Upfront fee scams targeting housing and work seekers

Member posts on Reddit (15)

• [CA] Facebook room for rent

  Person relocating for work found a Facebook room rental listing; the landlord refused in-person viewing citing travel and pushed for upfront payment.

  reddit · 20 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• Landlord Scam through Craigslist and TruthFinder

  A Craigslist rental listing priced below market required prospective tenants to pay for a TruthFinder background check before any property viewing could be arranged.

  reddit · 16 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• What is this real estate scam?

  A Los Angeles homeowner discovered their occupied property listed as sold in March 2026 on Redfin with accurate street-view imagery without their knowledge.

  reddit · 16 Aug 2026 · other

• Redfin/Zillow/Realtor Sites All Flooded With AI Bot Scam Listings [US]

  A US user observed consistent AI-generated and duplicated listing photos being used for fraudulent rental advertisements across Redfin, Zillow, and Realtor.com.

  reddit · 15 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• [US] NYC Sublet - Too Good to be True?

  Family searching urgently for NYC short-term sublet found a suspicious Craigslist listing and sought advice on whether it was legitimate.

  reddit · 10 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• [US] Found an apartment on craigslist and need help determining whether or not it’s a scam! Please help

  Poster found a suspiciously attractive apartment on Craigslist and is seeking community help to verify whether it is a rental scam.

  reddit · 10 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• What questions to ask/ boxes to check when looking at an apartment sublet

  Poster asks for practical verification steps when considering a Reddit-sourced apartment sublet, seeking to avoid rental fraud without having identified a specific threat.

  reddit · 13 Aug 2026 · informational

• Is this a sublet scam?

  A UCSD student found a suspicious Facebook sublet listing with inconsistent photos; a follow-up landlord email raised further concerns about a rental scam.

  reddit · 12 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• Am I being scammed on gumtree? Rental property

  Student looking for university accommodation finds a Gumtree listing and is asked to continue discussions via WhatsApp, raising rental scam concerns.

  reddit · 10 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• [US] Possible Roomies Scams?

  Two separate Roomies.com property listings cancelled viewings citing overseas travel, a common rental scam pattern.

  reddit · 5 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• [US] Have I been scammed out of security deposit by a fake/real landlord? If I have, what should I do?

  A US renter did extensive due diligence before paying a security deposit to a private landlord but now questions whether they were scammed.

  reddit · 7 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• Renting an apartment

  A below-market Craigslist rental required a Zelle deposit then an additional $35 Zelle application fee, which exceeds legal limits in New York State.

  reddit · 5 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• [UK] Am I in a renting scam?

  UK student found a cheap shared house at £650/month, completed viewing and guarantor checks, but began suspecting a rental scam due to irregular payment requests.

  reddit · 7 Aug 2026 · rental_scam

• Is remoters.io a scam?

  International student considers using remoters.io, which charges 850 EUR upfront before beginning any accommodation search, with minimal online reviews.

  reddit · 15 July 2026 · rental_scam

• [ID] there is remote job like hotel booking but you need to pay first for membership inroomaguest.com is it scam???

  An Indonesia-based user investigated a website offering paid hotel booking tasks but requiring a $100 membership fee and linking to crypto wallets with no email verification.

  reddit · 12 July 2026 · employment_scam