Is it safe to rent a vacation home in NYC through Craiglist?

I tried to book an NYC apartment via Criagslist but the person who replied seemed very sketchy. I googled the person's email address and mobile number and found out it was a scam.

Best way to protect yourself is ask if your friend in NYC (doesn't matter if you don't have a friend there) can go check out the apartment. If they say no or stop replying emails, you'll know.

Also, never make payment by Moneygram or Western Union. Best to do it via bank transfer or Paypal.

As a general rule of thumb, if the offer is too good to be true, something's up. You could try www.roomarama.com or www.airbnb.com

Good luck!

Lots of people advertise rentals on craigslist and probably over 99% are legitimate.

But I have heard some stories about scammers advertising non-existent properties, collecting a deposit, then "poof".

Owners place ads so they can avoid the realtors fees so there is nothing at all suspicious about advertising on craigslist. You might want to investigate a little first.

Try using Google maps street view to see if the place pictured actually exists at that address. Then go to the city's site and find out who the owner of the property is, this is public information.

Be careful.