deposit fraud Jamaica

Scammers in Jamaica are renting properties through legitimate short-term rental platforms, photographing the units, then advertising them as long-term rentals to multiple victims simultaneously — collecting deposits from several people for a property they have no right to let.

Jamaican renters are losing deposits to social media scams where fraudsters pose as landlords on Instagram and TikTok, using stolen property photographs and fake contracts to steal thousands before vanishing. Police have issued warnings and a first-time renter has shared their account of losing $140,000.