Safety Center

Rental safety

Rental fraud usually follows the same shape: a below-market unit, an owner who cannot meet in person, and pressure to send a deposit to hold it. Slow the process down.

• Tour the actual unit before you pay anything. If an in-person tour is impossible, ask for a live video walkthrough where the person on camera opens the front door and windows on request.
• Verify the person is the owner or the authorized property manager. Los Angeles County property ownership is public record — check the county assessor before you sign.
• Read the full lease in writing before paying. Confirm the address, monthly rent, deposit amount, lease length, who pays which utilities, and the pet and parking terms.
• Never wire money, send gift cards, or pay in cryptocurrency for a deposit or holding fee. Use a payment method with a paper trail and get a receipt.
• Be skeptical of rent well below comparable units nearby, of an owner who is "out of the country," and of anyone who asks for a deposit before you have seen the unit or signed a lease.
• Do not send a copy of your ID, Social Security number, or bank statements until you have met the landlord or manager and are actually applying.

Job safety

Legitimate employers do not charge you to work for them and do not need your bank details before you are hired.

• Verify the employer independently. Look up the company name and address, and contact them through a phone number or email you found yourself, not one supplied in the listing.
• Never pay to apply, to be trained, to be certified, or to buy required equipment up front. That is the most common job scam in classifieds.
• Protect your Social Security number, driver's license, and bank account details. Those belong on onboarding paperwork after a written offer, not in a first message.
• Get the role, pay rate, schedule, and location in writing before you share documents or attend anything described as an "orientation."
• Refuse any arrangement where you receive a check, deposit it, and forward part of the money. The check will bounce and the loss is yours.
• Treat interviews conducted entirely over chat apps, and offers made without any interview, as warning signs.

Vehicle and goods safety

For anything you buy in person, inspection before payment is the whole defense.

• Inspect the item before you pay. For a vehicle, that means a test drive and, for anything expensive, an inspection by an independent mechanic you chose.
• Meet in a safe, busy public place during daylight. Many Los Angeles County police departments have designated exchange zones — use one, and bring someone with you.
• For vehicles, verify ownership: the seller's ID must match the name on the title, and the VIN on the title must match the VIN on the dashboard and door frame. Run the VIN history yourself.
• Ask about liens. A vehicle with an outstanding loan cannot be transferred cleanly until the lien is released.
• Complete the DMV transfer paperwork at the time of sale. As a seller, file the notice of transfer and release of liability so you are not responsible for what happens afterward.
• Walk away from any seller who will not let you inspect the item, will not meet in public, or insists on payment before you see what you are buying.

Service safety

Before you hire a contractor, cleaner, mover, tutor, or any other local provider, get the terms in writing and check the credentials the work actually requires.

• Ask for a written scope of work and an itemized price estimate. Verbal quotes are where disputes start.
• Ask for references from recent local jobs, and photos of comparable completed work.
• Check the license where one is required. In California, most home improvement work over $500 in combined labor and materials requires a licensed contractor, and licenses can be looked up by name or number through the Contractors State License Board.
• Ask for proof of insurance for work on your property, including liability and, where the provider has employees, workers' compensation.
• Avoid large up-front deposits. Pay in stages tied to work actually completed, and keep receipts.
• Be cautious with door-to-door follow-ups, "today only" pricing, and anyone who asks for cash in advance to buy materials.

Payment safety

Glenlist does not handle payments between users. Money you send to another user goes directly to them, and we cannot reverse it — so the payment method you choose is your protection.

• Avoid irreversible payments to someone you have not met: wire transfers, gift cards, cryptocurrency, and cash-app transfers to strangers are effectively unrecoverable.
• Reject overpayment and refund schemes. If someone "accidentally" sends too much and asks you to return the difference, the original payment will be reversed later and you will be out the refund.
• Do not accept a check or money order for more than the agreed price, and do not ship or hand over an item before funds have genuinely cleared — "deposited" is not "cleared."
• Ignore pressure to move fast, to pay a "verification" or "escrow" fee, or to continue the conversation on a different app where there is no record.
• Never share bank login credentials, full card numbers, or one-time passcodes. No legitimate buyer or seller needs a code that was texted to you.
• Payments you make to Glenlist for posting or promoting your own listing are processed by Stripe and appear in your account. We will never ask for payment by gift card or wire.

Report a listing

If a listing or a user looks fraudulent, misleading, or unsafe, email [email protected] with the subject line "Report a listing." Reports are reviewed by a person, so the more specific you are, the faster we can act.

Include:

• The full URL of the listing, or its listing ID.
• What is wrong with it — for example a scam attempt, a stolen photo, a duplicate repost, a prohibited item, or contact details that do not match the poster.
• Screenshots of the listing and of any messages, emails, or texts you exchanged.
• The date the contact happened and any payment details, if money changed hands.

If you have lost money, been threatened, or believe a crime has occurred, contact local law enforcement first — a police report is what makes recovery possible. Fraud can also be reported to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and, for online crime, to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Reporting a listing to Glenlist is not a substitute for either.