A check for more than the rent arrived and the sender wants the difference back: is it a scam?

How the scam usually runs

The FTC describes fake check scams this way: a stranger sends you a check for more than they owe you and asks you to send some back. The same pattern hits landlords in a few forms. A "tenant" who has never seen the unit sends a deposit check that is too large. A prospective renter says the extra covers moving costs. Someone says their employer paid the wrong amount and asks you to return the difference.

• The sender has not seen the unit or has seen it only in photos.
• The amount is more than the deposit or the first month's rent.
• You are asked to refund the extra quickly, by wire, gift card, or a money app.
• The sender is in a hurry and says it is an emergency or a work trip.

Why it works even when the money appears

The FTC page says fake checks can look just like real ones, even to bank employees, and that seeing funds in your account does not mean the check is good. A fake can take weeks to be found. When the bank finds it, the check is reversed, and the page says you are stuck paying the money back to the bank. The money you sent to the scammer is gone.

Example a made-up landlord gets a $3,400 check for a $1,700 deposit and is asked to wire back $1,700. The $3,400 shows in the account on Tuesday. The landlord wires $1,700 on Wednesday. The check is found fake on the following Monday and reversed. The landlord is out $1,700 and owes the bank for the whole check, and has no deposit.

Rules that keep you safe

1. Never refund an overpayment until the check has cleared, not just posted, and ask your bank how to tell the difference.
2. Ask for the exact amount instead. If a check comes in for more, return the whole check to the sender and ask for a new one for the right amount.
3. Do not refund by wire, gift card, cryptocurrency or a money app. Refund by the same route in, to a confirmed account of the real tenant.
4. Do not hand over keys or the unit before the funds are verified.
5. If you already sent money, act fast: call the wire company or the issuer, and report it to the FTC, the US Postal Inspection Service and your state attorney general, which are the places the FTC page lists.

What "cleared" means

Banks must make deposited funds available quickly, but that is a rule about when you can use the money, not about whether the check is good. Ask your bank for the date by which a fake check would normally have been found, and wait past it. For a large cashier's check, ask the bank to confirm it with the issuing bank by calling a number you look up yourself, never the number printed on the check.

How DoorKeeping handles it

Rent goes straight to your own bank, and DoorKeeping holds none of it. Anything involving money, such as a refund, waits for your one-tap approval, so a refund request is a decision you make on purpose, not one a message can trigger. Deposits that do not match a tenant and an exact amount stay unmatched in your bank feed, which makes an odd, oversized payment easy to spot.

Sources

1. FTC: How To Spot, Avoid, and Report Fake Check Scams (June 2025), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

Why does a fake check show up in my account?

Banks have to release deposited funds quickly, but a fake can take weeks to be found. The money you can see is not proof the check is good.

Can I keep the extra if the sender never asks for it back?

Not safely. If the check is later reversed, the whole amount comes back out of your account. Return the check and ask for the right amount.

Where do I report it?

The FTC lists the FTC itself, the US Postal Inspection Service and your state attorney general.