Pennsylvania AG warns of rental property scams

Attorney General Michelle Henry is warning Pennsylvanians in the market for rental properties to be aware of sophisticated scammers placing fake ads and altering real ads to obtain personal information, security deposits and rent payments.

Scammers take ads from legitimate rental companies or real estate listings and alter the ad by changing the contact information or hacking the actual realtor’s email account. Some scammers place ads for properties not on the market.

Scammers can then obtain personal information from an interested consumer during the “application process” and they may even illegally collect payments.

“We are approaching summertime and that means college students heading to school in the fall will need to make living arrangements, so beware of these fraudulent listings that appear to be the real thing,” Attorney General Henry said in a news release. “If a landlord refuses to meet in person and show the property, that is usually a strong indicator of a scam.”

Henry advises to protect yourself by:

• Being wary if you cannot physically see the property.
• Confirming with whom you are dealing.
• Not wiring payments for application, security deposit, or first month’s rent.
• Not purchasing gift cards for payment.
• Not providing your Social Security number without verifying with whom you are dealing.

To learn more about scams, visit www.attorneygeneral.gov.

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