Whether you are renting or buying, it’s important that you protect yourself from
frauds and scams. Remember - if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably
is.
Finding a place to rent may be as easy as walking through a neighborhood that
you like and looking for “for rent” signs, reading classified ads or browsing online.
There are rental scams out there – no matter where you live or how you find the
rental property. Be aware!
Here are some warning
signs of rental scams:
Rental rates that are
below market rates.
Landlords who require
you to leave a deposit
on the spot without any
formal rental agreement
in place or with a much
later move-in date. They
could be showing you
an apartment which is
not actually for rent.
Frauds and Scams
Photo credit kenteegardin via Visual hunt CC BY-SA
Landlords or homeown-
ers who are out of the country and require you to wire them a security deposit
before they will send you the key.
Someone who is willing to rent you a property without meeting you or doing a
background check on you.
Links within emails that send you to websites asking for personal and/or
financial information. These are usually phishing emails that can expose you to
financial fraud.
Ads that show pictures of the outside of the property only, or pictures that do
not match the actual property.
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