Renters across the country are scouring for affordable homes. And scammers are taking advantage. Because of course they are.
A home in Southwest Louisiana, valued at about $325,000, was posted on TikTok as a rental for $1,100 a month. In South Jersey, a Keller Williams agent found his own rental listing copied, photos included, and reposted online at half the real price.
We’re breaking down what this scam looks like, how to spot a fake listing, and what to do if you find one.
How TikTok Scammers Turn Listings Into Bait
Scammers pull photos and video straight from a real listing, and build a fake rental listing for it on TikTok.
They post the property at a price well below market and wait for interested renters to reach out.
For the homeowner whose photos get used, finding the fake listing can be unsettling on its own. Bayleigh Rigdon, a broker with Exit Bayou Realty, said her seller client came across the fake post on TikTok and worried about strangers arriving at the property.
“My clients came across it scrolling through TikTok, and they just felt a little violated that somebody was scamming people using photos of their home. And then not only that, but they were kind of worried that people would just show up to their house without them even being there, thinking that this property was for rent.”
Once a renter makes contact with the fake listing, the scammer asks for a application fee before anything else can happen. After the fee gets paid, the scammer stops responding, and the account goes dark.
Tom Dati, a broker with Keller Williams Realty in Ocean City, tested the scam himself by posing as a prospective renter on his own cloned listing.
When he asked to see a real estate license, the response raised its own red flags.
“He sent me a photo ID from the New Jersey Real Estate Commission. Real Estate Commission doesn’t license us; the Division of Banking and Insurance licenses us.”
When Dati messaged back to ask for an on-site tour of the property, the scammer demanded an application fee of $100 fee via Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp, saying once the application was approved, the tour could happen.
Renters reaching out for a tour are getting hit with the same request. And some are desperate enough to pay it. That’s what the scammers behind these fake listings are counting on.
Why This Is Becoming a Problem Everywhere
This scheme runs across state lines, which means any agent’s listing is a target, not just ones in high-scam markets. In New Jersey, one TikTok account, known as RentwBob, posted fake listings using stolen photos in multiple towns:
- Margate City
- Bradley Beach
- Cherry Hill
For scammers, this is a numbers game. Erica Sluss, Association Executive for the Southwest Louisiana Association of Realtors, said posting as many fake listings as possible, even for small fees, pays off.
“As many listings as they can push out, they’ll get more of a return on it.”
The pricing is chosen with care, too. Sluss said scammers set prices to appeal to renters who are struggling to find something affordable, the same renters agents work to place in a home they can afford.
“That looks appealing to people… unfortunately, those are the people that don’t have $25 or $50 to just put in an application fee to never see a return on it because they got scammed.”
Years ago, the same kind of scam ran on Craigslist. Now it runs on TikTok.
The good news? These posts do come with warning signs, which gives agents a way to protect local renters, as well as the homeowners whose property photos are being used as bait.
Red Flags to Share With Your Renter & Homeowner Clients
Fake TikTok rental listings share a set of features agents can teach renters to spot:
- A black background on the post
- A phone number from outside the area
- No property address listed anywhere
- The same account posting rentals scattered across multiple states
- Rent priced at roughly half of what the property would cost to rent
Sluss said the fake accounts follow a pattern renters can learn to recognize.
“Right now on TikTok, they all look the same.”
Rigdon (the Exit Bayou Realty broker) said the price alone should raise questions.
“Typically, if it seems too good to be true, it’s probably too good to be true, in my opinion. You know, you should definitely ask questions at that point.”
When a renter or seller client flags a listing that looks off, this checklist can help sort real from fake:
- Call the number on the listing instead of texting or messaging through the app
- Screenshot the photos and run them through a reverse image search to check whether they appear on Zillow or Realtor.com under a different price or agent
- Ask for a property address. A real listing has one.
- Point renters toward a licensed property management company or real estate professional instead of a stranger on social media
- Insist on seeing the property in person before any money changes hands
What to Do if a Client’s Listing Gets Cloned
If a client’s listing turns out to be the one that got copied, or a renter you’re working with has lost money to one, a few steps are worth taking:
- Report the listing directly on the platform where it was posted
- File a police report if money was lost
- Report the account to the FBI. Sluss said she has been doing this directly for scam listings in her market.
Reporting has limits. Dati filed a police report and reported the fake listing to TikTok using his photos. The platform, he said, took no action.
Scammers also adapt fast once an account gets flagged.
“There’s nothing we can do because no matter what happens, like his IP address changes. He’ll change his name, he’ll just start cloning it under a different name.”
In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said the platform removed 99% of videos that violated its fraud and scam policies in the first quarter of the year, before users reported them.
Protecting Your Clients and Your Business
This scam runs on a stolen photo and a fake account. That combination is enough to find a renter willing to pay before anyone asks the right questions.
Unfortunately, you can’t stop someone from cloning a listing. You can watch for the signs, warn renters in your area before money changes hands, and check in with homeowner clients whose photos are already circulating online.
You can also report a fake listing the moment you find it, and encourage clients to do the same.
