Cincinnati topped the list for markets with suspicious listings
Nearly 70% of TikTok Rental Listings Raise Red Flags
Seven in 10 rental ads on TikTok are likely scams, according to a new study from CNC Intelligence. The digital forensics firm analyzed 3,141 rental listings on the social media platform across 16 cities in August and found 2,136 that had scam warning signs.
The listings were checked against local rent benchmarks, property records, and the phone numbers advertised in the videos. Those that had strong or multiple warning signs were marked as suspicious.
“Real estate is a popular avenue for scammers because moving is stressful. People can often find themselves with very little time, on a tight budget, and they’re worried about nowhere to live,” says Matthew Stern, CEO of CNC Intelligence. “Those pressures are exactly what fraudsters look for, because they push people into decisions they would never normally make—things like sending a deposit before seeing a property or ignoring a few details that felt off.”
Key findings from the report included:
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- 68% of TikTok rental ads had scam warning signs, including advertised rent well below the average for the market and out-of-area phone numbers;
- Cincinnati topped the list for markets, with 84% of listings being flagged as suspicious. Seattle and New York followed at 81% and 79%, respectively;
- Over half of the suspicious listings were advertised at less than half what the residence should rent for;
- Half the TiKTok accounts were under six months old, and 72 accounts were less than two weeks old when found; and
- 76% gave a phone number from outside the area they were advertising in.
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“In most social media rental scams, the property being shown is real,” notes Stern. “Scammers take the photos or videos from a genuine listing and repost them with a lower price and their own phone number. The victim may never realize they aren’t dealing with the real management company.”
While the report outlines red flags renters should watch for, Stern says multifamily owners and operators also can take proactive steps to make it harder for scammers to impersonate their communities and listings:
- Watermark photos and videos with your logo in a place that would be hard to crop or near the center of the frame. Avoid corner watermarks because they are easier to remove;
- Standardize listing details across every site your community appears on helps because it makes fake versions stand out against the real ones;
- Put signage with your company name and contact details around your communities. This alerts anyone who comes to look at your community under false pretenses to the fact they are dealing with a different company; and
- Regularly search your community names, company name, and street addresses across social media to see if any fraudulent listings appear. You can also do a reverse image search on your listing photos.
“If you come across a fake listing, report it to the platform straight away, and put a short line on your own site telling renters that fake versions are circulating,” adds Stern.
Source: Multifamily Executive
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