Online marketplace scams often run on borrowed pictures. The apartment comes from a genuine rental ad, the puppy from someone else’s page, and sometimes the seller’s face from a stranger’s profile. Those photos are what make the deal feel real, and they are also the part you can check before any money moves.
Three ways stolen photos get used
The Federal Trade Commission says rental scammers copy the pictures, description or virtual tour from a real listing. They swap in their own contact details for the agent’s and repost the ad on another site. Ask to see the place and the “owner” will usually claim to be out of the country or find another excuse, then rush you into a decision.
Pet scams lean on a cute picture. The FTC describes ads for purebred puppies at a few hundred dollars when such dogs often cost thousands, with payment demanded up front. A June 2026 FTC alert adds that scammers “steal and manipulate pet images, videos, and even use AI-generated deepfakes.”
The seller’s face can be borrowed too. Meta’s scam guidance says scammers create fake accounts or take over real ones, and some use an employee photo stolen from the internet to pass as part of a familiar organization.
Six checks before you pay
- Search the listing photos. The FTC suggests a reverse image search to see whether pet pictures are stock images or copies from somewhere else, and to move on if they are. For a rental, search the address as well. If other ads show the same home under a different owner or rental company, the FTC calls that a sign of a scam.
- Compare the price. The FTC treats rent a lot cheaper than the local going rate as a warning, and Meta tells Marketplace buyers to be cautious of listings priced well below market value.
- Watch how they want to be paid. “Only scammers say you must pay with gift cards, a payment app, cryptocurrency, or a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram,” the FTC says. Meta’s advice is to use trusted payment services and never pay in advance. The FTC adds that a credit card gives you the most protection if something goes wrong.
- See it first. For apartments, cars and other high-value items, Meta says to confirm in person or over video chat that the thing exists and belongs to the seller before sending a deposit. The FTC is blunter about pet sellers who won’t allow a visit, a video chat or even a phone call: “move on to someone else.” It also warns that a self-guided rental tour isn’t proof, because some scammers copy listings from landlords who use self-tour services.
- Read the account. Meta lists accounts with no friends, no profile photo or no real-looking activity among its warning signs. A push to move the chat to WhatsApp, text or email early in the conversation is another.
- Check the seller’s face. Before paying someone you only know from a listing, run their profile picture through a reverse face search to see whether the same face appears elsewhere on the public web under another name. FaceSearch’s guide on how to verify someone you met online walks through what to look for.
Reading a face match
A match is a page to read, and the name on that page was written by whoever published it. If the seller’s face turns up on a different person’s profile, ask about it before any money moves, and stop if the answer is vague. An empty result counts for little. FaceSearch’s own guide calls it weak evidence, since private accounts are invisible to every face search, and it rates a live video call as the strongest check a private individual has.
Keep the search to the person you are actually dealing with. The same guide says screening people for decisions about employment, housing, credit, insurance or education is outside what FaceSearch permits. That rules out a landlord using it to vet applicants.
Where to report it
Stop replying first. Meta’s advice for a suspected Marketplace scam is to stop communicating with the buyer or seller and report it to Facebook. Take screenshots of the listing and the chat before you do, since a removed ad takes its details with it.
In the US, the FTC lists four places to report a rental listing scam: your local law enforcement agency, the website where the ad was posted, the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state attorney general. Its pet-scam alerts point to ReportFraud.ftc.gov as well. Report the ad on the site where you found it first, then file at ReportFraud.ftc.gov with your screenshots to hand.