[US] I got scammed out of $18,600 for a rental scam
u/thealvintranr/ScamsAug 2, 2026
Unfortunately our attempts to recover the funds related to your claim weren't successful.
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Answered August 2026
Yes—refusing any tour while asking for a $1,000 deposit plus rent for an unseen sublet is a serious scam pattern, so you should not pay until the unit, person, authority, and agreement are independently verified.
“I'm in the US temporarily and looking for a one-month sublet. A manager on Sublet.com approved my application without verifying my foreign income or bank statements, sent a basic two-page lease, and asked for a $1,000 deposit plus rent upfront. They also refused a video tour. Are these red flags for a rental scam, and what is the normal process?”
Summary
You caught the warning signs before committing further money, which is the right moment to stop and verify. Fast approval and a short lease are not proof by themselves, but they do not cancel the much stronger warning signs.
Your safest route depends first on whether money has already left your account and whether the person will complete independent verification.
No money sent yetverify first
Pause payment. Verify the address, owner and manager independently, obtain an in-person or live video viewing, confirm authority to offer the sublet, and review the complete signed agreement before paying; this follows the FTC’s June 2026 instruction to look at a property before signing or paying.
They still refuse verificationwalk away
Walk away and report the listing rather than paying to “hold” it. Continued refusal to show the unit or prove authority leaves the FTC/FBI warning pattern unresolved.
Money already sentact now
Contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, or wire company immediately, say that a scammer may have induced the payment, and ask for reversal or refund. Then report at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ and https://www.ic3.gov/.
A tour helps but is not a guarantee; ownership, authority, listing, and contract checks must also pass.
Read the full explanationHide the full explanation
Watch out for
The refused tour plus prepayment is the main dangerThis combination matches the FTC pattern: money requested before you have seen the home and a person who will not show it. The FBI also says not to put money toward housing you have not seen. Do not send the $1,000 or rent while those checks remain unresolved.
Fast approval is not proof of safetyApproval without checking foreign income or bank statements is not conclusive by itself. The FTC says most landlords normally obtain credit information themselves and warns renters not to provide sensitive information too early; in your case, the unusually easy approval adds concern because it comes with a refused tour and a large advance-payment request.
Two pages may be enough—or incompletePage count alone does not establish whether a lease is real or complete. Colorado’s Division of Real Estate lists requesting rent or a deposit before lease signing and asking someone to sign an incomplete lease as scam signs. Your agreement should identify the parties and exact unit, cover the one-month dates, rent, deposit and return terms, key handoff, and contain signatures; blank or missing essential terms are a reason not to proceed.
A platform profile is not property authorityIndependently match the person to the owner or authorized manager. Even if the profile says “Trusted,” Sublet.com says that status checks items such as identity and phone information but does not review rental quality; it does not establish that this exact unit is available or that this person may sublet it.
Local deposit and sublet rules remain unknownThe property’s state and city were not provided, so this answer cannot validate the $1,000 deposit amount, how it must be held, its return deadline, or whether owner consent is legally required. Ask for the original lease and written owner or property-manager permission, but do not treat that request as a substitute for local-law review.
Next steps
These steps reduce the chance of paying a fake or unauthorized listing and give you a recovery route if money already moved.
Before sending anything
Stop payment and preserve the evidence
Do not send the deposit or rent while verification is incomplete. Save the listing, profile, full conversation, lease, names, phone numbers, email addresses, and payment destination; do not send additional bank statements, passport images, or other sensitive documents merely to keep the offer.
Requirements
Listing URL and screenshots
All messages and contact details
The complete two-page agreement
The exact payment instructions
First identity check
Verify the address, owner, and manager independently
Search the exact address online and compare prices, photos, and contact details across listings. For a private owner, use the city or county tax-assessment record to identify the owner and match that name to ID; for a company, call the number on the company’s independently located official site—not the number supplied in the chat—and ask whether this person and unit are authorized.
Requirements
Exact street address and unit number
Manager’s full legal name and company
Government photo ID shown by the person offering the unit
Before signing
Require a real viewing and proof of sublet authority
View the exact unit in person, have someone you know visit, or require a live video tour that shows the person entering the building and unit. Because the FTC says even a tour is not a guarantee, also match the records and ask the person offering the sublet to show the original lease plus written owner or manager authorization. If they keep refusing, end the deal.
Requirements
In-person visit, trusted person’s visit, or live video tour
Original lease showing the named tenant and unit
Written owner or property-manager permission when available
Only after verification
Review and sign a complete agreement
Read every line and reject blank spaces or missing essential terms. A two-page agreement is not automatically fake, but it must clearly state who may rent the exact unit, the one-month dates, total rent, deposit purpose and return conditions, when payment is due, how keys are delivered, and carry the relevant signatures.
Requirements
Legal names of all parties
Exact address and unit
Start and end dates
Rent and $1,000 deposit terms
Deposit return or deduction terms
Key handoff and signatures
Last, not first
Pay only after every check passes
Pay only the verified owner, authorized manager, or authorized tenant named in the agreement and keep a receipt. If the person insists on Western Union, MoneyGram, gift cards, or cryptocurrency, stop: the FTC says that is a scam. If the person pressures you or any core check remains unresolved, walk away and report the listing at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
Requirements
Fully signed agreement
Verified payee name
Receipt showing property, amount, date, and purpose
If money already moved
Seek reversal and report immediately if you already paid
Immediately contact the card issuer, bank, payment app, or wire-transfer company, state that you were induced to pay a suspected rental scammer, and ask it to reverse or refund the transaction. Then file reports at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/ and https://www.ic3.gov/ and attach the transaction and listing records.
Requirements
Transaction confirmation
Recipient details
Saved listing, messages, and agreement
Others who faced this
You are not the first to go through this. Here is how it went for others who asked the same thing.
Is this a sublet scam?
u/Ok-Impact2542r/ScamsAug 12, 2026
Virtual tour = scam. Never sign a lease or even pay a deposit before seeing the unit with your own eyes, in person.
Renting from an out of town landlord.
u/moreforgetsr/rentingAug 21, 2026
The agent mentioned the house is actually for sale, not for rent, and two people had fallen victim to completing the process and actually sending the scammer money.
Legal sources
This answer relies on current Federal Trade Commission and FBI guidance, Colorado Division of Real Estate warnings, and Sublet.com’s own Trusted-status description.
FTC, Rental Listing Scams
The FTC says to see the unit before signing or paying and allows an in-person visit, a trusted person’s visit, or video/virtual tour, while warning that a tour alone is not proof.
FTC, Rental Listing Scams
Tour the property in person
If you can, look at the property before you sign or pay. Visit the property in person, have a friend or someone you know visit it, or watch a video or virtual tour. But know that that’s still not a guarantee that a property is real or available for rent.
FTC, Rental Listing Scams
The FTC gives a concrete way to match a private landlord’s identity to public ownership records.
FTC, Rental Listing Scams
Check out the owner or rental company
Dealing with a private landlord? Search city or county tax assessment websites to learn who owns a property, then check the landlord’s ID to be sure it matches the records.
FTC, Rental Listing Scams
The FTC treats an insistence on wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency as a scam and warns that recovery is unlikely.
FTC, Rental Listing Scams
Listen to how they tell you to pay
If anyone insists you can only pay with wire transfers through Western Union or MoneyGram, gift cards, or cryptocurrency, it’s a scam. Wiring money, sending gift cards, or paying by cryptocurrency is the same as sending cash — once you send it, you probably can’t get it back.
FTC Data Spotlight, Rental Scams Hit Home
The FTC’s current data spotlight directly matches the combination of unseen housing, an advance deposit or rent demand, and refusal to meet.
FTC Data Spotlight, Rental Scams Hit Home
How rental scams work
Scammers pressure you for money upfront before you’ve even seen the place in person. They might say you need to pay an application fee, security deposit, or first month’s rent to “hold” the property. As a rule, these scammers will not meet you in person to show the property, but they may set you up with a self-guided tour to help convince you they’re legit.
FBI Boston Rental Scam Alert
The FBI says not to fund unseen housing and to use public records to confirm the landlord and owner.
FBI Boston Rental Scam Alert
Tips to Protect Yourself
Do not put money towards a house or apartment you have not seen. Confirm the identity of the landlord by researching public records to find out who owns the property you are seeking to rent or purchase.
FBI Boston Rental Scam Alert
The FBI gives the immediate recovery and reporting route if money has already been sent.
FBI Boston Rental Scam Alert
Tips to Protect Yourself
If you have already sent money, it is extremely important to report any transfer of funds to your financial institution and file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
Colorado Division of Real Estate, Rental Scams
Colorado’s real-estate regulator identifies money demanded before lease signing and an incomplete lease as warning signs; this does not make a two-page lease automatically invalid.
Colorado Division of Real Estate, Rental Scams
Signs of a rental scam
They ask for rent or a security deposit before signing a lease. The scammer wants you to sign an incomplete lease.
Sublet.com Trusted Status
Sublet.com’s own page explains what its Trusted process checks and an important limit of that status.
Sublet.com Trusted Status
More Information About the TRUSTED Status
Trusted verification includes, but is not limited to: Phone Verification, Identification Verification, Government ID verification, Posting duration, and actual rental experiences of Sublet.com tenants. The trusted process does not review the quality of the rental.
FTC, What To Do if You Were Scammed
The FTC tells a person who paid through a payment app to report it immediately and request reversal and refund.
FTC, What To Do if You Were Scammed
Payment Apps
If you paid a scammer with a payment app like Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal: Report it to the payment app immediately. Ask them to reverse the payment and refund your money.
These are the official rules and warnings as published on the cited dates; laws, platform practices, and agency guidance can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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