The best way to spot fake rental applications is to look for inconsistencies in personal information, income documentation, and employment verification, and validate that data before approving a lease.
With more leasing activity happening online, bad actors are finding new ways to manipulate documentation, fake employment, or misrepresent income on a lease application. In fact, Snappt reports over 83,000 applications in 2024 alone were fraudulent. In a separate study, RealPage reported organized fraud rings are increasingly targeting multifamily communities, with 77% of operators reporting rental fraud reduced their income or increased costs by 10-20%. This results in increased risk of bad debt, evictions, and lost time for your teams.
In this guide, we break down how property managers can spot renter fraud before it hits your bottom line.
- How can you tell if a rental application is fake?
- What do fake pay stubs look like?
- How do you verify if a renter’s employment is legitimate?
- How do scammers pressure leasing teams into rushing approvals?
- What are signs something’s off with a rental application?
- What tools can help prevent rental application fraud?
- What’s the best way to prevent renter fraud altogether?
How can you tell if a rental application is fake?
Always cross-reference details and ask follow-up questions when things don’t add up. Look for inconsistencies in personal details, documentation, and verification sources. Fraudsters often submit information that doesn’t quite match across the application, pay stubs, credit reports, and identification. According to a 2024 NMHC survey, 84.3% of apartment owners/operators noted receiving false or fabricated pay stubs, employment references, or other income documentation in a 12 month period. Even small discrepancies, like inconsistent job titles or a phone number that doesn’t pair with a known employer, can signal a fraudulent application.
What do fake pay stubs look like?
Fake pay stubs often include rounded numbers, inconsistent formatting, and missing employer details. Perfectly rounded numbers, mismatched fonts, or lack of contact information for the employer are signs of fraudulent pay stubs. Industry reports from Appfolio show 15% – 20% of pay stubs submitted are flagged for suspicious activity. When in doubt, use bank statements or income verification tools to validate their claims. Fake income documents are among the most common forms of rental fraud today.
How do you verify if a renter’s employment is legitimate?
Verify employment independently instead of relying on the phone number the applicant provides. Use a trusted third-party verification system or contact the employer directly through the phone number on their official website. Confirm if the applicant currently works there, in their stated role, for the length of time indicated. Fraudsters often provide fake employer contacts who are in on the scam.
How do scammers pressure leasing teams into rushing approvals?
Fraudulent applicants create urgency to avoid thorough screening like offering to pay multiple months upfront, push for a same-day move-in, or explain away missing documentation. While urgency alone isn’t always suspicious, it should always prompt a second look, especially if it’s paired with gaps in paperwork or unverifiable information.
What are signs something’s off with a rental application?
Leasing teams should trust their instincts and flag behavior that feels scripted, vague, or evasive. Applicants who give vague answers about employment, can’t explain gaps in their background, or dodge questions about co-signers or roommates may be trying to hide something. Your team’s gut feeling, paired with a strong escalation process, is one of the most effective tools for fraud prevention.
What tools can help prevent rental application fraud?
In addition to tools that provide fraud detection, identity verification, and lead-quality scoring, human verification is vital to preventing rental fraud application. Automation is helpful in flagging suspicious patterns like multiple applications, mismatched IP addresses, or digitally-altered files, but human oversight remains paramount in catching indications of fraud that may slip through the cracks.
What’s the best way to prevent renter fraud altogether?
The best form of protection against fraud is a combination of standardized screening solutions, trained onsite teams, and thorough review of applications. No single solution will catch everything, but you can lessen the impact of fraud on your communities by using multistep processes and training your leasing teams to notice red flags, before they cause damage.
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