What you’ll learn in this article:
Scammers are flooding social media with apartment listings that look almost too good to be true—because they are. These ads often include slick videos and gorgeous images, but here’s the catch: the apartments don’t exist.
In one recent case, a victim in Wales lost £2.1 million in bitcoin after being duped into entering their password on a fake website. The scammers didn’t stop there—they pretended to be senior U.K. police officers and convinced the victim they were helping with a security issue.
Never enter your credentials on a site you reached through an email or message.
It’s not just city renters and crypto investors being targeted—farmers are too. A 61-year-old farmer in Essex thought he was buying a John Deere 6430 tractor online. The website looked legitimate, complete with dealership branding and listings. He wired nearly £30,000, only to later find out the site was a perfect clone of a real French dealership.
Whether you’re house-hunting, investing in crypto, or shopping for farming equipment, scammers are lurking. They thrive on urgency, fake authority, and tempting deals.
Protect yourself by staying skeptical of deals that feel “too good,” using tools like ScamAdviser to check a site’s trustworthiness, and relying on official guidance from trusted resources like the FTC.
Download the ScamAdviser app today and get scam alerts before scammers get you.
What are fake apartment rental scams?
Fake apartment scams appear on social media with attractive listings and videos. Victims are asked to pay upfront fees for deposits or applications, but the apartments don’t exist.
How do cryptocurrency scams work?
Crypto scams often involve phishing websites and impersonation. Victims are tricked into entering credentials or sending crypto to scammers, who may pose as police or bank officials.
What is a tractor buying scam?
Scammers clone legitimate farm equipment dealerships online, post fake tractor listings, and request upfront payments. Victims only realize it’s a scam when the dealership denies any record of the sale.
How can I protect myself from these scams?
Verify listings, double-check websites, avoid upfront payments to strangers, and use tools like ScamAdviser. For government-backed resources, check the FTC’s scam prevention page.