Talking to my daughter yesterday. Her and boyfriend looking for a small house to rent in downstate Illinois. Tour the property, turn in an application (with an associated fee) then when they inquire the next day or day after are told, “sorry, the house was just rented.” Happened to them 4-6 times over the past week.
Feels like the realtor or whoever is handling the rental process is collecting application fees from a group of prospective customers when in reality the property may (or may not) already be rented, or at least in the final stages. Don't know if it's illegal, but at a minimum very unethical.