Rental Scams on Rightmove
Rightmove is the UK's largest property portal, listing over one million properties at any time. Unlike US classifieds, Rightmove primarily accepts listings from registered estate agents and letting agents, which adds a layer of verification. However, scammers still exploit the platform by impersonating agents, creating fake agency websites, and intercepting legitimate communications.
Common Scam Types on Rightmove
Fake Letting Agent Websites
Scammers create professional-looking websites that mimic real letting agencies. They list properties on Rightmove under the fake agency name, collect holding deposits and referencing fees, then shut down the website and disappear.
Email Interception Fraud
Scammers hack into or spoof a legitimate letting agent's email address and send tenants altered bank details for deposits. The tenant pays the deposit into the scammer's account believing they are paying the real agent.
Advance Fee Scams
Fraudsters require tenants to pay referencing fees, admin charges, or holding deposits before a viewing. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, most of these fees are illegal in England, which itself is a red flag.
Property Guardian Scams
Scammers advertise heavily discounted properties claiming they are part of a property guardian scheme. Victims pay an upfront fee only to discover the scheme does not exist or the property is not part of any guardian arrangement.
How Rightmove's listing model works in your favour
Unlike open classified sites where anyone can post a room, Rightmove only accepts listings from letting and estate agents who have signed up as paying members, and part of that sign-up requires the agent to be registered with a government-approved redress scheme (The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme). Rightmove states it carries out checks on all customers before allowing them to advertise. This gatekeeping filters out many casual fraudsters, but it is not a guarantee: a compromised agent account, a genuine agent listing a property they do not actually control, or a listing hijacked by an intercepting third party can all still appear inside a legitimate-looking Rightmove page.
You can independently confirm an agent is real by looking up their name in the public member lists on The Property Ombudsman or Property Redress Scheme websites, and by checking they hold Client Money Protection, which is a legal requirement for letting agents handling tenant money in England. If an 'agent' contacts you off-platform but you cannot find them on either redress register, treat that as a strong warning sign.
What to do when a Rightmove listing looks wrong
A classic red flag is price: if a property is noticeably cheaper than comparable homes in the same area, treat it with suspicion and get it checked before you engage. If you are worried an advert is fraudulent, or you think you may already have been scammed, Rightmove asks you to email the listing details to fraud@rightmove.co.uk; it publishes this address, along with the phone number 01908 712300, on its Safety and Security guide for reporting suspicious or fraudulent listings.
Before contacting them, do your own quick checks: reverse-image-search the photos to see if they appear on other listings or in another city, phone the agent using the number on their own official website rather than a number supplied in an email, and where possible view the property or the branch in person. Never send a holding deposit, 'reservation fee' or rent to secure a property you have not viewed. Almost every UK rental scam depends on getting you to transfer money up front, so refusing to pay before viewing removes the fraudster's payday entirely.
What Rightmove does and does not protect you from
Rightmove is a listings portal, not an escrow service, a landlord, or a regulator. It does not hold your deposit, does not vet the truthfulness of every individual advert in real time, and does not guarantee that any given tenancy is legitimate. Its member checks and redress requirement reduce risk at the agent level, but they do nothing to stop email interception or off-platform impersonation once you are in direct contact with a supposed landlord.
The redress scheme an agent belongs to also has limits worth understanding: it handles complaints about how an agent treated you, but it will not resolve deposit disputes, which instead go through a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme (such as the Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme). If you have actually lost money to a rental scam, Rightmove cannot refund you; report it to Action Fraud (or Police Scotland in Scotland) and to your bank immediately, since fast reporting gives the best chance of recovering a transfer.
Safety Tips for Rightmove
- ✓Check that the letting agent is registered with a redress scheme like The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme.
- ✓Verify the agent's details on Rightmove match their official website and Companies House registration.
- ✓Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, agents in England cannot charge admin fees -- if they do, it may be a scam.
- ✓Always confirm bank details by calling the letting agent's office directly before transferring any money.
- ✓Never pay a holding deposit without viewing the property first.
- ✓Check the agent's reviews on Google and Trustpilot before engaging.
How to Report Scams on Rightmove
Report suspicious listings to Rightmove by contacting their customer service team. You should also report to Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud reporting centre, at actionfraud.police.uk.
Report a Scam →Rightmove Scam Risk Level
Low RiskRightmove is rated as low risk for rental scams due to its agent-based listing model. However, no platform is completely scam-proof. Scammers may clone Rightmove listings onto other platforms, so always verify through the official listing.
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