5 Rental Scams Targeting NYC Landlords Right Now — And How to Protect Yourself (and Your Tenants)

If you own rental property in Brooklyn or anywhere in NYC, you’re part of something bigger than a real estate transaction. You’re providing someone’s home — and that relationship comes with real responsibility on both sides. Unfortunately, bad actors know that too, and they’re increasingly targeting both landlords and renters in ways that can destabilize that trust.

These scams don’t just cost money. They displace people, damage communities, and make an already tough housing market harder to navigate for everyone. Here’s what’s circulating right now and how to stay ahead of it.

1. The Overpayment Check Scam

A prospective tenant sends a check for more than the deposit amount and asks you to wire back the difference. It reads like a clerical error — but the original check is fraudulent, and you won’t know until your bank flags it days later. By then, the money you sent is gone. The safest practice is to use ACH transfers or verified digital payments, and never return funds until everything has fully cleared.

2. Fake Credentials on Applications

Forged pay stubs, fabricated employer references, and fake prior landlord contacts are showing up on applications with alarming frequency. A 2022 study found that 66% of property managers had received fraudulent applications — that number has only grown. If you can’t independently verify a reference using contact information you looked up (not what’s on the form), dig deeper before moving forward. That is why calling to verify employment and landlord reference are an important step in our screening process.

3. The Bait-and-Switch Move-In

This one has been surging in NYC. A well-qualified applicant passes your screening, signs the lease, then someone else entirely moves in — sometimes part of an organized group running the same scheme across dozens of units simultaneously. Require in-person ID verification at move-in and confirm the person collecting the keys is the person who signed the lease. Make sure the lease states who the legal occupants are. Plus our zoom interview of applicants helps us avoid this issue.

4. Listing Hijacking

Scammers copy legitimate listings — including yours — swap in their own contact info, and collect deposits from renters who think they’re applying for a real apartment. This harms the prospective tenants who lose money, and it can damage your reputation as a landlord. Search your property address periodically to check for unauthorized listings and report anything suspicious to the platform right away. We always flag these listing when we find them.

5. Unauthorized Use of Vacant Units

In a city with high vacancy turnover, scammers sometimes identify empty units, gain access, and rent them out as their own — leaving an unsuspecting renter in the middle of a nightmare they didn’t create. Regular walkthroughs of vacant units and staying connected with neighbors who can flag unusual activity is one of the most community-powered ways to prevent this.

A note on why this matters beyond the money: Most people renting in NYC are just trying to find a stable home. When scams succeed, it’s often a renter who ends up displaced, out of a deposit, or worse. As landlords, the more we tighten our own processes and share information with one another, the harder it becomes for bad actors to operate — and the better we make the rental experience for everyone.

Questions about protecting your property or vetting tenants? The RC team works with landlords across Brooklyn and beyond — we’re always happy to talk through best practices.