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Rental Fraud: A Different Type of Scam
Frauds and scams exist in many forms, ranging from credit card fraud to identity theft. Another type of fraud – rental fraud – is also impacting a good chunk of the population. According to a recent report from Apartment List, upwards of 5.2 million renters lost money as victims of rental scams.
What, exactly, constitutes rental fraud? Apartment List defines the concept as a situation in which someone claiming to be a property manager or landlord attempts to rent a property that:
- Doesn’t exist
- Isn’t their property
- Is different than what is advertised
- Is already leased to someone else
Scammers bilk potential renters by collecting an application fee, security deposit or even up-front rent before the prospective tenant even realizes he or she is being scammed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger renters, those aged 18-29 years old, tend to lose money more frequently from rental fraud than do their older counterparts.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Amy Sorter
