This comes from MSN Karen Aho article I thought I would share.

The scam is as old as desire itself: sell a "super" product at a "low price," then make off with the cash as the victim discovers he's been left with a fake bill of goods.

Now, with a slow economy and more Americans in need of affordable housing, the age-old ploy is rife in the rental market. The rental scam comes in several variations, but it typically follows the same basic recipe: A con artist finds a property, pretends to be the owner, lists it online, then communicates with the would-be renter and takes a cash deposit.

The renter is left with nothing or ends up squatting on someone else's vacant property while paying "rent" to a fraudster, all unbeknownst to the property's real owner.