Thank you for your comment on my blog.

There are two different types of vacation rental scams. Once is the ‘guest’ who attempts to book a property, sends a larger amount of money than is required and asks for the difference to be refunded. The second is the ‘owner’ that advertises a property that does not exist, or one that has been cloned from a legitimate listing. My post focused on the first type and your question is related to the second. My advice would be to never respond to an ad that requires money to be wired since this is a hallmark of vacation rental scams. Use either a legitimagely registered agency or a well establised listing site. Check Trip Advisor for reviews on the property and get into contact with the owner of the property by phone and email. Always remember that if a rental rate looks too good to be true, it probably is. Owners who rent out their properties in a professional manner will usually have a web site, Facebook page and/or a Twitter account so if all you can find is a listing on Craig’s List or other free site, be very wary.