A woman searching for a three-month stay on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, lost $10,800 (£8,530) after responding to a fraudulent short-term rental listing she found through Facebook, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office incident report filed on 30 April.
The US Federal Trade Commission reported in December 2025 that consumers had filed roughly 65,000 rental scam complaints since 2020, with losses totalling approximately $65 million (£51.4 million). About half of those who reported a rental scam in the 12 months ending June 2025 said it began with a fake ad on Facebook, the FTC found.
