They Want a Deposit Before I've Even Seen the Rental — Is This a Scam?
INGAR · · Rentals
The deposit itself isn't the warning sign
It isn't necessarily a scam. With a short-term rental, or a booking made from overseas, paying before you've seen the place in person can be perfectly legitimate.
The danger isn't the deposit on its own. It's being asked for money before you can confirm who is collecting it, what their connection to the property is, and what the terms of the booking actually are.
If they're also rushing you, refusing to show the property live, switching names, or pushing for a payment method that's hard to trace — don't send the money.
Does the listing claim to be from INGAR? Look the property up in our listings and confirm the contact details against the phone number and email published at ingar.com.uy/nosotros. Don't verify using the same number the listing sent you. We can confirm our own listings and who represents us; we can't vouch for third-party ads.
Why five minutes of checking is worth it
Fraud is not a fringe problem in Uruguay. A thematic report from the Applied Statistics and Criminology Unit of the Ministerio del Interior (Uruguay's interior ministry, which oversees the national police) — reference IT/2025/01 — logged 31.144 fraud complaints in 2024, up from 1.333 in 2013. The rate climbed from 38,7 to 870,5 complaints per 100.000 residents, and in 2024 fraud ranked as the third most reported crime in the country.
The true figure is far higher. Drawing on the victimization module of the ongoing household survey run by INE (Uruguay's national statistics institute), the report estimates roughly 26.900 frauds per month during the second half of 2024, and describes the underreporting this way: "solo el 11,7 % habrían sido denunciadas formalmente y otro 16,2 % habrían sido reportadas a la policía sin denuncia formal" — only 11,7% resulted in a formal complaint, with another 16,2% reported to police without one.
Those are two separate categories. Together they add up to less than 28%: seven out of every ten frauds never reach the police in any form.
So if this happened to you, it doesn't mean you were the one person who fell for something obvious. These schemes are built to exploit a specific, urgent need — locking down a place to stay before someone else takes it — and to shrink the window you have to check anything.
What a deposit request doesn't tell you
Being asked to book before an in-person visit doesn't prove there's a scam. Nor does paying by bank transfer rule one out.
Plenty of individual owners rent out their own places and collect into a personal account. Legitimate deals do get closed remotely. On the flip side, a business account, a RUT (Uruguayan tax ID number), or a professional-looking document can all be copied or used without permission.
That's why blanket rules like these are useless:
- "A personal account means it's a scam."
- "If they take cash, it's legit."
- "They have a RUT, so we're fine."
- "He showed me the place on video, so he's the owner."
What matters is that the evidence hangs together and that you can verify it through an independent channel.
Eight red flags worth stopping for
Any one of them may have an innocent explanation. Several at once are reason enough not to pay.
| Red flag | What you need to confirm |
|---|---|
| Price well below comparable properties | That the listing isn't copied and used as bait |
| Intense pressure to transfer right now | That there's a real booking and not invented urgency |
| They refuse a video call or a visit | That whoever posted the ad has current access to the property |
| The name changes between the ad, the contract and the account | Each party's identity and authority to act |
| They want to move the payment off the platform | What protection you give up by leaving the original channel |
| They ask for crypto, codes, gift cards or hard-to-recover wire transfers | Why they won't accept a traceable method |
| The paperwork only arrives after you pay | The full terms, before you transfer |
| No explanation of when the deposit is refunded or forfeited | Cancellation, breach and refund terms in writing |
A listing that's been up for several weeks isn't safe by default, either. The photos may well belong to a real property, and the phone number can change every few days.
How to vet a booking before you pay
1. Confirm who you're dealing with
Ask for the full name or registered company name of whoever is offering the place, and have them spell out their role: owner, real-estate agency, property manager, or authorized representative.
Then verify those contact details outside the conversation. If they claim to work for an agency, go to that agency's official website yourself and call the number published there. Don't treat the link, email address or phone number that same person just sent you as your only confirmation.
If they're acting on an owner's behalf, ask for that authority to be documented. You don't need to collect photos of sensitive ID documents over WhatsApp; what you need is a professional or a trustworthy channel confirming that this person is authorized to take the booking and collect payment.
2. Verify the property
An in-person visit is still the best check there is. If you're far away, ask for a live video call where you decide what gets shown: the street entrance, the door number, the view from a window, and specific rooms.
Search for the same photos online as well, and compare the address, description and price against other listings. A reverse image search can reveal that the pictures were lifted from another agency or from an old post.
A video call helps, but on its own it doesn't prove the person has the right to rent the place out. Someone might have temporary access to a home, or be replaying footage recorded earlier. Treat it as one check among several, not the deciding one.
3. Read the booking agreement before you transfer
At a minimum, the document should identify:
- the parties;
- the exact address of the property;
- the check-in and check-out dates;
- the total price and the amount you're paying now;
- what the deposit is being applied to;
- when the balance is due;
- what happens if the guest cancels;
- what happens if the place isn't delivered;
- which costs are included;
- in whose name the payment must be made.
A screenshot saying "reserved" doesn't cut it. Keep a copy of the document as accepted by both sides, along with the matching receipt. What kind of invoice or receipt you get depends on who's providing the service: not every legitimate booking is billed by a registered company.
4. Check who's actually receiving the money
The account holder should match the person you're contracting with, or a representative whose involvement has been explained and documented.
A personal account doesn't prove fraud, just as an account under a business name doesn't guarantee legitimacy. The real worry is a payee who is a third party who never appeared anywhere in the deal, with no one able to explain why they're the one getting paid.
Where possible, use an established platform's payment system and stay inside it. Before paying outside it, look at which complaint or protection mechanisms you'd be giving up.
5. Never hand over credentials
To receive a transfer, nobody needs your password, PIN, security code, one-time passcode, or remote access to your phone.
Don't open links to "confirm" a payment either, when you can simply open your bank's official app directly. A rental scam can turn into credential theft the moment that link leads to a fake page.
A better line than "I'll pay you in cash"
Offering cash at the viewing isn't a reliable test. A legitimate owner or agency may well turn it down for reasons of safety, bookkeeping or company policy. And a scammer willing to meet the victim in person can happily accept it.
Here's a more useful thing to say:
"Before I transfer anything, I need to verify the identity of the person renting the property, their connection to it, and the terms of the booking. Send me the document and I'll confirm it through an independent channel."
It doesn't argue and it doesn't accuse. It simply forces out the pieces that a genuine deal should be able to produce.
I already transferred the money — now what?
Don't wait until you've assembled a perfect case file. Move fast and hold on to what you already have.
1. Alert your bank or payment provider
Contact the fraud department at the institution you sent the money from, immediately. Tell them the transfer was made under false pretenses, ask them to assess whether any recovery action or notice to the receiving institution is possible, and request a case reference number.
There's no guarantee of a reversal, especially when the victim authorized the transfer themselves. Speed can help, but the outcome depends on where the funds now sit and on what steps each institution can legally take.
Have this ready: the destination account number or payment instrument, the payee's name, the date, time, amount and currency, the transaction number or identifier, and the transfer receipt.
2. Preserve the evidence
The Ministerio del Interior is blunt about this: "No eliminar ni modificar nada en los dispositivos, esa información puede ser clave como evidencia." — don't delete or alter anything on your devices, because that information may be crucial evidence.
Save the full conversations, not just the screenshots that strike you as important. Hold on to the listing's link and screenshots, the URL and profile name, phone numbers and email addresses, any documents sent to you, voice messages, the receiving account's details, the payment receipt, and the date and time of every contact.
If the profile or the listing is still live, save the link as well as taking screenshots.
3. File a criminal complaint
The Ministerio del Interior makes clear that you don't need all the evidence in hand to file: you can report with preliminary information and add to it later. It also advises filing immediately, because digital evidence is fragile.
The official channels published are:
- Montevideo: Dirección General de Cibercrimen (the national cybercrime directorate), Carlos Quijano 1316.
- Rest of the country: any police station or Fiscalía (prosecutor's office).
- Guidance: dipn-cibercrimen@minterior.gub.uy.
The Fiscalía General de la Nación (Uruguay's national prosecution service) also runs a specialized cybercrime unit, created under article 419 of Ley 20.075, which supports prosecution teams. Its existence doesn't change the practical advice: use the published intake channels and don't delay your complaint hunting for one particular office.
4. Report the listing
Flag the ad and the profile to the platform after you've saved the links, screenshots and conversations. This doesn't replace a criminal complaint, but it can cut short how long the listing stays online.
5. Go to the BCU only for the right kind of financial problem
The Banco Central del Uruguay (Uruguay's central bank) does not take criminal complaints against whoever posted the property. Its channel is for reporting the conduct of a financial or payment institution under its supervision.
First you have to file a formal complaint with that institution's customer service department and keep the reference number. The response deadline is fifteen calendar days, extendable by the same period as long as the institution tells you before it expires.
If the answer doesn't satisfy you, or the deadline passes with no answer at all, you can escalate to the BCU or to the consumer protection unit of the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas (the finance ministry). That process examines the institution's conduct: it doesn't replace a criminal complaint and it doesn't guarantee you'll get your money back.
There's also an official channel for checking beforehand
The Ministerio del Interior runs Verificá, a free service for checking news items, messages or suspected scams, available over WhatsApp at 098 111 911.
It works as an advice and inquiry line. It is not a way to file a report for a crime that has already happened.
Don't send passwords, banking codes or complete financial documents. To check a property listing, share only what's necessary and follow the official channel's instructions.
What crime might be involved?
Article 347 of Uruguay's Código Penal (criminal code) covers fraud: "El que con estratagemas o engaños artificiosos indujere en error a alguna persona, para procurarse a sí mismo o a un tercero, un provecho injusto, en daño de otro, será castigado con seis meses de prisión a cuatro años de penitenciaría." — anyone who, through schemes or contrived deception, leads another person into error in order to obtain an unjust benefit for themselves or a third party, to another's detriment, faces six months to four years of imprisonment.
The code also covers computer fraud in article 347-BIS, added by Ley 20.327 of August 23, 2024, for certain conduct carried out through information technology, computer manipulation or payment systems.
A fake rental listing can trigger a criminal investigation, but no one can say from a single ad how the offense will ultimately be classified. That depends on how the scheme unfolded, on the evidence, and on the assessment of the prosecution and the court.
Frequently asked questions
Is every deposit requested before a viewing a scam?
No. Legitimate remote bookings do exist. Just don't pay until you've verified the identity of whoever is collecting, their connection to the property, the property itself, and the written terms.
Does a personal account automatically mean fraud?
No. An individual owner can collect into their own account. What matters is that the payee's name lines up with the contract, or that there's a documented explanation for the difference.
Is a video they send me enough?
No. Video can be copied. Insist on a live video call, and pair that check with verification of identity, authority, and the booking document.
Does a RUT prove the agency is legitimate?
At most it proves a registration exists under that number. It doesn't prove that the person you're talking to represents that company. Confirm the contact details through the official website or phone number.
What should I do first if I've already paid?
Notify your bank or payment provider immediately and ask for a case reference number. Preserve the evidence without altering your devices, and file the criminal complaint without waiting for the bank's response.
Where do I report an online scam in Uruguay?
In Montevideo, at the Ministerio del Interior's Dirección General de Cibercrimen, Carlos Quijano 1316. Elsewhere in the country, at any police station or at the Fiscalía. You don't need all the evidence to file.
Can the BCU get my deposit back?
Recovering your money and investigating the scammer aren't its job. It steps in on complaints about the institutions it supervises, and only after you've filed a complaint with the institution itself.
How many scams are reported in Uruguay?
In 2024 there were 31.144 fraud complaints, against 1.333 in 2013, according to the Ministerio del Interior's IT/2025/01 report. It was the third most reported crime in the country. The victimization survey estimates roughly 26.900 frauds per month in the second half of 2024, of which only 11,7% ended in a formal complaint.
The bottom line
Being asked for a deposit before a viewing doesn't, by itself, prove there's a scam. What's dangerous is paying when you can't verify:
- who is offering the property;
- what right they have to rent it out;
- whether the place matches the listing;
- what document governs the booking;
- who receives the money;
- when it's refunded or forfeited.
If any of those answers don't add up, stop. An appealing property may well come back on the market; a transfer sent under pressure can be far harder to get back.
This article provides general information and is not a substitute for legal advice or for the instructions of the police, the prosecution service, or the financial institution involved.
Sources
- Ministerio del Interior — "Estafas en Uruguay: evolución, características y desafíos actuales," thematic report IT/2025/01 (AECA)
- Ministerio del Interior — How to report cybercrime
- Ministerio del Interior — Dirección General de Cibercrimen
- Fiscalía General de la Nación — Specialized Cybercrime Unit
- Banco Central del Uruguay — Complaints and reports from financial services users
- Código Penal — article 347, fraud (IMPO)
- Código Penal — article 347-BIS, computer fraud, added by Ley 20.327 (IMPO)
Sources consulted on July 27, 2026.