Rental scams: how to avoid wiring a deposit for an apartment that isn't real
A great apartment, a below-market rent, and a landlord who is "out of the country" and just needs a deposit to hold it. Rental scams cost renters hundreds of millions a year. Here is how the hijacked-listing scam works, and the one rule that stops it: never pay for a place you haven't seen.
Few scams are as quietly devastating as the rental scam, because it takes money from people who can least afford to lose it — renters scraping together a deposit for somewhere to live. And it’s surging. The FBI reported that in 2024, 9,359 people lost more than $173 million to rental scams, and the FTC found consumers reported about $65 million in rental-scam losses since 2020, with roughly half of recent reports tracing back to a fake ad on Facebook.
The mechanics are simple, which is what makes them so effective. Here’s how the most common version works — and the one rule that beats every variant.
Why rental scams work: a tight market and a fast “yes”
Housing is the perfect hunting ground: demand is high, good listings vanish fast, and renters are primed to move quickly before someone else grabs the place. A scammer just has to dangle an attractive unit at a friendly price and supply a reason you must commit now. The urgency you feel is real; the apartment isn’t.
Hijacked and invented listings
Most rental scams start with a listing that looks completely legitimate — because it was. The FTC explains that scammers take over real listings by “copying the pictures and descriptions of online rental listings, replacing the agent’s contact information with their own, and posting the phony ads.” The FBI adds that fraudsters often use “the broker’s real name to create a fake email to give the fraud more legitimacy.”
Others are invented from scratch, especially on social media. The FTC notes scammers “use social media groups to post made-up listings for places that aren’t actually available to rent — and sometimes for places that don’t even exist.” Either way, the photos, the address, and the name can all be real and still belong to a scam.
The “I’m out of the country” deposit
Then comes the catch. You ask to see the place, and suddenly the owner can’t show it. The FBI’s description is almost a script: the “owner” “claims they’re unable to show the property without payment because they are either out of town or out of the country,” and asks you to send money to hold it. The FTC notes the fake owner may “rush you into a quick decision by asking you to send money by wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency.”
That combination — can’t view it, must pay now, pay by an untraceable method — is the entire scam in one move. Once the deposit is wired, the “landlord” vanishes, and often the real owner has no idea their property was ever advertised.
The price that’s a little too good
The bait is usually a rent that’s noticeably below comparable places. The FTC’s advice doubles as a tell: “if the advertised rent of a listing is much cheaper than rents for similar rentals in the same area, that could be a sign of a scam.” A price that good, on a place you can’t see, from someone who needs money fast, isn’t your lucky break — it’s the hook. (The same logic powers too-good investment and shopping offers.)
How to spot it
The tells are in the box below, but the machine is constant: an attractive listing + a reason you can’t view it + pressure to send untraceable money fast. Swap the city, the photos, or the excuse, and it’s the same engine every time.
What to do instead
The free move comes first (see the defense box), and it’s blunt: never pay for a place you haven’t seen. The habit is Go Direct — don’t act on the ad and its contact details; verify the property and the person independently. Search the address and the photos to catch duplicate or “for sale” listings; confirm who actually owns the property through public records; and see the unit in person, or at least on a live video tour you ask for on the spot. The FBI’s bottom line is the same: “do not wire funds to people you do not know and do not put money toward a house or apartment you have not seen.”
If you’re being rushed, that pressure is the signal — apply The Pause on Money. For the short-term, holiday version of this scam, see vacation rental scams. For more, see our defense moves and the 60-second quiz. If you’ve already sent money, contact your bank immediately and report it to the FBI’s IC3 at ic3.gov — see Freeze & Report.
- A listing is priced noticeably below similar places nearby, with great photos and an eager, friendly "landlord".
- The "owner" or "agent" can't show you the place — they're out of town or abroad — but wants a deposit or first month to "hold" it.
- You're pushed to send money by wire transfer, gift card, a payment app, or cryptocurrency before you've seen the unit or signed in person.
- Never pay a deposit or rent for a place you haven't seen in person — or, at minimum, on a live video tour you control.
- Search the listing's address and photos: duplicate posts, a different price, or a "for sale" sign mean the listing is hijacked.
- Verify who actually owns the property through public records, and deal directly with the real owner or a licensed agent.
- Never wire money or pay a rental deposit by gift card, payment app, or crypto — use a traceable method, after you've verified the place.
Rental scams hurt because they catch people at their most stretched — a tight market, a deadline to move, a place that finally looks affordable. That pressure is exactly what the scammer is renting from you. The single rule I’d give anyone apartment-hunting is almost embarrassingly simple: I don’t pay for a door I haven’t walked through. Not a holding deposit, not a first month, nothing — until I’ve stood inside the unit (or done a live video walkthrough I asked for on the spot) and confirmed the person taking my money actually owns or manages it. Every version of this scam dies at that one line.
Sources
Frequently asked
The listing used a real agent's name and looked completely legitimate. How can it be a scam?
Because the legitimacy is borrowed. The FBI describes scammers who "duplicate postings from legitimate real estate websites and repost these ads after altering them, often using the broker's real name to create a fake email to give the fraud more legitimacy." A real name and real photos prove nothing — they were copied. The only checks that hold are confirming ownership through public records and seeing the place in person.
The landlord says they're abroad and just need a deposit to hold the place. Is that ever normal?
It's one of the most common scripts in the scam. The FBI notes the "owner" often "claims they're unable to show the property without payment because they are either out of town or out of the country," then asks you to send money. A genuine landlord or agent has a way to show you the unit; "I can't show it, but pay to hold it" is the tell. Don't pay for a place you can't enter.
What payment method is safe for a rental deposit?
First see the place and verify the owner — then use a method with a paper trail, like a check or a traceable bank payment to a confirmed party. Never wire money or pay a deposit by gift card, a payment app, or cryptocurrency: the FTC is explicit that if someone tells you to pay a rental that way, "it's a scam," because those payments can't be traced or recovered.