A lovely flat, a fair price, a friendly owner. He just happens to be working in London, so a viewing is not possible, but he will “hold the flat for you”; just send the deposit. This is the most common scenario of a scam that every year strips money from students before the semester, families before moving and holidaymakers before departure. It comes in two waves: holiday accommodation in summer, rentals in September. Here is how to spot a fake listing from a distance, verify the real owner and know which payments are taboo.

How the rental scam unfolds

  1. A listing that stands out. A nice flat in a good location noticeably cheaper than the area. Catalogue-grade photos; often literally so, stolen from property portals or Airbnb.
  2. An owner you cannot meet. Working abroad, a viewing is “unfortunately not possible”. Instead you get a video, more photos, a (forged) copy of an ID and endless helpfulness.
  3. Pressure for speed. “Twenty people are interested; I will hold the flat for whoever sends the deposit first.” The classic pressure you know from scam messages.
  4. The deposit and keys “by courier”. You pay the deposit, perhaps the first rent; the keys will supposedly arrive by courier or “an agency”. Nobody comes. The number goes silent, the listing disappears and with it the money; meanwhile other applicants sent the same deposits.

Signs of a fake listing

  • A below-market price. The strongest bait. Check comparable flats nearby; a large gap always has a reason.
  • A viewing that “cannot happen”. A real landlord wants to see the tenant. A scammer has an unlimited supply of reasons why not.
  • Catalogue photos. Try a reverse image search (the procedure is in how to recognise a hoax); if the photos turn up in another city or on Airbnb, case closed.
  • Communication off the platform and broken language or translator English from the start.
  • Payment via anonymous channels: crypto, vouchers, services in a third party’s name. Or anything involving the word “courier” near keys.

Verifying the owner: the land registry is your friend

In Slovakia, anyone can view a flat’s title deed online free of charge in the land registry. The procedure for serious interest:

  1. Ask for the exact address and flat number (a scammer starts dodging right here).
  2. Look up the owner’s name in the registry.
  3. At the viewing or signing, compare the name with the ID of the person you deal with. If someone else is renting it out (family, manager), ask for a power of attorney.
  4. Sign the contract only after a viewing and send money by bank transfer so a trace exists; never cash without a receipt or anonymous services.

Sounds laborious? It is twenty minutes standing between you and the most expensive “deposit” of your life.

Holiday accommodation: the scam in Booking scenery

The second branch targets guests. Attackers take over a host’s account and, through the platform’s official chat, message guests that the reservation will be cancelled unless they “confirm the card” via the attached link. The link leads to a fake payment page; the mechanism you know from the motorway vignette scam and the fake courier on marketplaces.

The rules are the same as for rentals, in travel packaging:

  • Pay exclusively in the platform’s app after logging in yourself, never via a link from a message, even one arriving directly in the reservation chat.
  • Pay for accommodation outside platforms only after verification (multi-year reviews, reverse-searched photos, the property existing on maps).
  • You can have a suspicious message assessed by our phishing e-mail checker, and report the incident to the platform’s support.
  1. Contact your bank: for a transfer, request a recall attempt; for a card, blocking and a chargeback.
  2. Document everything: the listing, conversations, payment receipts (screenshots with addresses and dates).
  3. Report the fraud to the police and to the platform hosting the listing; reported profiles get blocked.
  4. If you sent copies of documents, expect possible identity misuse; watch your accounts and act immediately on any loans requested “in your name”. The procedure in what to do when your account is hacked helps too.

Unsure about a listing or a message?

Send it to us before you pay. We will check the signs of fraud, advise how to verify the owner and, after an incident, help secure your accounts and deal with the bank. For homes and businesses in the Liptov region.

Check a listing for me

Summary

The rental scam stands on three legs: a below-market price, an impossible viewing and a deposit up front. You knock it down with a simple order of steps: viewing first, then owner verification in the land registry, then the contract, and money only at the end, always by traceable transfer. On holiday, pay only inside the platform’s app and ignore “card confirmations” from messages. A real landlord can withstand any verification; a scammer can withstand anything except that.

This article is part of our Cybersecurity overview.