Greg's Corner

Rental scam listing stays on Zillow for a week

By Greg Collier

When looking for a rental property, we recommend using platforms like Zillow to help determine whether a rental listing is a scam or not. Platforms like Zillow can often give you a good idea of not only what market prices for rent are in a certain area, but they can also often tell you who is really renting the property. But what happens when the information on Zillow is wrong? One California landlady recently found out.

The landlady from Sacramento listed her home for rent on Zillow. However, a rental scammer is said to have duplicated the ad on Zillow as well. The scam was discovered when a prospective renter showed up at the woman’s home looking to take a tour. Except, the landlady had never spoken to the person who showed up at her door.

Not only had scammers copied the original listing, but they also listed the landlady’s name while asking for $1200 deposits.

The fake listing stayed up on Zillow for a week after the landlady contacted them. It stayed up so long because the scammer kept arguing with Zillow that they were the legitimate landlord. That could mean that the scammer was collecting $1200 from victims all the while. The landlady is concerned that victims who may have been scammed may come after her, since the scammers used her name.

While platforms like Zillow and Truila are good tools to use in a search for a rental property, they are not the final authority. They can have scammers like any other platform. Even if a landlord gives you a tour of the property or gives you a code to the property’s lockbox, that doesn’t necessarily make them the true landlord. The best way to find out who actually owns a property is to always check with the county’s tax office or website.