Can You Tell the Difference Between Real and Fake Home Listings? Find Out!

Fake or misleading listings are, unfortunately, fairly common to come across when looking for housing online. The people behind these posts often intend to trick you out of your money by getting you to pay for a security deposit or background check for an apartment that is not actually for rent, or real at all. They will sometimes also ask for your personal information in order to run a background check, and then disappear with enough information to cause havoc for you. These home listings can look legitimate. This is your chance to see if you can tell the difference between legitimate and suspicious online listings. We'll point out some red and green flags along the way.

If you haven't already, you can also read our blog posts that explain what red flags to look for in online listings and show a real-life example of a fake listing.

Listing 1

Take a careful look at these photos and then vote on whether or not you think this is a real or fake listing.

Based on these photos, is this listing...

• Real
• Fake

Listing 2

Take a careful look at these photos and then vote on whether or not you think this is a real or fake listing.

Based on these photos, is this listings...

• Real
• Fake

Listing 3

Take a careful look at these photos and then vote on whether or not you think this is a real or fake listing.

Based on these photos, is this listing...

• Real
• Fake

Listing 4

Take a careful look at these photos and then vote on whether or not you think this is a real or fake listing.

Based on these photos, is this listing...

• Real
• Fake

Listing 5

Take a careful look at these photos and then vote on whether or not you think this is a real or fake listing.

Based on these photos, is this listing...

• Real
• Fake

If you want to learn about additional clues to help you spot suspicious listings, be sure to read our blog posts about red flags to look for in online listings and this example of a suspicious listing.