People looking to rent a home online continue to be frequent victims of scams. With the increase in vacationers and new residents to Cape Coral, the need for affordable rentals has skyrocketed. The Cape Coral Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit urges people to follow these tips to avoid becoming the next victim.

Scammers are using sites such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to list apartments, houses, and vacation rentals they do not own and are not authorized to rent or list, often for a low price. The scammers have used the legitimate photos of the property, sometimes from other sites or listings, and uploaded them to the fraudulent ad as their own. These types of listings have been used to scam victims into paying money for a rental or property that the scammer was not authorized to list or rent and does not own.

Here are some of the ways to help recognize and prevent from falling into a rental scam.

• If it sounds too good to be true, it’s most likely a scam.
• Research the rental and find out who owns it and if it is listed on another rental website. If it’s listed on another website rental service, it’s most likely a scam.
• The scammer will sometimes ask for money up front to fill out an application before even seeing the house/apartment. Never provide any personal information until you are sure that it is a legit rental. If in doubt, just don’t do it!
• Make sure you visit the property first! Most of the money loss can be prevented if you were to visit the property first. When individuals have visited the property, they realize that someone is already living there or there is a sign out front listing the property for sale, not rent.
• Be very cautious if the person owning the property will not meet you at the rental to show the property. If they do not meet you or give a reason why they can’t, more than likely it’s a scam.
• The scammer will ask you to send money through money transfer sites such as Zelle, Venmo, or PayPal to a different person’s name that is not their own or who actually owns the property on the property appraiser’s site. Scammers will claim it to be their husband, wife, or lawyer’s name when questioned on why the names don’t match. Sometimes the scammers will tell you to send money to multiple people as well.
• Scammers will even ask for gift cards in lieu of rent/application fees or security deposit.
• Use a verified broker. Do not use Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for rentals!

Most importantly, do your research. Most of these scams can be discovered if you just take a little time and do some research.

If you feel you have been a victim of a scam and live in Cape Coral, please report it to us by calling (239) 574-3223; if you live elsewhere, please call your local jurisdiction/law enforcement agency.