Vacation rental properties on sites like Airbnb and VRBO have grown in popularity over the past few years.
However, if you’re looking at a rental property for temporary living, a vacation rental for your family, or whatever, be sure to watch out for these potential pitfalls when it comes to short-term rentals. create
What is a short term vacation rental scam?
Short-term rental scams are schemes where someone tries to scam you out of money under the guise of offering some type of short-term rental. Scams can be orchestrated in a variety of ways, although the consistent theme is that someone posing as a legitimate landlord or property agent tries to get you to sign an agreement and send money. In fact, there is no rent, or the person who rented it to you does not own it or have the right to lease it.
Whether you’re looking at a rental property for temporary living, a vacation rental for your family, or whatever, be sure to watch out for these potential pitfalls when it comes to short-term rentals. (Kurt Knutson)
What scams do I look out for when booking short-term rentals?
Here is a list of potential scams that have happened before that you should watch out for.
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Deposit scam
First, if you are booking a rental property for a vacation trip, perhaps because the hotels are full or overpriced, some property owners will take advantage of this. If you are asked to make one Holiday deposit To the owner, especially a Thard-party app, a wire transfer, or in a way that differs from the website you are booking on, that owner is likely taking advantage of you in hopes of booking their property during busy times. They’ll get your vacation deposit and then ghost you, meaning you’ll never hear from them again, and you won’t stay at their potentially existing rental.
Fake listing scam
This is mostly on sites like Facebook Marketplace, Instagram and Craigslist. However, scammers can slip in with fake property listings on rental sites such as Airbnb and VRBO. If a listing looks like an unbeatable deal, there’s a chance it’s a scam.
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Click-bait switch scam
These are ads that look like a great vacation rental, however, when you click on them, a less attractive property appears. Similarly, there is Double-booking scamWhich is when a property owner gets greedy and books two families in the same place, forcing one to build 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, the price suddenly increases. Avoid this by getting everything in writing in the vacation rental contract without any mysterious clauses that could open the door to price changes or unusual fees.
How can I protect myself from short-term rental scams?
- Avoid paying Through third-party apps, wire transfers, or any other method not on the rental booking website you are using.
- Never prepay for a property When renting from a classified site or social media. It may be standard for an official site like Airbnb or VRBO to ask for a down payment, otherwise, don’t fall for advanced payments.
- Communicate with only one host Through the messaging platform that the Website provides. Do not communicate outside the website for proper record keeping.
- Verify that the website works Real-world identity verification of all its users.
- Be aware of Spam Email: If you receive an unsolicited email from someone claiming to offer a short-term rental, beware. Scammers often use email phishing to steal personal information.
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What to do if you suspect you have been scammed
- If you suspect you have been the victim of a rental scam, and you have 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 have given the scammer sensitive information about yourself, such as your social security number, Fraud alert on your credit reports to get notified 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 used to open an account. Check out my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft by doing researchidentity theft” at CyberGuy.com by clicking on the magnifying glass icon at the top of my website.
- Warn others: If you have found a 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.
Have you seen any short-term rental scams lately? Tell us your experience. (Kurt Knutson)
Remember, it’s important to act quickly if you think you’ve been the victim of a rental scam. The sooner you report the incident and take action, the better your chances of recovering and preventing further damage.
Have you seen any short-term rental scams lately? Tell us your experience.
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