How do I find out if this craigslist-posted vacation rental is a scam?

• We are trying to reserve a vacation rental in Key West FL that has set off some red flags as to its legitimacy. What question can we ask the contact person to help figure out if this is a legitimate rental or a scam? We found a very affordable vacation rental in Key West via craigslist and I don't know how to tell if this is a legitimate rental or a scam. We've been asked to wire money via WesternUnion or MoneyGram to a person in Colorado. The contact number for the property's representative is an Ohio area code. The property listing on the What could we ask this person on the phone to get some insight into whether a) having our money is going to vanish and b) we show up in Key West and find out we have no place to stay? I asked http://ask.metafilter.com/270347/Lodging-options-in-the-Florida-Keys-late-December last month about finding a Florida Keys vacation rental during the holidays. It has been extremely difficult, so much so that we've been putting Plan B (staying on the mainland) into place. However, a few days ago I found http://keys.craigslist.org/vac/4760086781.html and emailed the lister. They responded asking to respond with a real email address, which we did, and they did in turn (well, "real" as in more than an anonymized craigslist address). The property is available for the dates we want at $100/night. This is very under market for this area at this time. The rep. for this house/scam wants us to send money via Western Union or Moneygram to a woman in Colorado. We asked for the rep's number, and she provided it, a cell phone in Newark, OH. The Monroe County Florida website lists the property as being owned by a couple in Virginia. Obviously this reads like a laundry list of red flags, but I think there is a reasonable if not more likely possibility this is just a not very sophisticated rental service being done by out-of-state people. What could we ask this person on the phone to help us fully identify if this thing is legitimate or a scam?

• Answer:

  Sounds like a scam. There's another (perhaps more legitimate) listing http://www.vacationrentalskeywest.com/Unit/Details/82057, with a higher rate. I have no relation to the property or the other site, so proceed on your own advisement.