The “$1 credit check”
Before you can see the home, the “landlord” asks you to prove your credit by signing up at a particular website, often for a dollar, and sending a screenshot of your score. The home may not exist; the sign-up is the point.
How it usually goes
- 01An attractive listing
Usually responsive, usually cheap, usually unavailable for an in-person viewing right away.
- 02A credit-check requirement
You are told the owner needs your score first, and sent a specific link.
- 03A small paymentMoney moves
The site charges $1 or offers a “free” report, which can enrol you in a membership with recurring fees.
- 04A screenshot, then silence
You send the score. The scammer may earn an affiliate payment for your sign-up and may also ask for more personal details.
What it sounds like
Before we schedule a showing the owner needs to see your credit. Please do the $1 credit check at this link and send me a screenshot of your credit score, then I'll send the application.
Check thisa “$1 credit check” link
…owner needs to see your credit. Please do the $1 credit check at this link and send me a screenshot of…The FTC Data Spotlight: scammers “send links to websites that let you sign up for a credit check, often for $1,” which can enrol you in a paid membership with recurring fees.
Source: Rental scams hit home with $65 million in reported losses (Data Spotlight, Dec 22, 2025)Check thisinsists on a specific screening website
…needs to see your credit. Please do the $1 credit check at this link and send me a screenshot of your credit score,…The FTC reports that scammers earn money as “affiliates” for each person they send to a credit-check site.
Source: Rental scams hit home with $65 million in reported losses (Data Spotlight, Dec 22, 2025)Check thisasks you to send your own credit report or score
…the $1 credit check at this link and send me a screenshot of your credit score, then I'll send the application.The FTC: “most landlords normally pull your credit score themselves — they don’t tell you to get it for them.”
Source: Rental Listing ScamsWhat to do
- Don’t sign up. Most landlords pull your credit themselves, with your permission, as part of an application you can see.
- If you already signed up, check your card statement and cancel the membership with the site, then dispute unrecognised charges with your card issuer.
- If you also shared your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov for a step-by-step recovery plan.
- Report the listing to the site where you found it and at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Why this works, and what is normal
The FTC Data Spotlight lists this as one of the forms rental scams take: scammers “send links to websites that let you sign up for a credit check, often for $1. You might not realize that enrolls you in a paid membership with recurring fees, or that the scammer makes money as an ‘affiliate’ for each enrollment.”
The FTC’s consumer advice adds the most useful rule of thumb: most landlords “pull your credit score themselves — they don’t tell you to get it for them.”
Warning signs
- You are asked to get your own credit report and send a screenshot
- A specific website is required
- The check comes before any viewing
- Small fees that turn into a subscription
Paste it into Before-You-Pay. It quotes the triggers from your own text and never sends it anywhere.