Rental Scams in San Francisco Rise as City Tries to Combat Fraud

Rental scams are on the rise in San Francisco, with rents having increased more than 20% since summer 2025, according to Amanda Fried, the city’s chief assistant treasurer. While the San Francisco Police Department and the district attorney’s office have not released specific data quantifying the increase in rental scams, public data shows that fraud of all types is on track for a five-year low, with more than 2,500 reported fraud incidents this year (source ID: 1). [1]

In response to the rising threat of rental scams, the city launched StopScams SF, the nation’s first comprehensive, city-led strategy to protect residents from scams before they happen and support them when they do. The initiative includes scam tracker alerts, financial counseling, and services for victims. Nearly 2,000 people have signed up for scam alerts, but the city faces challenges in enforcing regulations on platforms like Craigslist, which are resistant to regulation (source ID: 2). [2]

StopScams SF provides residents with resources to protect themselves, such as guidance on how to spot red flags, cut off contact with scammers, alert authorities, and make their communities safer. The initiative also includes community listening sessions to gather feedback and improve scam prevention efforts. Residents are encouraged to report scams to local and federal authorities, as well as to seek free financial counseling (source ID: 2). [2]

Lauren Rice narrowly avoided being scammed out of thousands of dollars by a fraudster posing as a property owner last month (1). She discovered the scheme after becoming suspicious of the phone number on the listing and researching it further, which led her to a story about another victim, Alvin Tran, who lost $18,600 to the same scammer (1). Rental scams are on the rise in San Francisco, where rents have jumped more than 20% since summer 2025, according to Amanda Fried, the city’s chief assistant treasurer (1). [1]

Assistant District Attorney Matt McCarthy, chief of the white-collar crime division, said rental scammers are difficult to pin down and prosecute. They use burner phones and email addresses, invented names, and stolen identities (1). Even the bank accounts or payment platforms rarely link to an actual person, McCarthy said. In cases where law enforcement is able to get warrants to review suspicious bank accounts, they rarely find anything, because scammers move money through several accounts to muddy their tracks after defrauding somebody (1). [1]

The DA has money set aside to investigate real estate fraud — a fund fed by a $3 fee on recorded property documents — that held roughly $175,000 at the end of June. But state law limits its use to "criminal cases involving recorded real estate documents," which excludes rental scams (1). Meanwhile, the SFPD’s financial crimes unit consists of two sergeants, who together have to sort through about 2,500 cases per year, a police captain said at the hearing (1). [1]

Sources

The San Francisco Standard

treasurer.sf.gov

Prepared with AI assistance from the cited sources.