AI Rental Scams: Agents Use AI-Generated Images to List Fake Properties, Leaving Tenants with Lost Deposits After Seeing the Reality

Who Gets Targeted

Primarily young professionals relocating for work, college students, and new arrivals to the city who are on a tight budget and in a rush to find housing, relying on online photos before scheduling viewings. They often lack vigilance regarding whether 'retouched photos equal real listings' and are easily swayed by 'low-priced, beautiful homes.' Upon arriving, they find the lighting, decor, and furniture are all fake. Agents often pressure them with claims like 'the property is in high demand, pay the deposit now or lose it.' In their haste, victims transfer money, only for the agent to refuse a refund later, citing 'photos are for reference only' or blocking them entirely. Since the amounts are usually in the thousands, many victims find the cost of pursuing legal action too high and simply accept the loss.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Image creation for traffic. Agents use AI tools to instantly transform old, dim, or cluttered raw spaces into bright, modern, and stylish interiors, even adding features like floor-to-ceiling windows or smart home setups that don't exist. These images, which look like model homes, are posted on rental platforms and social media with titles like 'Low-priced, urgent rental, actual photos' to bait clicks.
• Step 2: Scripted customer locking. When a tenant inquires, customer service uses a standard script: 'These are actual photos taken before the previous tenant moved out; the landlord just renovated.' They emphasize, 'This unit has been inquired about a dozen times tonight; pay an intent deposit to lock it in,' creating a sense of scarcity to discourage the tenant from verifying in person.
• Step 3: Creating the illusion of low prices. Listings are priced 10-20% below the local market average, explained as 'the landlord is in a hurry to rent and doesn't care about price.' This exploits the tenant's desire for a bargain. Some groups post the same set of images across multiple accounts to create the illusion that the property is 'hot.'
• Step 4: Fee collection and bait-and-switch. Once a tenant expresses interest, they are asked to transfer a 'deposit,' 'locking fee,' or 'agency service fee' ranging from several hundred to a few thousand yuan, usually to a personal account. After the transfer, the agent immediately changes their tune: 'The original unit was just rented, would you like to see another similar one?' effectively trapping the funds and forcing the tenant toward a real, but much inferior, property.
• Step 5: Disconnection and cutting ties. When the tenant insists on a refund, the agent stalls with excuses like 'deposits are non-refundable' or 'photos are for reference only, actual conditions prevail.' If pressed, they block the user and switch accounts. Because the transactions occur off-platform and accounts are temporary, tenants find it difficult to track the perpetrators, who simply move on to harvest the next group of victims with the same batch of AI images.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Property photos are suspiciously perfect: no signs of daily life, unrealistic lighting, distorted furniture proportions, or views outside the window that look like renderings. Reverse image searches often reveal the same photos listed in other cities.
• 🚩 The price is significantly lower than the local average, yet the agent claims it is in high demand and pressures you to 'pay a deposit before viewing.' Any request for a deposit before a physical viewing is a major red flag.
• 🚩 Refusal of live video tours or direct contact with the landlord. They only send pre-recorded 'actual footage' that lacks a current timestamp or fails to follow your requests to change camera angles.
• 🚩 The payment account is a personal QR code that does not match the agency's store or company name. You are asked to label the payment as 'service fee' rather than 'deposit' to circumvent contractual obligations.
• 🚩 The same set of photos appears under different accounts or different neighborhood names, or the address is vague (e.g., only mentioning a commercial district without a specific building number). These are usually bait-and-switch posts.

真实案例

• A September 2026 media report on 'AI rental scams' revealed that some agents use AI software to generate beautiful images for old properties. Tenants are lured by online photos, only to find the actual decor and lighting completely different. The report stated that such practices 'erode the credibility of the agency industry' and pointed out that the lack of platform oversight allows fake images to circulate long-term.
• Consumer complaints from various regions show that a tenant transferred 1,500 yuan as a 'locking fee' after seeing photos of a 'fully furnished south-facing one-bedroom' apartment. Upon arrival, they found the unit was actually a windowless partitioned room. When they requested a refund, they were blocked. Because the transfer was via personal WeChat and no contract was signed, the only recourse was reporting the account to the platform, and the money was never recovered.
• A 2026 article from a real estate tool review column noted that after the popularization of AI valuation and beautification tools, the fact that 'AI cannot show the true state of a house' has become a common weakness. Some practitioners exploit this blind spot to mass-produce misleading listings. Cases of tenants being scammed based on online photos peaked during the busy rental season, leading platforms to introduce 'verified actual photo' tags.
• In June 2026, the Songjiang Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau investigated a case of AI-generated fake rental listings. Five real estate agents used AI to generate videos of high-quality, low-priced properties. One 83-square-meter unit near a subway station was listed for only 810,000 yuan, but both the address and the price were false. The individuals involved were administratively penalized. (Source: https://www.thecover.cn/news/WE0%2BymiFMX6H90qSdq8Jkw==)
• In March 2024, the Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing publicly tried a fraud case involving fictitious rental listings. A 25-year-old man used an online platform to post fake low-priced homestay information, defrauding multiple victims of over 7,000 yuan. The court sentenced him to six months in prison for fraud, with a one-year probation and a fine of 5,000 yuan. (Source: https://m.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1711451996168579.html)

Official Stance

• In September 2026, major domestic media published a commentary titled 'Don't Let AI Rental Scams Hollow Out the Integrity of the Real Estate Market,' calling out agents for using AI to generate fake listings and demanding that platforms strengthen the authenticity verification of property photos.
• Market regulators and housing authorities in various regions have repeatedly issued rental consumer alerts in recent years: do not transfer deposits before physical viewings, verify agency registration and agent credentials, and be wary of listings priced significantly below market rates.
• The Cyberspace Administration of China's regulations on AI-generated content management explicitly require platforms to clearly label AI-generated or synthetic content. Real estate platforms are now required to implement AI image labeling and verify the authenticity of property listings.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Reverse image search: Save the main photos posted by the agent and use a search engine to perform a reverse image search. If the same photos appear in other cities or under different accounts, mark it as a fake listing and report it.
• ✅ View before paying: Insist on not providing original ID documents or transferring money. Do not pay a single cent until you have physically seen the property and the landlord (or a legitimate management entity). Any claim that 'you'll lose the unit if you don't pay a deposit' is just pressure tactics.
• ✅ Video verification: Require the agent to conduct a live video tour on the spot and have them verbally state the current date and perform random actions (like opening a specific drawer). Block anyone who refuses live interaction.
• ✅ Use official channels: Payments must be made through a formal rental contract. The recipient must be the registered company's corporate account, and an invoice should be provided. Refuse any payments via personal QR codes. Ensure the payment note and contract explicitly state that the 'deposit is refundable.'
• ✅ Document for rights protection: Save chat logs, screenshots of the listing, and transfer receipts. If scammed, immediately report it to the rental platform, the 12315 consumer hotline, and housing authorities. If the amount is significant, file a police report.