Rental Scams Are Everywhere Right Now — Here's How to Protect Yourself
IF THE PRICE IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE - BEWARE
Rental scams have become a serious problem for anyone apartment hunting online. Real property managers and landlords are increasingly finding their own listings copied and reposted by scammers, often at a suspiciously low price, targeting renters who are excited to find a deal. If you're looking for a new place to live, it's worth knowing exactly what these scams look like and how to avoid them.
The Copied Listing Scam
One of the most common scams right now works like this: a scammer copies the photos, description, and address from a real, legitimate listing and reposts it — usually on Facebook Marketplace or a similar platform — at a price 30% to 50% below the real rent. The unit, the photos, and the address are all real. The person posting it, and the deal they're offering, are not.
Interested renters reach out, get told to pay an "application fee" of somewhere around $50 to $80 to secure a showing or hold the unit, send the payment, and then get blocked. The scammer disappears, the money is gone, and the unit was never actually available at that price — or possibly not available from that person at all.
This is a high-volume, low-effort scam, and it's aimed squarely at people excited about finding a great deal. That excitement is exactly what makes it effective.
Craigslist Scams
Craigslist remains one of the most common platforms for rental scams, for a simple reason: it has minimal verification and allows listings to be posted with very little oversight. Common patterns include listings for properties the "landlord" doesn't actually own, often using photos pulled from real estate sites or other legitimate listings. Some scammers claim to be out of town or unavailable to show the unit in person, asking for a deposit or first month's rent to be wired before you've ever seen the property. Others create real-sounding backstories — a job relocation, a family emergency — to explain why they can't meet in person and need money sent quickly.
If a Craigslist "landlord" is unusually eager to skip an in-person showing, wants money wired or sent through a non-reversible payment method, or has a story that conveniently prevents you from verifying anything, that's a serious red flag.
Other Patterns to Watch For
Scams and shady practices show up in a few other forms worth knowing about. Some agents and scammers post photos of properties that have already been rented, or that don't belong to them at all, purely to generate interest and get renters to reach out — sometimes to redirect them toward other properties, sometimes as a data-gathering tactic. Some listings refuse to allow any showing without first collecting a renter's complete personal information, which can be a step toward identity theft rather than a genuine screening step.
How to Protect Yourself
A few habits go a long way toward avoiding these scams entirely.
Never pay anything — an application fee, a deposit, first month's rent — before you've seen the unit in person, or at minimum verified the listing and the person you're dealing with through a live video walkthrough. A legitimate landlord or property manager will not have a problem with this.
Verify the listing independently. Search the address separately from the platform you found it on. If the same property is listed on multiple sites at wildly different prices, or the "landlord" you're messaging isn't the same as the property manager listed elsewhere, that's worth investigating before you send anything.
Be suspicious of any price significantly below comparable units in the area. A legitimate deal exists sometimes, but a price that's dramatically lower than everything else nearby is one of the most consistent signals of a scam.
Never wire money or use a non-reversible payment method to someone you haven't met and haven't verified. Legitimate rental payments go through traceable, reversible methods, and a legitimate landlord isn't going to insist otherwise.
Be cautious about how much personal information you provide before an actual application process begins. A showing shouldn't require your full financial history upfront — that level of detail belongs in a formal application, submitted once you've verified the property and the person managing it are legitimate.
The Bottom Line
Rental scams work because they exploit urgency and excitement — a great unit, a great price, and pressure to act fast before "someone else takes it." Slowing down, verifying independently, and refusing to send money before an in-person or verified interaction is the single best protection against nearly all of these scams.
Looking for a legitimate, verified rental?
Every property we manage is listed directly by us, with no third-party reposting and no application fee required before you've actually seen the unit. Blair Allen Property Management manages rentals across South Dakota, Montana, and Arizona.
Chris Twiggs President, Blair Allen Property Management 📞 605-545-1218 ✉️ chris@blairallen.com