"Fraudulent activities always increase dramatically at the lowest points in an economic cycle," said Jules Arnott, Cape Town & CBD rentals specialist with Seeff Properties.
"Potential tenants are therefore becoming increasingly wary of looking for properties via less traditional methods."
Arnott said one of the rental scams involved individuals posing as property owners, particularly on certain social networking and advertising web-based forums.
"The potential tenant is invariably required to pay a substantial 'holding deposit' without having even seen the proposed lease.
"By the time the tenant is then due to take occupation the 'owner' has disappeared along with the deposit," Arnott said.
Another scam was internet bookings for non-existent properties.
"These are often advertised on the web with pictures which, under careful scrutiny to a person with local knowledge, will in no way resemble the description," Arnott said.
The tenant paid upfront then arrived to take up a non-existent booking.
A recent scam, discovered by Seef's City Bowl rental agent, Elzunia Singer, advertised a property rented and managed by Seeff.
"Fortunately the client just happened to contact us looking for the location of the property and we were able to tell him it was a fabrication."
Arnott said it was also in property owners' best interests to market their property for rent through an established rental agency.
"This will not only protect the owner from the costly legal pitfalls of a badly-drafted lease but it will inevitably achieve a quicker let at a higher price, and attract a far better calibre of applicant."
Invariably potential tenants that applied privately to rent a property direct with an owner did so in the knowledge they would be declined as suitable by a rental agency's credit and reference checks, Arnott said.
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