Any number of scams are designed to separate would-be renters from their money. But one recent, rather novel, scheme caught the eye of the Federal Trade Commission, which came down hard on the perpetrator.

It seems that Michael Brown and his company, the Credit Bureau Center, ran fake property ads on Craigslist and, with the promise of “free” credit reports, tricked people into enrolling in costly credit-monitoring services.

False advertising is a popular way to swindle renters. It is one of the five most common rental ruses, according to rental site Apartment List.

But the credit-monitoring gambit is something new. Brown and his co-conspirators offered to take their marks on tours of properties they either did not own or had no right to rent, but only if they first agreed to obtain supposedly free credit reports from CBC, formerly known as MyScore.

Unbeknownst to the renters, they were auto-enrolled into a credit monitoring service that charged $29.94 a month. Many had no idea until the unexpected fees started showing up on their credit card statements.

Watchdog agency FTC, which works to educate and protect consumers, didn’t take kindly to the swindle. Neither did a federal judge, who granted the FTC’s motion for summary judgment and ordered Brown et al. to repay $5.2 million in restitution to defrauded consumers.

Renters are not likely to run into this kind of scam again. But there are several others they need to be aware of.

According to Apartment List’s research, 5.2 million renters have lost money to a scamster. Around 43 percent of renters have run into a listing they suspected was not on the up-and-up.

Inexperienced renters are more likely to be separated from their money, Apartment List found. Nearly 10 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds reported losing money, compared to 6.4 percent of all renters. The median loss was $400, but 1 in 3 people were duped out of $1,000 or more, and 17 percent of those lost $2,000 or more.

Scams exist in many forms, according to Apartment List’s chief economist Igor Popov and senior research associate Sydney Bennet. Here are the five most common rip-offs:

-- Bait-and-switch. A different property is advertised than the available rental, and the scammer tries to collect a deposit or get a lease signed for the substitute property. They ask the renter to pay the first month’s rent and security deposit, in cash, then abscond with the money, never to be seen again.

-- Phantom rentals. A scam artist makes up listings for places that either don’t exist or aren’t rentals, and tries to lure renters with low prices. Again, cash is requested.

-- Hijacked ads. A fake landlord posts advertisements for a real property, typically houses that are actually for sale, with altered contact information.

-- Missing amenities. In the equivalent to “catfishing” in online dating, a real rental is described as having features and amenities it lacks in order to collect a higher rent. Here, landlords try to get renters to sign the lease before they notice the missing features. The most common items that are promised but don’t exist are laundry facilities or in-unit washers and dryers; air conditioning; pools, decks or other outdoor spaces; dishwashers; and gyms.

-- Already leased. A real or fake landlord attempts to collect application fees or security deposits for a rental that is already leased.

Visiting a property in person can help identify many of these scams, but renters moving from other cities often sign leases sight-unseen.

Another popular rental ruse has to do with vacation properties, in which people agree to lease places for a week or more from afar without ever seeing the apartment or house in person. Here, scammers run fake ads and ask you to wire a down payment -- or even a month’s entire rent. Then, when you show up for your holiday, the place isn’t what it was said to be, or doesn’t exist at all.

According to the FTC, which has prosecuted many rental fraud perpetrators, most scammers start with real rentals, replace the owner’s or agent’s contact info with their own, and place the listing on a different site. To get people to act fast, they often ask for a lower-than-typical rent or promise great amenities. It’s always nice to score a bargain, but a below-market rent is often a sign of a scam.

“Their goal is to get your money before you find out the truth,” the agency says.

Renters have very little protection under federal, state or local laws. So to avoid being had, the FTC advises against wiring money to pay a security deposit, application fee or first month’s rent. “Wiring money is like sending cash,” the agency warns. “Once you send it, you can’t get it back.

Also, don’t pay before you sign a lease. Before paying, visit the apartment or ask someone you trust to visit on your behalf. Don’t be rushed, either. Ignore anyone pressuring you to make a quick decision.

Do some extra research to confirm the property exists, and get a copy of the lease and read it before signing and handing over your money.

Many landlords will want you to pay for a credit report, but you can obtain a truly free one from AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228. Always check your credit before applying for an apartment or rental house. If you have issues, better to find them yourself, rather than paying a landlord to do so.

New York’s Department of Financial Services recently sent a consumer alert to state residents about the dangers of rent-to-own deals, but the advice applies to everyone considering that path to homeownership -- not just those in the Empire State.

These arrangements rarely work out for the wannabe owners, but they are windfalls for the seller-landlords. Granted, some rent-to-own contracts are fair and equitable. But most are just backdoor deals that often prey on people who don’t have a big enough nest egg, or a high enough credit score, to meet normal lending standards.

One seller freely admits that half his tenants fail to meet the criteria set up in his contracts. And real estate guru John Reed reports that as many as 95 percent of all rent-to-own deals don’t make it to the finish line.

And if the deals fall through, the sellers reap the rewards. They get to pocket whatever overages the tenant might have paid to build equity in the house and use as an eventual down payment. Better yet, the sellers get to keep the house and put it back on the market for the next unsuspecting chump.

The hook, of course, is that the landlord will sell you the property a few years down the road, giving you time as a renter to build up enough cash for a down payment or to raise your credit score. But too often, the tenant fails to do one or both of those things before the lease expires, and ends up worse off than before.

Although rent-to-own programs “appear to offer a path to homeownership,” New York’s Superintendent of Financial Services Maria Vullo says in her alert, “these arrangements may impose harsh terms with little or no consumer protections.”

Reed agrees. By making a lease option that is likely never to be exercised by the tenant, he says, some sellers are pocketing thousands of dollars of the tenant’s money while “leaving the tenant out on the street with nothing -- no benefit from having paid all that extra front money and rent.”

All of the following points should be covered before you sign anything:

-- Price. The rent-to-own lease should spell out a fair selling price. From the tenant’s point of view, that would be what the place is worth at the time of lease-signing. But from the landlord’s side, the price would be its worth when the buying option is exercised. So find a middle ground, and set it now.

If the landlord is adamant about waiting to set a price until you use your option, so that he or she can take advantage of any appreciation, then at least agree -- in writing -- how that price will be determined. Maybe you can agree to use a certain appraiser, or each hire your own. Then, if there is a difference between the two valuations, you agree to split the difference.

-- Timing. Does two years, the typical length of a rent-to-own deal, give you enough time to improve your credit score and save for a down payment? Probably not. So make the lease as long as possible: five or six years, perhaps.

-- Rent. Be sure the rent is fair. Often, the seller will charge more than the going rate, under the assumption that you will eventually buy the place. Higher rents are supposed to compensate owners for keeping the house and paying the mortgage longer than if they had sold the place outright.

Some sellers also will charge an overage to be credited to your account as part of your down payment. So try to negotiate on the rent, and make certain that at least part, if not all, of the overage comes back to you if you fail to exercise your option to buy.

-- Maintenance. The lease should spell out who’s responsible for maintenance and improvements. Generally, the landlord is on the hook for fixing a balky furnace or malfunctioning air conditioning unit. But if you want to undertake a major kitchen remodel, it will probably be on your own dime.

If you can’t persuade the landlord to chip in now on something that will add value to the property, then try to get them to credit your account for some or all of the cost of the improvements when you move from tenant to buyer -- or when you move out.

Leases are required to provide basic consumer protections, but some rent-to-own outfits claim to offer a hybrid agreement -- part mortgage, part lease -- that doesn’t follow the same rules. Beware, says Vullo: “Before considering one of these agreements, consumers should carefully consider whether a traditional lease is a better option.”

Finally, check your state’s laws about the condition of rent-to-own properties. New York has found that some contracts impose the obligation to make repairs (and incur the substantial costs) solely on the tenant, whereas state law places the onus on the landlord.

New York tenant-buyers have certain legal rights if they pay for work that improves the house, and then fail to buy it. One comes under the common-law doctrine of “equitable mortgage,” which holds that tenant-buyers cannot be evicted if they fall behind on rent. Rather, they are entitled to the protections afforded under a foreclosure proceeding, because they’ve accumulated equity by paying rent and improving the property’s condition over time.

The law in your state may be different, so do your research and know your rights.

The mortgage business is ever evolving, with the great thinkers in the housing finance sector always trying to come up with a better mousetrap.

Most recently, at least four companies -- Finance of America, Longbridge Financial, One Reverse Mortgage and Reverse Mortgage Funding -- have rolled out proprietary home equity conversion mortgages to compete directly with reverse loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

In addition, Finance of America Mortgage and United Wholesale Mortgage have new, more favorable terms for locking down loan rates so they don’t climb beyond your limit before closing. Startup Remzy has a way to connect buyers with owners who don’t have their homes on the market yet. And HSH has new “decisioning” software that permits borrowers to easily compare the cost of low-down-payment FHA loans with similar conventional, privately insured mortgages.

Reverse mortgages, aka home equity conversion mortgages (HECM), allow homebuyers to withdraw 75 percent or so of the equity they have in their homes. There are no payments necessary until you move out for good or pass away. Then, lenders are repaid by selling the property on the open market.

Now, instead of being able to offer a single reverse mortgage product, lenders -- and their borrowers -- have choices.

The FHA HECM has some significant rules, such as limits on the amount or proceeds borrowers can withdraw, that the new entries seek to overcome. Each has different requirements, but provides more options for borrowers. For instance, all four of the new competitors offer borrowers access to up to $4 million of their homes’ equity, whereas the FHA loan limit is $679,650.

There are other differences, too. With its HomeSafe reverse product, Finance America allows borrowers to initially remove only 60 percent of their equity at closing. But they can take the remaining 40 percent in equal monthly payments over five years.

With most reverse mortgages, at least one of the borrowers must be at least 62 years old. But under Reverse Mortgage Funding’s Equity Edge loan, one borrower needs to be only 60 to qualify, and the company doesn’t charge an ordinarily expensive servicing fee to administer the loan.

HSH publishes mortgage and consumer loan information. Joining a complete suite of online calculators, HSH’s FHA calculator allows you to view the true cost of an FHA loan. Simply punch in some basic data -- interest rate, purchase price, down payment amount, fixed or adjustable rate, credit score etc. -- and the program will calculate all costs and compare them to those associated with a similar conventional loan.

Finance of America’s Lock and Live product ensures clients can lock in their quoted rate for a total of 90 days with a house address “to be determined.” While “lock-in” programs are not new, this version gives borrowers 60 days to shop for the house and then 30 more days to close on their loans.

The feature protects borrowers from paying a higher rate during periods when rates are rising. But should rates fall during the lock-in period, you can exercise a one-time “float down” option to grab the lower rate. You are protected either way.

A similar Lock and Shop option from United Wholesale Mortgage gives borrowers rate security for 60 or 90 days, their choice, and also protects them if rates should fall rather than rise.

Technology takes center stage with Remzy, a platform for agents to use with wannabe buyers who have spotted houses they like but that are not on the market. Remzy’s motto: Think outside the multiple listing service.

Once a potential residence is identified, the agent or the buyer starts the conversation by sending a “professional, yet personal” letter, via FedEx, to the owners telling them of your interest. When the owners receive the overnight package, they can enter a unique code online to view the offer’s details. If they accept or counter your offer, the conversation has begun, and further negotiations can proceed.

Finally, if you are tired of repeatedly losing houses to cash buyers, become one yourself. One outfit making that possible is FlyHomes, which operates in the Seattle area. When you are ready to bid on a house, you pay the company 5 percent of your bid and the company uses its credit lines to turn yours into an all-cash offer.

If yours is the winning bid, FlyHomes collects a 3 percent sales commission from the seller. It then sells the house to you whenever you obtain financing. And if that takes a while -- perhaps you still have to clean up your credit -- it will rent the house to you until you finally qualify.

At least two other startups, Ribbon and EasyKnock, offer similar programs. Ribbon charges buyers 1.95 percent of the purchase price, but the fee jumps to 2.95 for buyers who must rent their new homes until they find financing. Buyers can rent for up to a year.