Rental Deposit Scams via Wise
How fraudulent international property listings exploit Wise transfers to collect deposits from remote renters who never see the property.
Part of: Rental Deposit Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
International rental fraud — targeting expats, remote workers, and students seeking accommodation abroad — frequently uses Wise as the deposit payment method because it normalises cross-border payment in a way that bank wire transfers do not. A victim searching for a flat in a new city is not suspicious of a Wise transfer in the way they might be of an unfamiliar foreign bank account.
Fraudsters list properties they do not own or have never seen, often cloning legitimate listings from Airbnb or Rightmove, and request a Wise deposit to 'secure' the property before the tenant arrives in the country.
How this scam works on Wise
A listing appears on a property portal or expat forum with attractive photos and a location relevant to the target audience — near a university, business district, or expat community. The 'landlord' explains they are currently abroad and asks for a Wise transfer as the only feasible way to secure the deposit at distance. The transfer is framed as routine for international tenants.
After payment, the landlord provides fabricated documents — a tenancy agreement, a utility account screenshot — to maintain credibility while postponing the key handover. When the tenant arrives at the address, either the property does not exist, the real owner has no knowledge of any rental, or a different fraudulent tenant has taken the same deposit.
Common red flags
- Landlord located overseas and can only accept deposit via Wise
- Property photos appear identical on reverse image search under a different address or rental site
- Rent is attractive relative to comparable properties in the area
- All communication through email or WhatsApp with no phone call or video viewing offered
- Tenancy agreement is a generic template with inconsistencies in property description
- Landlord cannot arrange an in-person viewing through any local representative
How to protect yourself
- Never pay a deposit via Wise before viewing a property in person or through a vetted letting agent
- Arrange a video call walkthrough with the landlord actually inside the property before any payment
- Verify property ownership through the national land registry (HMLR in the UK, cadastre in EU countries)
- Reverse image search all listing photos across multiple search engines
- Use a licensed estate agent for international rentals — their professional insurance covers some fraud scenarios
How to report it
- Report to Wise fraud support at wise.com/help with the recipient email and transaction ID
- File a report with Action Fraud (UK) at actionfraud.police.uk or the equivalent authority in the destination country
- Report the listing to the portal or forum it appeared on with evidence of the fraudulent communication
Frequently asked questions
Are international rental deposits via Wise ever legitimate?
Genuine landlords renting to international tenants do sometimes request deposits via Wise. The difference is that legitimate landlords can be independently verified — through land registry records, a local letting agent, or in-person viewings arranged through a representative. Never pay any deposit to an unverified individual before confirming their legal ownership of the property.