The flat listing has the same photos as another listing. What does it mean?
It usually means one of the listings is fake. Rental scammers copy photos from genuine listings and re-post them at a lower price with their own number. The cheaper, newer listing with an owner who cannot show the flat is normally the fake one.
Sometimes both listings are genuine – the owner and a broker, or two brokers – and the details match. When the prices, the owner's name or the location differ, one of them is lying.
How to check
- Compare the two listings: price, address, owner's name, date posted.
- Contact both and ask for a visit; the fake one will have reasons not to.
- Reverse image search the photos to find where they first appeared.
- Report the listing that cannot show the flat to the platform.
- Pay nothing until you are inside the flat with someone who can prove they own it.
Frequently asked questions
- Both listings say the same owner but different numbers. What then?
- Call the number from the older listing and ask whether they also posted the new one. Owners are often unaware their photos were copied.
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