Vacation rental properties on sites like Air bnb and VRBO have
grown immensely in popularity over the last few years.
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However,
if you’re looking at a rental property to live in temporarily, a vacation
rental for your family, or whatever it may be, be sure to watch out for these
potential threats when it comes to short-term rentals.What is a short-term
vacation rental scam?
Short-term rental scams are schemes when someone attempts to
defraud you of money under the guise of offering you a short-term rental
of some sort. The scam can be orchestrated in different ways, although the consistent
theme is that a person posing as a legitimate landlord or property agent
attempts to get you to sign an agreement and send money. In reality, there is
no rental, or the person who “leased” you the rental doesn’t own it or have the
right to lease it.
If you’re looking at a rental property to live in temporarily, a
vacation rental for your family, or whatever it may be, be sure to watch out
for these potential threats when it comes to short-term rentals. (Kurt
Knutsson)
What
kind of scams do I look out for when booking a short-term rental?
Here is a list of potential scams that have previously occurred
that you should watch out for.
SPRING BREAK DESTINATIONS TO CONSIDER BOOKING FOR YOUR UPCOMING
VACATION
Deposit scam
First, if you’re booking a rental property for a holiday trip,
maybe because hotels are full or overpriced, some property owners will take
advantage of this. If you’re asked to make a holiday deposit to the owner,
especially using a third-party
app, a wire transfer, or in a way that is separate from the website you’re
booking on, that owner is likely taking advantage of you hoping
to book their property during a busy time. They will receive your holiday
deposit and then ghost you, meaning you will never hear from them again, and
you won’t be staying at their potentially nonexistent rental.
Bogus listing scam
These are ads that look like a great vacation rental, however,
when you click them, a less appealing property shows up. Similarly, there’s
the double-booking
scam, which is when a property owner gets greedy and books two
families at the same place, forcing one to be a worse property for the same
price.
Price change scam
This happens when you book a property for one price, and when
you show up, there is a sudden price increment. Avoid this by getting
everything firm in writing in a vacation rental agreement without any
mysterious clauses that may open the door to price changes or unusual fees.
How
do I protect myself from short-term rental scams?
1. Avoid paying via
third-party apps, a wire transfer, or any other way that is not on the rental
booking website you are using.
2. Never pay for a
property in advance when renting from a classified site or social media. It
can be standard for an official site like Air bnb or VRBO to ask you to put a
deposit down, otherwise, do not fall for advanced payment.
3. Only
communicate with a host via the
messaging platform that the website provides. Don’t
communicate outside the website for proper record keeping.
4. Confirm
that the website carries out real-world
identity verification of all its users.
5. Be
cautious of unsolicited
emails: If you receive an unsolicited email from someone
claiming to offer a short-term rental, be cautious. Scammers often use email
phishing to steal personal information.
HOW TO FIND OUT WHO’S SPYING ON YOU
What
to do if you suspect you’ve been scammed
·
If you suspect you’ve fallen victim to a rental scam, and you’ve
sent money by check or wire, contact
your bank immediately to see if you can stop payment.
·
Next, you can file a
complaint with your local police station, the FBI, or the
FTC.
·
If you’ve given the scammer sensitive information about
yourself, such as your Social Security number, consider setting up a fraud alert on
your credit reports to get a notification if someone tries to apply for credit
under your name.
·
Use Identity
theft protection to monitor your Social Security
Number and alert you if it is being sold on the dark web or being used to
open an account. See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself
from identity theft by searching “identity
theft” at Cyber Guy.com by clicking the magnifying glass
icon at the top of my website.
·
Warn others: If you found the rental property through a listing
website, report the scam to the website so they can take action to prevent others
from falling victim to the same scam.