Fake rental listings are appearing on major platforms like Airbnb and VRBO, and some travelers are losing hundreds of dollars to scammers before they ever leave home.
Laura Gentry learned this the hard way.
She booked what appeared to be a perfect rental apartment — only to have it vanish along with her deposit.
"It was a nice one bedroom, fully furnished, in a decent area," Gentry said.
The first red flag came when the owner asked her to pay the deposit through Zelle instead of via credit card through the rental platform's website.
"They recommended paying by Zelle, as opposed to paying online," Gentry said.
She paid a $950 deposit via Zelle, which — unlike a credit card — offers few fraud protections. She never heard from the owner again.
When she emailed, the message bounced back as "address not found." When she called, no one answered.
"I called them, all my calls went straight to voice mail," Gentry said.
The owner had disappeared with nearly $1,000 of her money, leaving Gentry needing to book a hotel instead.
Watch as a renter shows how easy it is to lose money booking a vacation rental:
How to avoid a bad rental listing
Kevin Brasler with Consumers' Checkbook said scammers are getting more sophisticated — and some rental platforms aren't making it easy for victims to recover their money.
"The criminals have figured out ways to circumvent these obstacles that these companies have put up to prevent fake listings," Brasler said. "If you dig into their terms and conditions, they say basically, we're not really part of this transaction. We're just a forum."
Consumers' Checkbook recently conducted an investigation into fake rental listings and found "widespread problems" on major rental sites.
The organization says all sites claim that fraudulent listings are rare, and have policies for reporting fake listings.
VRBO has a "Book with Confidence" guarantee. Airbnb offers what it calls an AirCover guarantee.
But that doesn't guarantee a refund, Checkbook says.
Brasler said of all the platforms, Aibnb offers the most protections to renters if a listing turns out to be a fake.
Brasler recommends taking these steps before booking any rental:
- Always pay with a credit card, which offers stronger fraud protection than Zelle or wire transfers.
- Be cautious of owners who pressure you to book quickly.
- Avoid listings that require unusual payment methods like wire transfers or peer-to-peer apps.
- Read customer reviews carefully — and make sure they stretch back at least six months.
"Make sure that there aren't any reviews that they say things like fraudulent listing or fake listing," Brasler said.
Gentry said she won't make the same mistake twice.
As for using Venmo or Zelle to pay for a rental home deposit, she said "I don't recommend that at all."
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