By BECKY RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
Spring showers bring…more Facebook rental scams! I have seen so many scam rental listings on Facebook this week it is ridiculous.
Image of Facebook rental listing
What a deal, right? Seems like a total bargain, but wow that is a crazy low price. Too good to be true? Yep.
Aside from the ridiculously low rental price, what other signs are there that this is too good to be true?
Right off the bat, this is a rental listing, and it’s listed in a group completely unrelated to housing-Los Alamos Trails. The pictures in the listing are very generic, and look like they could have been pulled off the internet. Also the author is tagging “everyone” to get attention, kind of weird for a simple listing.
Many times listings like this will ask for an “application fee” or deposit up front, which is always a bad sign, you should never have to pay money just to view a rental listing.
Image of a Facebook rental listing
The scam listings will always be way below actual market value, and try to come across as pet friendly, claim no money up front, etc. Pictures in the listings are almost always generic as above.
Image of Facebook profile picture
Profiles listing these are generally pretty sketchy looking, why would this person be listed as a “grocery store”? They also usually have very few friends/followers.
Frequently the listings will try to reel you in with a story, saying that they just got married, or their grandparents are retiring, etc.
Image of Facebook scam rental ad
Another big trend I’ve been seeing in these is “rent to own”, but at ridiculously low prices. And again, look at the picture, does this look like a house in Santa Fe?
I’ve also seen a lot of these sites ending in “godaddysites.com” this is a platform offering domain names, websites, registration, hosting, etc. If the website is ending in “godaddysites.com” this is an indication that the user is hosting the site on their platform, but has not yet purchased a domain, probably an indicator that the site is scammy.
What are other signs a rental listing is a scam?
- The listing looks copied or the description is vague.
- Listing is duplicated in multiple Facebook groups, even in groups where it wouldn’t make sense to advertise a rental.
- If an address is listed, you can’t verify it online, or it is listed somewhere else.
- The listing agent requests money up front before signing a lease, or asks that you send money in an odd way such as by wiring.
- Listing agent won’t let you tour the property.
- The rent is suspiciously low.
If something seems off in a rental listing, it probably is a scam. If it’s on Facebook or another social media platform you can report the listing either to the group it is posted in, or to Facebook as a scam.
Stay safe online, be suspicious, and if something seems off- it is likely a scam!
