A platform used for advertising rental properties is alleged to have targeted low-income and student renters in posting and profiting from fraudulent rental listings. The FTC claims that the rental site failed to verify each listing posted, leading to the display of numerous fake listings that potential renters had to pay to view. Additionally, the Roomster site is alleged to contain fake reviews that worked to reel in renters looking for affordable housing, but those renters were often met with housing listings that did not exist.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a partner in the litigation, also released a statement in support of the lawsuit alleging that “Roomster used illegal and unacceptable practices to grow its business at the expense of low-income renters and students. James promised that Roomsters “deceptive business practices will not go unchecked.”
Source: FTC sues housing site Roomster over fraudulent listings – JURIST – News