Home / Guides / How to spot a fake room-for-rent listing
Renter guide
How to spot a fake room-for-rent listing
Fake rental listings copy real photos, quote a low price and ask for money fast. Here are the warning signs, and what a real listing shows.
Seven warning signs
- The price is far below similar rooms. If a furnished room with utilities costs half of what the others nearby do, ask why before you get excited.
- You cannot see the room. The "owner" is out of town, overseas or "on a mission" and offers to mail the keys. A real owner or manager can show you the room, or have someone show you.
- They ask for money first. A deposit, "application fee" or first month before you have toured, met anyone or read a lease is the classic scam.
- They want payment you cannot get back. Wire transfers, gift cards, cryptocurrency and payment apps sent to someone you have not met are hard or impossible to reverse.
- There is no address, or the address does not match. Look the address up on a map. Check the property records or the listing on other sites.
- The photos appear somewhere else. Run a reverse image search on the photos. If they show up on a different listing or a sale page, walk away.
- They push you to hurry. "Three other people are sending the deposit today" is pressure meant to stop you from checking.
What a real listing shows
- A street address you can look up.
- The rent, deposit and fees written down before you contact anyone.
- A way to tour the room in person, or a detailed photo or video walkthrough followed by a tour.
- A clear screening process that applies to everyone.
- A written lease with the terms and length.
On this site every room page lists the address, the rent and the move-in costs, and tours are in person in the evening. Compare any listing you find, here or anywhere else, against that list.
If you already sent money
Contact your bank or payment app right away and ask if the payment can be stopped or reversed. Then report it to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the site where you saw the listing.
Next step
Once a listing passes the check, use the list in the questions to ask before you rent a room to compare it with others.
Common questions
How do I know a room listing is real?
A real listing shows a street address you can look up, the rent and fees up front, and a way to tour the room in person. Be careful with any listing that asks for money before you have toured and read a lease.
What should I do if I sent money to a fake landlord?
Contact your bank or payment app right away and ask whether the payment can be stopped or reversed. Then report it to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov.