Rental Scams in 2026: $275 Million Lost and How to Spot One
A furnished studio at a good price, photos that look professional, a landlord who is friendly but out of town. By the time you find out there is no apartment, the deposit is gone.
In 2025 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded 12,368 real estate fraud complaints totalling $275,110,419, according to an FBI Boston Division advisory. That is up from 9,359 complaints and about $174 million the year before.
The FBI adds the caveat that matters most: actual losses are almost certainly higher, because many people never report being scammed.
How the losses have moved
| Year | Complaints | Reported losses |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 11,727 | $397 million |
| 2023 | 9,521 | $145 million |
| 2024 | 9,359 | $174 million |
| 2025 | 12,368 | $275 million |
Complaints and losses both climbed sharply in 2025 after two quieter years. In the FBI's Boston Division alone, covering Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, 490 victims reported $2,629,447 in losses.
Read next: Who calls from (801) 348-5863? Reported 11 times from Utah
The IC3 counts rental, timeshare and real estate investment fraud in one category, so not every case is a fake apartment listing. The direction is still clear.
Version one: the fake listing
The scammer copies photos and details from a real listing and reposts them elsewhere, usually at a slightly lower price. They pose as the landlord.
Then comes the reason they cannot meet you: they are working abroad, the property is managed remotely, they had a family emergency. Next comes the pressure, that someone else has already asked about it, so the deposit needs to go today.
Once the money is sent, the listing disappears and so does the contact. In one case cited by the FBI, friends arranging a holiday rental in York, Maine, exchanged texts and emails with someone they believed owned the property and wired $8,848 to reserve it.
Read next: Is ShopVSB.com Legit? Vitamin Sea Boutique Review 2026
Version two: the fake tenant
This one targets landlords, and many landlords have never heard of it.
Someone applies, agrees the rent without negotiating, and sends a cheque. It is either the exact amount or deliberately too much. If it is overpaid, they apologise and ask you to wire back the difference. If it is exact, they cancel a few days later and ask for an urgent refund.
The cheque is counterfeit. Banks often make funds available before a cheque clears, so the balance looks real. When it bounces days later, the bank reclaims the full amount and the landlord has already wired their own money away.
The rule that prevents this: never refund any part of a payment until the original has fully cleared, and ask your bank to confirm clearance in those words. Available is not cleared.
Read next: Doxo Pays $2.1M: The Bill Pay Ad That Looked Official
Warning signs for renters
- Rent 20 percent or more below comparable places nearby. The price is the bait, not a bargain.
- The landlord cannot meet you or show the property. Every excuse in this category is the same excuse.
- Pressure to pay because others are interested. Urgency exists to stop you checking.
- Payment by wire, Zelle, Venmo, gift card, or cryptocurrency. These are chosen because they cannot be reversed.
- The same photos on several sites with different contacts. A copied listing, every time.
- An application form before you have met anyone. The FBI advises not filling these out until you have met the property manager directly.
Warning signs for landlords
- A tenant willing to rent without seeing the property
- A cheque for more than the agreed amount, with any explanation attached
- A request to wire money to a third party or an overseas account
- A deal that cancels quickly, followed by urgency about the refund
Five checks that take about five minutes
- Reverse image search the photos. Right click, search the image. If the same rooms appear on a listing in another city, you have your answer.
- Look up who owns the property. County or town property records are public and usually online. The FBI recommends this step specifically. If the name does not match your contact, stop.
- Compare the rent to similar places. Three or four comparable listings tell you whether the price is plausible.
- Insist on seeing it in person, or on a live video call. Live means you can ask them to walk to a window, or show today's date on a phone. Pre-recorded footage proves nothing.
- Get a signed lease before any money moves. With the owner's real name and the property address on it.
The 72 hour window if you already paid
Speed changes outcomes here more than anything else, and there is a specific reason why.
When you file with IC3, its Recovery Asset Team can trigger something called the Financial Fraud Kill Chain, which asks the receiving bank to freeze the account. In one case in the IC3 2025 annual report, a wire of over $449,000 was recovered in full after the victims reported it, even though their own attempts to contact the receiving bank had failed.
That only works while the money is still sitting there. Act in this order.
- Stop contact with the scammer. Telling them you know pushes them to move the funds.
- Call your bank now and use the words "fraudulent wire transfer, please attempt recall". Wire recalls are sometimes possible within roughly 24 to 72 hours.
- File at ic3.gov immediately, not later. This is what activates the Recovery Asset Team. Include the listing, all messages, addresses, phone numbers and payment details.
- Save every piece of evidence. Screenshot the listing before it is deleted, because it usually is within hours.
- Report the listing to the platform so it comes down for the next person.
- Also file at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If you shared a Social Security number, add IdentityTheft.gov.
Our guide to the first 48 hours after a scam covers what to say to the bank in more detail.
What AI has changed, and what it has not
Listings look more convincing than they used to. Scammers have access to professional photography, video tours, and AI tools for writing descriptions that read naturally.
The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report included a section on artificial intelligence for the first time, logging 22,364 AI related complaints and nearly $893 million in losses across all crime types, involving fake profiles, voice clones, and forged identity documents.
What has not changed is the verification. A convincing video call still cannot make somebody the owner of a building. Property records can. That is why the ownership check has become the most important step on the list, not the least.
Check before you send anything
If a landlord has given you a phone number, look it up first. Other people may already have reported it.
Check a phone number or website here, free and in about ten seconds.
What Do You Think?
No one has commented yet. If this happened to you as well, say so below. Knowing that other people had the same call makes it far easier for the next person to trust their instincts.
Add Your Comment
Every comment is read by a person before it appears, so it will not show up straight away. Never post your phone number, address, or bank details here.