Finding an apartment in San Francisco can already be stressful, especially when rents continue to climb. But a recent case shows that rental scams are becoming harder to spot, even for people who take the time to visit a property in person.
San Francisco renter Alvin Tran lost $18,600 after responding to what appeared to be a legitimate apartment listing on Craigslist.
Tran, a 28-year-old product designer, had lived in a high-rise at Valencia and Market streets for two years. His one-bedroom apartment initially cost $3,100 a month. After the first year, the rent increased to about $3,450.
This year, the complex attempted to raise the rent to nearly $4,100. After several months of looking, Tran found a roommate and began searching for a two-bedroom apartment.
The pair attended an open house in Duboce Triangle for a two-bedroom unit listed at $6,200 a month. The price was close to the prevailing median market rate, so there was no obvious sign that something was wrong.
They quickly applied.
The Listing Looked Legitimate
The apartment appeared on both Zillow and Craigslist. The listings used identical photographs, which made them appear connected.
Tran contacted both listings on a Friday afternoon ahead of the scheduled Saturday open house. Because San Francisco apartments can attract applicants quickly, the search moved fast.
The person behind the Craigslist listing asked for basic information, including Tran’s credit score and income. After receiving the information, the person invited him to the open house.
Several other prospective renters were there when Tran arrived Saturday morning.
Tran later told SFGATE, “I saw the place in person, and I talked to someone who was, like, very knowledgeable, had access to the house. So I was pretty sure that that is the real property owner.”
The man at the property said the building belonged to his grandparents. Tran received a physical copy of the lease application, completed it, and sent it by email to the Craigslist contact.
That connection turned out to be the central problem.
The Scam Continued After the Tour
Tran believed the person communicating through Craigslist was the same landlord he had met at the property. After submitting the application, he was asked to provide a letter of interest.
By Monday, an acceptance letter arrived by email.
The next step involved money. Tran sent the first and last month’s rent, along with a security deposit, to the Craigslist contact.
The total payment was $18,600. Nothing appeared unusual until Thursday evening.
Tran had arranged to collect the apartment keys at 6 p.m. He arrived at the property and waited.
No one came.
He waited for about 30 minutes before calling, texting, and emailing the person who had handled the rental. None of the attempts received a response.
The Real Landlord Knew Nothing
Tran then contacted the landlord he had met during the open house. That conversation revealed that the actual property owner had never created or authorized the Craigslist listing.
The apartment had already been rented to someone else.
The Craigslist advertisement is now believed to have been a copied version of the legitimate Zillow listing. A third party appears to have duplicated the property details, communicated with potential renters, and collected Tran’s money.
The scam stood out because the fraudster did more than just post a fake apartment listing.
The person appeared to understand how San Francisco’s rental process worked, selected a real property, and used an actual open house to make the listing seem credible.
How the Fraudster May Have Chosen the Property
Realtor Dave Chesnosky, who has worked in the industry for 23 years, said he had never encountered a scam quite like it.
Chesnosky explained that the scammer likely understood several details about the local rental market. The person may have recognized that the Zillow property was being shown directly by an owner rather than a leasing company or broker.
The listing also had a strong reason to attract attention.
A well-priced apartment in San Francisco can receive many inquiries. Chesnosky suggested that scammers could monitor interest in a Zillow listing and identify properties where owners were likely receiving a high volume of responses.
That information could then help criminals choose a legitimate listing to copy.
Tran Reported the Fraud
After discovering the scam, Tran contacted his bank and the receiving bank to stop or recover the payment.
He also reported the incident to multiple agencies and officials, including the police, FBI, district attorney, attorney general, mayor, and his district supervisor.
The case also gained attention on Reddit, including the r/sanfrancisco community, where Tran sought suggestions from other users.
Despite those efforts, recovering the $18,600 appeared uncertain.
Tran said, “I am still remaining hopeful, but I think chances are pretty low that I could recover the funds,” while also noting how difficult it had been to receive a direct response to his inquiries.
A New Apartment Plan
The situation did not immediately leave Tran without housing.
His current apartment agreed to let him move out in mid-September instead of requiring him to leave sooner. Tran and his roommate then decided to rent another two-bedroom unit in the same building for about $6,700 a month.
At the time, they had written confirmation of approval, although the new lease had not yet been officially signed.
The experience also changed the way the apartment search looked.
Traditional rental scams often contain obvious warning signs, such as landlords refusing property tours, requests for deposits before applications, or unusually cheap listings using stolen photos. Tran’s case was different because the property itself was real, the open house was real, and the person at the property appeared legitimate.
What Renters Should Check
The case highlights several details renters should verify before sending a large payment:
1. Confirm that the person receiving money is the actual owner, property manager, or authorized agent.
2. Contact the property owner independently using verified contact information.
3. Check whether the listing appears on multiple platforms and whether the contact information matches.
4. Be cautious when lease documents and payment instructions come from different people.
5. Avoid assuming an in-person property tour proves that every person involved in the transaction is legitimate.
6. Verify payment instructions before sending deposits, first month’s rent, or other large amounts.
A real apartment does not automatically mean a real rental transaction.
Rental Scams Are Getting Harder to Spot
Tran’s experience shows why sophisticated rental fraud can catch even careful applicants. The scam did not depend on an imaginary property or an obviously unrealistic price. Instead, it appears to have copied a legitimate listing and inserted a fake contact into the rental process.
Tran acknowledged how difficult the deception was to recognize, saying, “This is a pretty sophisticated scam — I think most people would be able to fall for it, so I can’t be, like, too hard on myself.”
For San Francisco renters, the lesson is simple: seeing the apartment is only one part of verifying a rental. The identity of the person handling the application, lease, and payment deserves the same level of attention.