License to Sell in the Philippines: How to Verify Projects and Avoid Costly Property Scams

In the Philippine property market, the most expensive mistake isn’t overpaying—it’s buying something that legally shouldn’t have been sold in the first place. Every year, buyers lose millions to projects that lack permits, agents who aren’t accredited, or developments that never get completed.

The simplest protection is also the most overlooked: verify the License to Sell (LTS) before you pay a single peso.

What a License to Sell Actually Means

A License to Sell is issued by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD). It authorizes a developer to market and sell subdivision lots or condominium units to the public.

To obtain an LTS, the developer must already have:

• Approved development permits

• Clear land title (or legal authority over the land)

• Project plans that meet regulatory standards

In practical terms, an LTS tells you this:the project has passed minimum legal and documentary checks and is allowed to be sold.

No LTS? Then the project cannot legally be sold yet, regardless of how attractive the pricing or payment terms look.

Why This Matters More in 2026

With developers becoming more cautious and some projects being delayed, the market has seen a rise in:

• Early marketing of projects before permits are complete

• Smaller or lesser-known developers trying to raise cash quickly

• “Soft launches” that blur the line between reservation and illegal selling

This is where buyers get exposed. Paying a reservation fee or signing a contract for a project without an LTS can leave you with limited legal protection if things go wrong.

How to Verify a License to Sell (Step-by-Step)

Verification is not complicated, but it requires discipline. Don’t rely on screenshots, brochures, or verbal assurances.

1. Ask for the LTS Number

Every legitimate project has a unique LTS number. It should appear in:

• Ads and marketing materials

• Reservation documents

• Developer disclosures

If the agent avoids giving it, that’s already a warning sign.

2. Check Directly with DHSUD

Go to the official DHSUD website or contact their regional office. Many projects are listed in their database.

You’re looking to confirm:

• Project name matches exactly

• Developer name is correct

• Status is “active” or valid

If you can’t find it, treat the project as unverified until proven otherwise.

3. Match the Details—Not Just the Name

Scams often reuse names of legitimate projects or developers.

Make sure:

• Location (city/barangay) matches

• Phase or tower number is correct

• Developer entity is the same (not a similar-sounding company)

Small discrepancies matter.

4. Verify the Developer and Agent

Even if the project has an LTS, you should still check:

• Is the agent accredited by the developer?

• Are they licensed under the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) as a broker or salesperson?

A licensed project can still be mis-sold by unauthorized individuals.

Common Red Flags to Watch For

Certain patterns show up repeatedly in problematic deals:

“Pre-selling but no LTS yet” Developers sometimes claim permits are “in process.” That’s not enough. Selling before LTS issuance is not allowed.

Too-good-to-be-true pricing Deep discounts tied to urgency (“last 10 units today”) often pressure buyers into skipping due diligence.

Reservation-first, documents-later approach You’re asked to pay immediately, with promises that paperwork will follow.

Inconsistent project details Different brochures or agents giving conflicting information about the same property.

Unregistered or “colorum” agents These individuals may disappear once issues arise.

What Happens If You Buy Without an LTS?

This is where the real risk lies.

Without an LTS:

• Your contract may be legally questionable

• Project completion is less certain

• Refunds can become difficult and time-consuming

• Legal recourse exists—but requires effort, time, and cost

Even if you eventually recover your money, the opportunity cost and stress can be significant.

How This Applies to Different Buyers

For First-Time Buyers

Focus on safety over price. A slightly more expensive unit in a compliant project is far less risky than a cheap but questionable deal.

For Investors

If you’re targeting pre-selling, treat LTS verification as non-negotiable due diligence. Your returns depend not just on price, but on project completion and legal validity.

For OFWs

Because you often rely on agents and remote transactions, verification becomes even more critical. Always request documents and confirm independently—never rely solely on representatives.

Practical Rule: No LTS, No Payment

In today’s market, the smartest discipline is simple:

Do not reserve, pay, or sign anything without a verified License to Sell.

There will always be another opportunity—but recovering from a bad one is far harder.

The Philippine real estate market still offers strong long-term opportunities, but it also requires more careful navigation. A License to Sell is not just a formality—it’s your first line of defense against costly mistakes.

In a market where projects are launching cautiously and buyers are more selective, those who verify first—and pay later—are the ones who stay protected.

Source: Ziggurat Real Estate

Over 60% of Filipinos targeted by financial scams

Over 60% of Filipino adults experience financial scams each year, with attempts happening nearly every other day and average losses per person amounting to nearly P12,000, according to a survey.

The State of Scams in the Philippines 2025 Report, which is based on a survey conducted by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) in collaboration with Mastercard and Whoscall, said 65% of the 1,000 respondents claimed to have been scammed from February 2024 to February 2025, with each victim experiencing an average of 2.3 scams.

Meanwhile, 77% said they encountered a scam in the period for an average of 239 scam attempts per year.

Some 31% of the respondents said they lost an average of P11,896.30 per person to scams, with a total of P280.5 billion stolen for the period.

The GASA said that e-wallets (74%) are typically used by fraudsters to receive illicit proceeds of fraudulent activities, followed by wire or bank transfers (14%).

“When nearly one in three Filipinos loses money to a scam, it’s not just a digital safety issue. It’s a household stability issue. People are cutting back on daily needs, doubting the tools they rely on, and carrying the emotional weight long after the scam is over.

Solving this requires partners working together instead of fighting the problem in silos,” GASA Asia-Pacific Director Brian D. Hanley said in a statement.

The report showed that scams involving investments (65%), unexpected money (64%), and shopping (58%) were the most prevalent type of attacks experienced by Filipino adults.

The GASA said 85% of scam attempts in the Philippines in the period occurred on platforms that have a direct message function, with the top channels being used by scammers being text/SMS message (75%), instant messaging apps (50%), and social media (50%).

“Facebook and Telegram were identified as the top platforms where scams occur, while TikTok and Instagram were the hardest places for victims to immediately recognize fraudulent activity,” it added.

“The study also highlighted who is most vulnerable. Gen Z consumers were found to be the least confident in spotting scams, while Millennials lost the most money on average, at over P14,000 each. Seniors in the Silent Generation (76%) and residents in suburban areas (72%) reported the highest prevalence of scam exposure.”

However, even as they encountered several scams, only 73% of victims said they report these attempts, with 59% of these people saying that either no action was taken (40%) or they aren’t sure what the outcome was (19%).

“No loss of money is the main reason scam encounters don’t get reported,” the GASA said. “Being unsure whom to report scams to was the main reason for not reporting encounters.”

“Almost three quarters reported their scam to the payment service, and one tenth said their money was at least partially recovered,” it added.

Almost half of those scammed said it impacted their well-being (48%), and the majority said it made them feel stressed (88%).

While this resulted in increased vigilance for about half (57%), others had to reduce normal spending behavior (23%) or take on additional debt or loans (20%).

In a sign of improving financial literacy, the survey found that 98% of Filipinos said they take at least one step to check if an offer is real or a scam by checking a brand or seller’s social media page, reading online reviews, or confirming activity on official accounts.

“However, experts warn that these surface-level checks can only go so far, as scammers are increasingly able to clone profiles, fabricate engagement metrics, and mimic verified pages to appear credible. Hence, combatting scammers is not an issue that should fall on consumers alone, but should be supported by the ecosystem at large,” the GASA said. “This calls for an effort among banks, digital platforms, telecom operators, and regulators to improve protections for ordinary consumers.”

It said that to empower consumers, authorities should launch permanent national campaigns to raise scam awareness, establish national helplines for scam victims, and create integrated victim support systems offering financial, legal, and psychological help.

They should also take steps to create a safer digital world by building infrastructural protections with telecoms and tech providers to block scams before they reach consumers and  improving fraud traceability across borders by requiring transparency from sellers, platforms, and payment providers.

“As scams grow more sophisticated, they are no longer isolated incidents — they are a perpetual digital threat, inflicting both financial loss and social trauma. Protecting Filipinos requires systemic cooperation between industries and government to restore trust in the digital economy,” Mastercard Philippines Country Manager Jason Crasto said.

Source: Business World

Airbnb scams: criminal activity on big tech platforms

Big tech sharing economy platforms like Airbnb and Uber are marketed as trustworthy, but a new book by a South African media scholar argues that they are highly vulnerable to scammers who spread delusive speech (a form of disinformation, designed to deceive by criminal intent).

Julie Reid draws from first-hand accounts and over 600 cases from around the world of victims lured into scams or physical danger by fake Airbnb reviews and listings, providing a detailed case study. We asked her five questions about her book.

HOW DO THE SCAMS WORK?

Airbnb is the world’s largest accommodation-sharing platform. It connects property owners who want to rent out their homes with travelers looking for alternatives to traditional hotels. The company recently expanded its offering and now facilitates the booking of other services like personal trainers or caterers along with accommodation rentals.

Airbnb scams happen in several ways. The most obvious is the phantom listing scam. The scammer constructs a fake but attractive listing on Airbnb and accepts payments from unsuspecting guests. It’s only when guests arrive at the address that they discover the property doesn’t exist. Scammers have also learned to navigate around Airbnb’s review system. Fake positive reviews are produced by scam host networks, making them appear to be authentic.

Bait and switch scams are also common. Here the scam “host” contacts the guest on check-in day claiming the reserved property is suddenly unavailable. They offer alternative accommodation, which the guest later discovers is not as good as the original property they’ve paid for (which is often fictional). The guest pays for a premium rental but is forced to stay in a property that might be unsafe, unclean, or missing amenities.

Scam hosts use misleading, plagiarized, or artificial intelligence (AI)-generated property images and fake descriptions along with fake personal profiles and aliases.

Delusive tactics also redirect guests away from the secure Airbnb payment portal to alternative payment methods. The scammer disappears with the money.

But the danger isn’t limited to financial crimes. The platform’s business model is premised on staying in a stranger’s private property, which can put guests’ personal safety at risk.

Criminal hosts can lure targets into dangerous environments. Once checked in, guests are isolated from public view, housed in a property to which the host has access.

I’ve assessed multiple cases where Airbnb guests were assaulted, robbed with no signs of forced entry, raped, murdered, made victims of sexploitation, extortion or human trafficking, or held hostage.

HOW DOES THE DISINFORMATION WORK?

I consider delusive speech a subset of disinformation because it presents intentionally misleading content at scale. But it differs from disinformation in its intentions. It isn’t done to promote a particular cause or gain ideological, military, or political advantage. Delusive speech is motivated purely by criminal intent or nefarious financial gain.

Delusive speech works by hiding in plain sight on platforms we think we can trust, like Airbnb, Booking.com, Uber, and others. Often, it’s indistinguishable from honest and genuine content. When users browse Airbnb listings for holiday accommodation, they’re presented with numerous options. A fake property listing looks, sounds, and feels exactly the same as a genuine one.

This happens on a platform that has built its brand narrative around the concept of trust. Scammers exploit these digital contexts of pre-established trust. When users log on to popular e-commerce or sharing economy platforms, they’re already primed to pay for something. It becomes relatively easy for scammers to delude targets into parting with their money.

WHAT CAN AIRBNB DO ABOUT IT?

Airbnb already has several trust and safety mechanisms in place. They include rapid response teams, an expert Trust and Safety Advisory Coalition and travel insurance for guests. The company claims to be trying to stop fake listings with machine learning technology.

Sadly, none of these mechanisms work perfectly. While Airbnb promises to verify properties and host identities, my analysis exposes flaws in these systems. Scammers easily bypass verification tiers through aliases, forged documents and AI-generated material. Airbnb has admitted it needs to address the failures of its verification processes.

My analysis uncovered how scammed guests are routinely denied the opportunity to post reviews of problematic rentals. Opaque terms of service and content policies allow Airbnb customer service agents and executives to justify censoring negative but honest guest reviews.

This means dangerous and fraudulent activity goes publicly unreported and unreviewed, leaving future guests vulnerable. I argue that Airbnb’s review curation mechanisms should be revamped according to internationally recognized human rights frameworks that protect freedom of speech. This would allow for more honest accounts of guest experiences and create a safer online environment.

Perhaps the most common complaint I encountered was that Airbnb doesn’t remove offending listings from its platform, even after a scammed guest provides evidence that the listing was posted by a fraudster. Airbnb must develop an urgent protocol for swiftly removing offending listings when discovered, to protect future guests from falling victim to the same scam trap.

WHAT CAN USERS DO TO PROTECT THEMSELVES?

Travelers can protect themselves by being extra cautious. Ask around. Seek recommendations from people you know and trust, and who can verify that the property you are booking actually exists and that the host is trustworthy.

If that isn’t an option, consider an established hotel instead, but book directly with the hotel and not via third party sites like Booking.com where listings can easily be faked. Check on Google Street View to make sure the property is where it claims to be.

Either way, have a Plan B in case things go wrong. Prepare ahead of your trip by deciding what you will do if you find yourself in an unsafe situation. And always, always, buy travel insurance.

IS IT PART OF A BIGGER PROBLEM?

I assessed several digitally initiated scam categories in this book. While my main case study focused on Airbnb, the problem of delusive speech online isn’t unique to this platform. Delusive speech is now carried by all major tech platforms integral to everyday life. In the book, I also highlight how scammers operate in every corner of the internet, including dating apps like Grindr, Tinder and Hinge; ride-sharing services like Uber, Lyft, and Bolt; travel sites like Booking.com and Hotels.com; and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, among others.

I hope that these examples will boost awareness of the risks of using these apps and sites.

Julie Reid is a professor at the University of South Africa.

Source: Business World