Looking for a place to rent in Sacramento? How to avoid online scams, fake listings

Shanti LoCelso was looking to move to Sacramento from Ventura County to be closer to her family. Like many searching for a new humble abode, LoCelso went online, combing through listings on Facebook, Zillow and Craigslist. But finding a legitimate listing was like looking for a diamond in a scam-filled mine.

“I took a break from looking at apartments,” LoCelso said, explaining that she is exhausted from her search.

In the almost eight months that the 44-year-old has been looking for an apartment, she has run into more than five fraudulent listings with individuals posing as property owners and real estate agents. She said she has lost around $300.

According to Apartment List’s Fraud Survey from 2018, around 5.2 million renters have lost money because of rental fraud. Some of the most common housing scams include phantom rentals, which is when an individual creates a listing for a space that does not exist or is not for rent, and hijacked ads, where a person takes a real advertisement and changes the contact information.

Most of the time, these schemes are used to get renters to send deposits and application fees, under the guise that they will secure a new home.

In March, at the start of her search, LoCelso found a listing on Facebook Marketplace. “I think you’ll love the place,” the person claiming to list the property said on Facebook Messenger, behind a profile picture of a smiling older woman with white hair. “I think it’s great for you.”

But before allowing LoCelso to tour the apartment, the person required an upfront and refundable payment of $100. “This is just how I do it,” she said. “This is just how everyone does it here — you’ll find in Sacramento.”

LoCelso said she found it weird. “I knew the red flags. I talked to my friends about it — people I trust,” she said. “But it’s hard to tell because people are really nice.”

She ended up paying the $100, but before she could plan a visit to the apartment, the property owner said she was out of town because her daughter was in a car accident. She said she needed to mail the apartment keys to LoCelso and asked for another $50 for the “key fee.”

Confused, LoCelso demanded a refund of her $100, but to no avail. Instead, the person began telling LoCelso that she was sick and that her daughter had lost both of her legs in a car accident. “I have spent a lot of money on her. Can’t you just pity me at all?”

LoCelso continued her search only to be stalled by more scams. She talked to a man claiming to be a real estate agent on Zillow who wouldn’t show a listed apartment space, despite asking for $50 to 100 for applications and credit checks. She also encountered a detailed Craigslist listing where the poster wanted her to complete the rental application and send $50 for a credit check via PayPal Friends and Family. After paying the fee, the person stopped responding.

“They’re really convincing and very determined,” she said about the scam artists, adding that they often tried to persuade her by saying the listings were a great opportunity.

“I hate that I put that much energy into it and time,” she said. “How can these people do this?”

Igor Popov, chief economist at Apartment List, an online rental service, said it’s hard to pinpoint who or what types of people could be profiting off housing fraud.

He adds that while rental fraud was common pre-pandemic, “the conditions that make it easier to perpetuate rental fraud were pretty ripe, unfortunately, in the past 18 months.”

Popov said there has been a rise in people moving, with many relocating to units before seeing them due to social distancing. He said people need to be careful, especially if they are moving to a new city and cannot tour the rental space.

Are you hunting for a new home online? Here are some red flags you should look out for.

The private owner is renting property from abroad

A common scam is when a person claims they are renting out a unit from out of state or abroad, according to Zillow. These individuals will say that they are employed by the United Nations, work as a missionary or are in the military.

A word of advice by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “If you can’t meet in person, see the apartment or sign a lease before you pay, keep looking.” Individuals that want to lease a rental from overseas are advised by the FTC to pay with a credit card or make payments through a creditable rental website.

Listings are riddled with typos

Grammatical and spelling errors are another indicator of fraudulent listings, Zillow reports.

You are asked to wire money

The FTC warns that being asked to wire money “is the surest sign of a scam.” Individuals posing as landlords may ask people to send a security deposit, application fee or first month’s rent by wiring it to an account. Those looking to rent a space should be wary of this, especially if the account is from abroad or if they want the money transferred via Western Union or MoneyGram.

Gina Cole, Zillow spokesperson, said that if a person has already wired money to a suspected scammer, they should report the incident to the wire transfer company and request a reversal of the transfer.

The landlord tells a dramatic story

A common red flag, according to Apartments.com, is when the landlord tells a dramatic and sad story.

You are asked to share personal or financial information

Scammers posed as landlords, private owners and realtors may ask for confidential information, such as bank account numbers, Social Security numbers and addresses. When in the wrong hands, this information can be used to steal money or for identity theft. Make sure these are trusted sources before providing this information.

If you notice a fraudulent listing, report it to your local law enforcement and to the FTC. You should also report the ad on the website it was posted on.