Emerald Coast By Owner launches a True Ownership Verification Guarantee in Panama City Beach, Florida, verifying property ownership and offering reimbursement protection as rental scams rise nationwide, per FTC data.

Destin, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - September 22, 2026) -  Emerald Coast By Owner (ECBYO) has announced its True Ownership Verification Guarantee (TOVG), a new consumer safety verification process for qualifying vacation rentals. The guarantee launches first in Panama City Beach, Florida, where the company will verify property ownership and offer reimbursement protection in move seeks to address a cybercrime trend that, according to Federal Trade Commission statistics, impacted 65,000 individuals in the past 6 years.

Emerald Coast By Owner Introduces Consumer Safety Verification Amid Rising Scams

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More information is available at https://www.emeraldcoastbyowner.com/florida/panama-city-beach

In a deep-dive on the topic, City National Bank explored the typical timeline of a rental property scam, explaining that scammers may begin by copying photos, descriptions, and Google Maps data in order to spoof popular listings on major booking sites. From there, the duplicate listings, which typically offer very low prices or limited-time offers, can be used to pull travelers onto unverified payment processing platforms.

The impact of these scams has already been staggering; FTC reporting shows over $65 million in unrecoverable losses since 2020. Meanwhile, as outlined in a WHEC report, AI tools can be used to accelerate the process of creating these fake listings and even impersonate real individuals such as landlords and property managers using publicly available data.

ECBYO's existing practices already work to counter these tactics; the company vets hosts and verifies listings across Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, and encourages guests to communicate with owners through official channels rather than third-party messaging apps. The new guarantee builds on a commitment to transparency that has guided the company since 2016, when it set out to reduce unnecessary traveler fees in the vacation rental market.

The True Ownership Verification Guarantee reflects ECBYO's ongoing effort to keep direct booking straightforward and transparent for travelers across the Gulf Coast. As rental fraud continues to draw regulatory attention, the company plans to expand verification protections to additional markets in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.

Verified listings on the platform make up a catalog of over 10,000 properties across all five Gulf Coast states, all of which can be sorted by location, pet-friendliness, capacity, and beach proximity. Those interested in reading more about the company's direct-to-owner booking model should visit the link below to read more.

More information is available at https://www.emeraldcoastbyowner.com

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