BPD Community Alert: The Boston Department issues a Public Safety and Awareness against Rental Scams and how to avoid being scammed. With the upcoming rental season, residents are advised to read the following tips on how to recognize a rental scam, how to protect yourself, and ways to report scammers. Residents are asked to take precautions from becoming a victim.
What are Rental Scams – Renter Beware!
Rental scams occur when scammers misrepresent themselves as either a leasing agent or property owner. Scammers create advertisements for properties that do not exist, have already been filled or steal legitimate listings in order to collect payment up front from victims.
Scammers require victims to wire money, purchase gift cards or send cryptocurrency to cover application fees, deposits, or first month’s rent. In many instances this is required before victims have viewed the space. Some scammers require victims to provide identifiable information exposing victim’s to further fraudulent activity. Fraudulent advertisements have appeared on Craigslist, Facebook, and other legitimate property rental websites.
How to Protect Yourself
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends renters:
- Search online for the name of the property owner or rental company with the words “complaint,” “review,” or
“scam.” - Consider the price of the rental. If the price is much lower than most rents in the area, this could be a sign of a scam.
If anyone pressures you to make a decision quickly to get a great deal, walk away. - Look at the property before you sign or pay. Check agent or landlord IDs and the cities’ tax assessment website to
verify the owner of the property. - Never give personal or financial information to anyone who contacts you and claims to be working with the owner
or rental company. - Never pay with cash, wire transfers (Venmo, CashApp, etc.), cards, or cryptocurrency.
Report Scammers
If you encounter a rental scam, report it to:
- the Boston Police Department
- the website the ad was posted on
- the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at https://www.ic3.gov/