As renting continues to rise, scams have also come to the forefront. In fact, 43% of renters have interacted with fraudulent listings resulting in more than six million people being scammed. The most common form of rental scam, according to this article from CNBC, is the “Bait and Switch.” This involves a scammer advertising an apartment that is different than what is actually available. The scammers will then attempt to collect a deposit or get the renter to sign a fictitious lease, fraudulently taking the customer’s money.
A second type of scam is the “Hijacked Ad.” The scammer will pose as a fake landlord for a property and change the contact information. Scammers also seek to list properties that are already occupied trying to obtain security deposits and application fees from unsuspecting potential renters.
With thousands of dollars being lost, how can you protect yourself? How can you as a renter make sure you are not being led astray?
“When I see renters getting scammed, I know there are ways to help them. With Rental Beast, I can guarantee that our clients will always be protected from scams whether it’s due to our rigorous listing standards or through our highly trained real estate agents,” said Ishay Grinberg, Founder and President of Rental Beast.
Rental Beast is an online leasing platform featuring a rental database with over six million listings not found on the MLS. Our listings come directly from owners or property managers, and are updated daily by the Rental Beast team guaranteeing the most up-to-date information available. Our listing experts comb our database to ensure it is 100% accurate and legitimate.
All Rental Beast listings are checked and vetted through a rigorous quality assurance check and cannot be listed until they are approved by the Rental Beast team. Every listing you see posted on our platform has been personally checked through.
Rental Beast can also protect potential renters from scams through its partnerships with the top brokerage firms nationwide. We give you access to trained real estate agents who are hyper-local area experts and will make sure you find the perfect rental.
If you are looking for your next rental, visit rentalbeast.com to see our comprehensive listings.
If you’re a real estate agent looking to build your sales pipeline and make more money, Rental Beast can help! Click here request your free demo today to learn more.