AI Is Making Fraudsters Harder To Spot. Apartment Owners Are Paying The Price

Los Angeles landlord Michael Renkow already had a sinking feeling when one of the new tenants at his Hollywood apartment building, “Igor,” was two hours late to pick up the keys.

In September 2025, Igor had applied for two separate apartments, both running $5,300 per month, and had been approved. His bank statements, proof of employment and ID had cleared.

Two days later, after his bank alerted Renkow that the cashier’s checks used to pay first and last month’s rent were fraudulent, the feeling crystallized. Renkow raced back to his property, hoping to intercept the new tenants before they moved in. He found the front door of one unit pinned from the inside and, in the other, a woman who told him that she had established residency and didn’t intend to leave...