ROCHESTER, N.Y. — On Monday, News10NBC showed you how scammers use AI to create fake rental listings. Now, we’re showing you how AI is being used to identify a scammer who stole pictures from real listings to create fake ones.
The scammer posted homes all across the Rochester area for rent at unbelievably low prices. That was the red flag that inspired one local realtor’s hunt for the scammer.
Scam rental listing in Victor
A listing in Victor looked ideal: Three bedrooms, one bath and rent for only $1,300. But the same house appeared for sale on Realtor.com for just under $200,000. Same home, same pictures, different listing.
We called the realtor, Kathleen Bassage.
“I was just wondering if the property at 18 Ambassador Drive is for rent,” Deanna Dewberry said.
“No, it’s for sale,” Bassage said.
Dewberry asked if she was aware that a TikTok user was listing the home for rent.
“No I am not, and I’m not sure what to do about that,” Bassage said.
Looking into the scam
Dewberry told her she was going to contact TikTok and suggested Bassage do so as well. Realtor Jeremias “J-Man” Maneiro found the TikTok account and brought it to our attention. He used AI to do some digging.
“I said do some more research on this. Is it a one-off or is it a problem. And it said this is a factory. It searched all of the videos that the guy created,” Maneiro said.
There are just a few of those listings an account named Agent George. All are homes in Upstate and Western New York, and all are questionable. Maneiro asked AI to go further.
“And it said the audio that the video is using, let me search that. It then found other accounts that were also linked to the same guy,” Maneiro said.
“Linked to the same guy, same audio they’re using, same format. It’s a big problem,” Maneiro added.
The red flags
These listings look real, but all are too good to be true. The home in Victor says no credit check, the deposit is only $600 and that $1,300 rent is well below market rate in Victor, which averages $2,100 for a three-bedroom home.
That TikTok had all the red flags we reported Monday. The rent is far below market rate. The deposit is below what’s customary: first month’s rent. And no credit check.
A little AI research goes a long way, like asking what’s the market rental rate for a three-bedroom home. Everyone is victimized in this kind of scam. The realtor who has to spend time and energy trying to take down fake listings, the homeowner who often has a stranger show up believing they’re renting the home, and certainly the renter who ends up with no money and no home.
Consumer Investigation: TikTok account posting fake Upstate and WNY listings with stolen photos WHEC.com.
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