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The Better Business Bureau is warning that there has been a significant increase in scams involving vacation rentals, especially those listed on independent sites, on social media, and in publications aimed at travelers. Since 2019, there has been a 43% increase in complaints to the BBB from renters who lost their down-payments or fees when they discovered the rental was a scam.

The most common scam is the fake ad that shows a real house but with a different address or contact information than the original listing or that is not a vacation rental at all. To avoid this scam, always check the satellite maps online for the address to see if the photo matches the ad. You can also cross-reference the address of the home on various sites to see if there is different contact information on the ad than is recorded with the house on city sites that record ownership.

If you do find yourself scammed, you should first contact the police department in the area where the house is located to report the fraud before submitting a complaint to the Better Business Bureau.