Spotting Rental Scams on Daft and Facebook

16 July 2026

Ireland is in the middle of a rental crisis, and scammers know it. Fake listings, cloned adverts, and deposit theft scams are running at record levels across Daft, Facebook Marketplace, and community groups. This guide covers the patterns to watch for and the checks every tenant should run before parting with a single euro.

Why rental scams work in Ireland

When good properties get 300 enquiries in an afternoon, renters feel pressure to move quickly. Scammers exploit that urgency. They post a property well below market rent, wait for the flood of messages, and pressure the most desperate applicants to pay a holding deposit before viewing.

Once the money is sent, the listing disappears and the scammer moves on to the next fake advert, often using the same photos on a different platform under a different name.

The most common patterns

Cloned listings. Photos and descriptions are copied from a genuine letting agent, then reposted at a lower price on Facebook or Gumtree. The real property exists, which is why searching the address does not always reveal the scam.

Overseas landlord story. The person claims to be working abroad and cannot show the property, but will post the keys once you transfer the deposit. This is always a scam. No legitimate landlord in Ireland operates this way.

Holding deposit before viewing. A request for any payment before you have physically stood inside the property is a red flag, even if the sum seems small.

Payment by unusual method. Requests for payment by wire transfer, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or Revolut to a personal account with no invoice are all warning signs. Genuine agents provide a receipt and an IBAN in the business name.

Pressure and urgency. Scammers push hard on time. "Three other people want it, decide today" is a scripted line designed to stop you thinking.

Checks to run before paying anything

View the property in person. No exceptions. If a viewing is refused or repeatedly delayed, walk away.

Reverse image search the photos. Right click the listing photos and search Google Images. If the same photos appear on another site under a different address, it is a clone.

Check the address exists and matches. Look the address up on Google Maps and Street View. Make sure the building in the photos matches the street.

Verify the letting agent. All letting agents in Ireland must be licensed by the PSRA. You can search the PSRA public register for the agent name and licence number.

Ask for a written lease before any payment. A legitimate landlord provides a lease. Refusal to put anything in writing is a scam signal.

Search the phone number and email. Paste them into Google. Scam numbers often appear on rental scam reporting sites within weeks.

Use the SafeRent scam checker

SafeRent has a free scam checker that analyses any Irish rental listing URL and flags common warning signs. It is a fast sanity check before you contact the landlord, and it costs nothing. Find it in the Check menu at the top of the site.

If you think you have been scammed

Stop all contact with the person. Report the transaction to your bank immediately. Faster action increases the small chance of a reversal. Report the scam to An Garda Siochana through your local station or the online reporting tool, and report the listing to the platform it appeared on. Also report it to the RTB and to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Bottom line

If a rental looks too good, it is. Never pay before you view, never trust an overseas keys story, and always verify the agent through the PSRA register. A ten minute check has stopped thousands of tenants from losing thousands of euro.