Spotting an agent posing as a landlord

What the platform already does

There is no estate agent role in the database, so nobody can register as one. Only landlords, owners and property managers can create listings, and that is enforced by row-level security rather than by the listing form.

Silver verification requires a bank account matched to the verified name on the Ghana Card, which is the single check hardest for a middleman to pass. Rent for several different landlords arriving in one account is the strongest signal there is, and it is one of the two signals rated critical.

What the platform cannot see

None of that stops someone signing up as a landlord for a property they do not own, or a genuine landlord letting an unregistered friend handle viewings. Verification tells you a real, named person stands behind the account. It does not tell you how they will behave.

Read the checks panel on the property page rather than the badge. If nobody has inspected the property, nobody has been there to find out who was holding the keys.

Signs worth acting on

None of these is proof on its own. Two or three together are worth stopping for.

• A fee is asked for the viewing itself, or for "processing" your interest
• The name on the account does not match the name on the account you are asked to pay into
• You are pushed off the platform early — to WhatsApp or a call — before anything is agreed
• The person cannot answer basic questions about the property's water, meter or landlord
• They will not put anything in writing on the platform
• The same phone number turns up on several landlord accounts
• The rent is far below others in the area and you are urged to decide today

What to do

Stop before any money moves. Nothing you lose by waiting compares with an advance sent to the wrong person.

1. 1Do not pay anything, including a viewing fee or a holding deposit.
2. 2Keep the conversation on the platform, where it is on the record.
3. 3Raise a complaint from your dashboard under "Agent posing as a landlord". That category has a one working day response target.
4. 4Include the listing and what was asked of you. Screenshots of off-platform messages help.