Recovering a Deposit Paid in a Fraudulent Rental Listing Scam
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Managing Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed March 22, 2025
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
I had contacted a Facebook renter and was given a number to get details from. I told them I was interested in the place. However they said for me to pay for the online application and that it was refundable. I asked for a tour but they said they were not there and told me once I paid the deposit I will be given the house key by their lawyer. I told them I would like my refund back because there is no tour. They had told me that I can do it myself once I pay for the deposit. I asked for a refund back and they suddenly said I had to pay a fee. I had informed them that I’d like the refund back because of the scam. They had gotten upset and showed me their money and threatened about what will they need with my $79 I had given them. They will not give me back my refund even tho they had not given me the policy rules.
Attorney Answer
Taking a payment you were told was refundable, then inventing new fees to avoid refunding it after never providing a tour or a lease, is the kind of conduct California's fraud and unfair-competition laws are built for — the harder problem is finding the person, not the legal theory.
California defines actual fraud to include a promise made without any intention of performing it, and the suppression of a true fact by someone who knows it. Telling you a fee was refundable in order to get you to pay, with no intention of ever refunding it, fits that definition directly.
California's deceit statutes supply the liability. One who willfully deceives another with intent to induce that person to alter their position to their injury is liable for the damage suffered, and deceit expressly includes a promise made without any intention of performing it, as well as asserting as fact something untrue by someone with no reasonable ground for believing it true.
Separately, California's unfair competition law defines unfair competition to include any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice, along with deceptive or misleading advertising. That statute is definitional; the remedy is in the companion section, which lets a court make orders necessary to restore money or property acquired by means of the unfair competition. That restitution remedy is the one that gets your money back rather than merely stopping the conduct.
The practical reality is that these remedies are only as good as your ability to identify and locate the person. Listing scams frequently run on false names, borrowed photos, and numbers that go dead. That does not mean you are without options, but it does mean the payment-dispute route and the reporting route are often faster than the courthouse route.
What you can do
1. Preserve everything before it disappears — the listing, the full message thread, the phone number, and your payment record.
2. Dispute the charge with your bank, card issuer, or payment platform, which is frequently the fastest path to recovery.
3. Report the listing to the platform and file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General's consumer protection unit.
4. Send a written demand for the refund that quotes back the representation that the fee was refundable, and keep a copy.
5. If you can identify and locate the person, small claims court is proportionate to this amount.
Time limits matter here. Fraud and unfair-competition claims carry filing deadlines that run from events specific to your situation. Get individual review from a California consumer attorney rather than letting the claim sit while you try to track the person down.
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Courts & Legal Aid in California
- File or look up a case through the California Courts.
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- Use the LawHelp.org to browse free legal information and self-help resources.
- Use the ABA Lawyer Referral Directory to get matched with a local attorney through your state bar.
- Visit HUD — Housing Discrimination Complaint to report housing discrimination.
- Visit CFPB Consumer Tools to tenant, mortgage, and eviction resources.
- Visit FTC — Report Fraud to report scams and deceptive business practices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it fraud in California to promise a refund and then refuse to give it?
It can be. California defines actual fraud to include a promise made without any intention of performing it. If a fee was represented as refundable by someone who never intended to refund it, that fits the statutory definition of a false promise.
What does California's unfair competition law cover, and what can a consumer recover?
It defines unfair competition broadly to include any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice and misleading advertising. The definition itself provides no remedy; a companion section supplies it, allowing a court to make orders necessary to restore money or property acquired through the unfair competition.
Can a consumer dispute a payment made by card or payment app after a scam?
Often yes. Banks, card issuers, and payment platforms generally maintain dispute processes for unauthorized or fraudulently induced charges, and pursuing that route is frequently faster than pursuing the individual directly.
