How to Avoid Online Rental Scams
Vacation home rentals are a fun and often affordable alternative to hotels, but they are also less regulated and more prone to fraud. Fraudsters have come up with many schemes to quickly get rid of forgetful vacationers, using beautiful photographs of a nonexistent rental and a cash advance deposit. This is why it is so important to know how to detect fraudulent ads on the Internet.
Not only is vacation rental scam possible, but it is big business for criminals. Travel fraud increased 16 percent in 2017 and continues to grow, according to anti-fraud company Forter . One study by the American Hotel and Lodging Association found that nearly 55 million bookings a year are made from fake travel agency or hotel websites. Fortunately, with a little preliminary research, you can avoid appearing in an imaginary rental property that has already been paid for.
Check photos
The first thing you need to do is check your ad photos . How many photos are there? If there is only one low-quality rental image, it is a red flag. There should be some photographs showing all the angles of the house, including several rooms. If the photos are only from the outside, this is also a red flag. How good are the photos? Are they too cute ? Images should be of decent quality – at least for smartphones – but be wary of ads that only have a couple of photos perfect for Photoshop.
If you are unsure about your ad photos, do a reverse image search on Google . In Google Chrome, right-click the photo and select Search this image on Google. If you see the same photo being used on many other sites, especially stock photography sites, that’s a huge red flag. Also, don’t hesitate to reach out to the owner or renter and ask for additional photos. If they cannot provide them, proceed with extreme caution.
Explore property and territory
If the photos do not seem too suspicious, the next thing you should do is search for properties on Google Maps at the specified address. Make sure the property is where they say it is. Then use the street view function to get a better view of the object . Does it look like the pictures they provided? If they do, so far so good.
While you’re at it, go to your regular old Google search and see if the address appears elsewhere. This property may have been listed on multiple vacation rental websites. If so, take a look at what the reviews look like to make sure you don’t run into problems. See a lot of good reviews? Great. Do you see bad reviews or none at all? Oh oh …
It’s not a bad idea to check prices for other rental properties in the area. If the prices for the place you are looking for are much lower than other properties in the area, this is a bad sign. Trust this. Remember, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Make sure the person providing this location is legal
Since you are already looking, you can continue working. Search for the name of the owner or tenant and see what appears. Do they really live in the area? Do they have a professional rental company? Do they have social media pages? Actually, does this person really exist?
Yes, and if you contact them by email, see if this email is posted on all other listings of the same entity on different sites. Some scammers grab photos and logos from legitimate listings and then use fake emails and phone numbers. Look for consistency. And if you find an ad for a place on a site like Craigslist that links to a booking service like Airbnb, pay special attention to the URL . Scammers will use similar web addresses to try and trick you.
If you really want to be sure that you are dealing with someone honest, ask them a lot of questions, especially questions that are not directly related to property. Find out what they know about local attractions, restaurants, and other local attractions. Where is the nearest grocery store? Refueling? Do they have a favorite place to eat? What do they recommend there? If they are unable to provide guidance, be careful.
No lease, no lease
If there is no lease, digital or physical, it is probably a scam. All reputable owners and agencies will have them, as the terms will protect both sides. If they don’t have it, look elsewhere.
Payment by credit card only
Cash or wire transfers such as MoneyGram or Western Union are highly preferred by criminals, so never use them when paying your rent. Always use your credit card instead. Cards such as Visa, American Express and MasterCard allow you to dispute expenses and help you recover money lost due to fraud. And never pay outside of the rental site platform if possible.
Finally, beware of security deposit scams. The most common scam is a tenant scam that asks for a cash advance payment, usually in the amount of several hundred dollars. Don’t fall for it. Use your credit card to make a deposit, but do a little research before paying. Each state has its own laws on how to collect security deposits , but even some legitimate owners will ask for more than the state requires. If so, don’t be afraid to shout it out to them .