More than 800 posts were published on the Traverse City Homes and Apartments Facebook group in the last month.
In a community where Traverse City Planning Director Shawn Winter described the current need for affordable housing as “absolutely critical,” the demand for housing is high.
“It's probably our most pressing issue right now,” Winter said.
As a result, housing offers are a major online attraction. Legitimate offers post the listings providing profile pictures, detailed descriptions of the property and photos of the home or apartment with a “for rent” sign in the front yard.
But some house hunters will reverse-image search a listing and find an identical home, not for rent locally, but on the other side of the state.
False advertising on social media platforms is not new. But when a city is facing a housing shortage, the impact of these swindles can hurt a community.
Traverse City Police Department Cyber Crimes Detective Matt Verschaeve said that a variety of statutes exist in relation to scams, but they generally pertain to crimes involving monetary loss.
One member of the Traverse City Homes and Apartments Facebook group, Jeremy Bandrofchak, said he was the victim of a scam while looking for a rental property on social media.
Bandrofchak said an individual advertising a property wanted him to send an online payment through Paypal for a refundable application fee, before he saw the property or the physical application.
The experience “very negatively” affected his search for a home in the Grand Traverse area, Bandrofchak said. He also has received various texts, phone calls and emails from “fake numbers and emails” regarding unavailable properties.
“I am way more cautious (now),” Bandrofchak said.
Efforts to reach the administrator of the Traverse City Homes and Apartments group were unsuccessful. But other sources said this issue is not unique to Traverse City.
According to the Consumer Sentinel Network workbook, the problem reflects a broader national trend, with imposter scams being the most reported type of fraud in 2024.
Fraudulent listings could not only affect renters, but the legitimate housing organizations competing for users’ trust as well.
Home Stretch is a nonprofit housing organization that focuses on providing affordable multifamily units in the smaller townships and villages of the Traverse City region.
Jesse Wolff, director of development and communications at Home Stretch, said the organization has not encountered any fraudulent real estate listings to his knowledge, yet sympathizes with those who have.
“It's hard enough to find a listing where you're like, yeah, I can afford this, right?,” Wolff said. “And a lot of people get excited. If it turns out to be fraudulent or you actually lose some money, it's just heartbreaking.”
Traverse City Realtor Camille Campbell said she has had many of her own listings used by "scammers," often finding out only after a client reaches out to her.
“I have had people who have sent money (to a scammer) show up and ask for the keys so that they can move in,” Campbell said.
Though she reports every fraudulent listing she is notified of, Campbell said that her photos are often re-listed by a different account days later, and the cycle continues.
The community standards policy for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, states a “commitment to authenticity,” that does not allow users to misrepresent themselves or use fake accounts.
So, how are they still showing up?
Nick Christe, administrator of Facebook group “Southwest Michigan Rentals,” said he blocks scam posts in his group when he sees them, yet they return faster than he can keep up with. He said many group members will acknowledge a scam, yet fail to report it.
“If a group admin is doing their job, members who report them as scams (will) help,” Christe said. “Most scammers are obvious. Reporting them immediately alerts us, (then) we block them on the spot.”
An influx of listings being posted daily, coupled with an inactive group administrator, leaves plenty of room for fake listings and scams to slip through the cracks – even if group members report them.
Lt. Jon Morgan of the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office said, in cases of housing fraud that he has worked on in the past, complaints about fraudulent rental listings often come in clusters, typically involving two or three homes at a time.
If money is lost, Morgan said, it usually ranges from $500 to $2,000 – and these scams primarily come to light only when a victim reports them.
Scammers may create urgency by claiming multiple people are interested in a rental property, pressuring victims to pay a deposit to "hold" it. These payments are usually made with prepaid credit or gift cards, which appear as legitimate transactions and can bypass fraud protections.
Once scammers get the card numbers, the money is unrecoverable. Since these perpetrators are usually overseas and use false phone numbers, prosecution is nearly impossible, Morgan said.
Verschaeve said that, as a general rule, if a listing seems too good to be true, it likely is.
“Any time that you're on the internet, you're only seeing what people want you to see,” he said. “So, if you keep that in mind with everything you're looking at, it starts to trigger those internal instincts of: Maybe this isn't real, you know?”
Verschaeve advises internet users to take all aspects of a post or listing into account before clicking a link, calling a number or making a payment. Conferring with a friend or family member on a suspicious listing also can be helpful, as another set of eyes may spot something that you didn’t.
“If you suspect any fraudulent nature in what you're looking at, don't click a link,” Verschaeve said. “Step back and think about it.”
Renters struggling to find homes amid the city’s housing shortage continue to express their frustration online with the influx of fake listings on social media, commenting “scam” and warning new members not to click on any links in posts.
Tips to avoid online scams
From Cyber Crimes Detective Matt Verschaeve of the Traverse City Police Department
• If the price seems too good to be true, it likely is.
• Do not be impulsive when making online purchases; think it over.
• If you’re unsure whether a listing is legitimate, get a second opinion from a friend or family member.
• Be aware that scammers are skilled, they know what to say to make a deal happen.
• Remember that online listings only show what the listers want you to see.
This story was produced by the Michigan News Group Internship Program, a collaboration between WCMU Public Media and local newspapers in central and northern Michigan. The program’s mission is to train the next generation of journalists and combat the rise of rural news deserts.
