A family relocating from California paid $1,200 for an East Moline rental advertised on TikTok, only to discover that the home was never available to them.
Sage Jellesed and her boyfriend found the listing while urgently searching for housing after arriving in Illinois. It advertised rent of $800 per month, required a $400 deposit and promised immediate move-in.
The couple sent both payments to the supposed landlord. The listing was fraudulent, leaving the family without the money and temporarily without a home.
No arrest, criminal charge or recovery of the money had been announced.
The $800 Listing Appeared During an Urgent Housing Search
Jellesed and her boyfriend were looking for housing after moving their family from California when the TikTok offer appeared, according to WQAD. Its promise of immediate availability appeared to provide a quick solution for a family that had already moved across the country.
The advertised rent and deposit brought the total requested upfront to $1,200. The family sent the requested $1,200 believing that the payment had secured the property.
They later discovered that the TikTok advertisement was fraudulent and that they did not have the promised rental. Jellesed’s family was temporarily left without housing while attempting to find another property in an unfamiliar area.
Rental Scam Reports Reached Approximately $65 Million
Consumers reported nearly 65,000 rental scams and approximately $65 million in losses between January 2020 and June 2025, according to the FTC.
The median reported loss was $1,000. Many of the scams originated through fake online advertisements, and young adults were especially likely to report losing money.
Victims in Illinois can file reports with local police, ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the Illinois Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.
Scammers Frequently Copy Real Property Photographs
The Federal Trade Commission says rental scammers often copy photographs and descriptions from legitimate sale or rental listings, replace the real contact information and repost the property elsewhere.
Other fake listings are created entirely from scratch using attractive photographs, below-market rent and claims that the home is ready immediately. Renters can test that possibility by searching the full street address and placing listing photographs into a reverse-image search.
Rock Island County’s official website provides a property-tax search that can help renters identify the recorded owner connected to an East Moline address.
The name in the public record may be an individual, trust or company and may differ from the property manager handling the rental. A renter can contact the recorded owner, apartment management company or licensed real-estate agent through independently located information and confirm that the property is available and that the person collecting the deposit is authorized to do so.