be discovered, and you repay the bank.

You own empty land. Criminals pose as owners to sell it. The FBI suggests asking your county recorder, register of deeds, appraisal district, or county clerk whether it offers alerts when a document is filed in your name, and checking whether your title insurance covers forgery.