Rental scams are common, and our homes get copied. Someone takes our photos,
our address and our description, swaps in their own phone number, and posts it
somewhere else. If you have found one of our houses on another site and something
feels off, this page tells you how to check — in about a minute.
The short version: every real Southern Housing rental is listed on
southrent.com, and our only phone number is
(803) 508-4344. If a listing is not
on this site, or the contact number is different, call us before you send anyone
a single dollar. We will tell you straight away whether it is ours.
HOW TO CHECK A LISTING IN THREE STEPS
Find the address on this site. Search
southrent.com for the street address. If we are renting it, it
is here, with the same photos and the same rent.
Compare the rent. If the price somewhere else is well below
what we have posted, that difference is the bait.
Call us directly. Use the number on this website, not the
number in the ad you are looking at. That single step defeats almost every
version of this scam.
WHAT WE WILL NEVER DO
We will never ask you to pay by wire transfer, Cash App,
Venmo, Zelle, cryptocurrency, or gift cards. Not for a deposit, not for an
application, not to "hold" a house.
We will never take a security deposit before you have seen
the home and signed a lease.
We will never tell you we are out of state, out of the
country, or unable to meet, and ask you to mail money or pick up keys somewhere.
We will never ask for your Social Security number, bank
login, or a photo of your ID over text or email before you have applied through
our application link.
We will never pressure you to decide today because
"someone else is about to take it."
Applications are handled through our TenantCloud portal, which you reach from a
link on this website. Rent and deposits are paid through that portal or in our
office. Nowhere else.
ABOUT LOCKBOX CODES
A lockbox code does not prove someone is the landlord. We
give a code only to a person who booked a showing through this website, and only
for their own time slot. Scammers have been known to book a real showing, get a
real code, and then use it to convince someone else that the house is theirs to
rent. If a person shows you a home and asks for a deposit on the spot, stop and
call us on the number above.
WHERE THESE SCAMS COME FROM
According to the Federal Trade Commission, renters reported roughly $65 million
in losses to rental scams, and about half of the people who reported one in the
year ending June 2025 said it started with a fake ad on Facebook. Another 16% said
it started on Craigslist. Both platforms let anyone post a listing without proving
they own or manage the property.
We do advertise on Facebook. A real Southern Housing post will always point back
to southrent.com and use the phone number above. If you see one of our homes posted
by an account that does not, please
tell us — we would rather get the listing taken
down than have someone lose their deposit.
WARNING SIGNS
Rent noticeably below what similar homes in the area go for.
The person will only communicate by text or email and avoids a phone call.
You are asked to send money before seeing the inside of the home.
You are told to leave a deposit in the lockbox, under a mat, or with a
neighbour.
There is no written lease, or the lease has blank fields.
No screening at all. Any legitimate landlord runs a background and credit
check — ours are described on our
rental requirements page.
The same address appears elsewhere at a different price or with different
contact details.
IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE BEEN SCAMMED
Stop communicating with the person and do not send anything further.
Contact your bank or the payment service immediately. Speed matters most in
the first hours.
Report it to the FTC at
reportfraud.ftc.gov
and to your local police department.
Call us at (803) 508-4344. If one of our homes
was used, we will report the fake listing and give you whatever documentation you
need showing who actually manages the property.
You will not be in trouble with us for calling. We would much rather answer a
question about a listing that turns out to be fine than find out afterwards that
somebody lost their money on a house of ours.