Lauren Rice, a renter who nearly lost thousands of dollars to a fraudster impersonating a property owner last month, testified before the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee. Rice said she toured a home, met the owner and was preparing to wire a deposit when something felt wrong. The phone number on the listing, she discovered, belonged not to the landlord she had met but to a scammer posing as him.

“I was lucky I was able to identify it,” Rice told officials. “But I keep thinking about those who saved every dollar for a deposit, only to have it stolen.”

The hearing was convened by the treasurer’s office and Supervisor Danny Sauter. Amanda Fried, the city’s chief assistant treasurer, said rental scams are rising in San Francisco, where rents have jumped more than 20% since summer 2025. Neither Fried nor the San Francisco Police Department has released figures quantifying the increase in scams.

Public data from the district attorney’s office shows fraud of all types is on track for a five-year low based on police reports, with more than 2,500 reported fraud incidents this year and 46 resulting in criminal charges. The DA has never prosecuted a case under statute PC 602.9, which criminalizes renting out a property without the owner’s consent.

The gap between anecdotal reports of rental fraud and the absence of enforcement data drew attention at the hearing, which focused on how the city can respond to fraud in a market where competition for units is intense and deposits are large.

For renters, the testimony underscored the risks of a market where listings can be cloned and contact information spoofed. Rice’s near-miss followed a pattern in which scammers impersonate landlords, sometimes using the same email and phone details across multiple listings.

City officials did not announce new enforcement measures at the hearing. The committee took testimony and is expected to consider next steps, though no timeline was specified.