{"id":201885,"date":"2026-03-03T07:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T07:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/201885\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T07:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T07:28:12","slug":"san-francisco-scammers-target-renters-on-tiktok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/201885\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco scammers target renters on TikTok"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Francisco\u2019s already cutthroat rental market has a new villain \u2014 social media scammers swiping legit apartment listings and flipping them into viral bait for desperate renters.<\/p>\n

Fraudsters are stealing real apartment tour videos from Bay Area realtors and reposting them on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, but with one major twist: they slash the rent to jaw-dropping prices, according to a report by SFGate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In one case, a TikTok account dubbed \u201cBudget Friendly Homes\u201d (aka for_rent_sanfrancisco) racked up nearly 12,000 followers by posting glossy walkthroughs of trendy units near Alamo Square \u2014 advertising one-bedrooms for as little as $1,800 a month. That account has since been taken down.<\/p>\n

\"ASan Francisco\u2019s already cutthroat rental market has a new villain \u2014 social media scammers.<\/p>\n

Scammers lifted the footage directly from real estate agents\u2019 social media pages, sometimes even impersonating the agents themselves by copying their names, headshots, and even license information. <\/p>\n

By the time victims realize something\u2019s off, the scammers have already asked for deposits or application fees before \u201cshowing\u201d it, then they vanish.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always when the market gets really busy \u2014 rents are going up \u2014 when there\u2019s limited inventory and a lot of demand, then the scammers come out,\u201d local real estate agent Dave Chesnosky told SFGate.<\/p>\n

Agents told the outlet that the problem has exploded alongside the rise of social media as a marketing tool. A Bay Area agent for Sotheby\u2019s International Realty, Marsha\u00a0Abrahams, has even been forced to confront the fraud on her own social media page, warning clients that she isn\u2019t the one offering luxury lofts for pennies on the dollar.<\/p>\n

\"ResidentialHomes in a residential neighborhood in San Francisco, California. Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThe accounts using the handles\u00a0@for_rent_sanfrancisco<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0@marsha_abrahams<\/a>\u00a0are not affiliated with me in any way,\u201d she posted on her Instagram. \u201cI do not advertise rental listings or request deposits through TikTok, WhatsApp, or text message.\u201d<\/p>\n

An agent with Compass Realty, Nick Abraham, has also had his identity used fraudulently, and he only learned of it after a stranger messaged him asking if he received a deposit\u2013after the victim, a hopeful tenant, contacted \u201chim\u201d via TikTok. Except Abraham didn\u2019t use TikTok.<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked it up and they had taken my actual picture, my actual department of real estate license number and were impersonating me,\u201d Abraham told SFGate<\/a>.\u00a0The bandits even set up a sham email account with his name misspelled.<\/p>\n

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Experts say the rule for renting remains the same, regardless of where you\u2019re based: if you haven\u2019t stepped foot inside the front door, keep your wallet in your pocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell people, it\u2019s really easy to figure out if they\u2019re a scam,\u201d Chesnosky said. \u201cJust say you want to see the unit in person. That\u2019s all you\u2019ve gotta do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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