Key Takeaways

  • A South Lake Tahoe renter lost $10,000 to a fake Craigslist cabin listing this summer
  • Homeowners have posted signs warning visitors who booked through Craigslist that they were scammed
  • The city requires a displayed permit number on legitimate listings to help renters verify authenticity

It was recently reported that parts of Lake Tahoe is grappling with a growing number of short-term rental scams.

One vacationer said they paid $10,000 for a summer cabin in one of California’s busiest lake destinations that turned out not to exist.

South Lake Tahoe vacationers were put on notice to watch for STR scams, after several fake listings on Craigslist were uncovered around the resort town, according to Sacramento’s local outlet KCRA 3.

It’s gotten so bad, the outlet reported, that some homeowners have started posting handwritten warning signs on their properties telling visitors who booked through Craigslist that they’ve been scammed.

Michelle Benedict of Pinnacle Lake Tahoe Getaways told KCRA that scammers lift real photos and descriptions from legitimate listings, then chase victims off Airbnb and Vrbo and onto cash apps like Venmo.

A South African woman on a work visa, paid $10,000 for a cabin that turned out to be fake and was found in tears outside the property she thought she’d booked.

However, a spokesman for the South Lake Tahoe Police Department told REWire Media that they are not experiencing an influx of STR scams despite reports.

If they’re happening in South Lake Tahoe, they’re not happening within city limits.

“We have not had any VHR rental scams reported to us within the city limits in 2026,” a spokesman for the South Lake Tahoe Police told us in an emailed statement. “We have had one rental scram, which occurred over Craigslist, but that was for someone renting a property long term.”

“The story KCRA ran and spoke about a woman being scammed and the police contacted, may have been a residence in the county, or on the Nevada side.  If in the county, it would be El Dorado County Sheriff jurisdiction, if on the NV side, it would be Douglas County Sheriff,” the spokesman continued.

Related: Travelers will pay more for quality STRs, but hidden fees remain the top dealbreaker, new Vrbo study shows

South Lake Tahoe requires every legitimate short-term rental to carry a city-issued permit number displayed in its advertising, a rule meant to help renters separate real listings from bait.

South Lake Tahoe is located just east of the Nevada border, in El Dorado County.

The city is about 100 miles east of Sacramento in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

REWire Media has reached out the the South Lake Tahoe Police Department for comment.

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