So you’ve found the perfect vacation rental for an amazingly low price. You contact the owner of the property and, unbelievably, the price shown on Craigslist is correct and the unit is available for the dates you need. The owner was a bit hard to reach, but he travels all over the world for business (and of course he does—who else but a successful international businessperson could afford such a house in such a location to begin with?).

Payment is arranged by wire transfer (a little unusual, you think, but again—world traveler business type, right? He probably has reasons for his preferences, and they’ve obviously served him well, right?).

You make your payment and pack for your vacation, still not quite believing the deal you’re getting. Oceanfront! And that pool…

You arrive at the property on a Sunday morning and are delighted to find it looks even better than the pictures. You ring the doorbell to be greeted by…the permanent residents of the house, who aren’t renting it out to anyone, and who are wondering why there are a bunch of weird people with suitcases at their front door.

You’ve been taken in by a classic vacation rental scam, and good luck getting your money (that you wired to a stranger) back. What could you have done differently?

First, you could have been more wary of a price that’s too good to be true. There’s no real reason for the owner of a rental property in an extremely popular location to offer a huge discount as long as that demand exists.

Now, I’m not a huge fan of Craigslist for finding vacation rentals, but I’m also not a huge fan of Craigslist in the first place due to the overall potential for fraud. I’m sure there are plenty of legitimate rental listings. However, Craigslist should not be the only place the property is listed. Check vacation rental websites in the area and make sure the property is represented elsewhere as available.

The owner being hard to reach or unresponsive is a red flag. If the entire conversation takes place via email, that’s also suspect. There should always be a phone number with a name attached to it that you can verify with a search. A legitimate business should want to be easy to find and reach. If you find yourself leaving a message every single time you call, that can be another sign of trouble.

Finally, the unusual payment method is a warning that something is not right. You should never wire money to a stranger for any reason. Some rental scammers request that you purchase gift cards and pay by relaying the card information to them. Don’t do it. You want a payment method that leaves paper trail and has some fraud protection, and you want a buffer between the transaction and your deposit (checking/savings) account. In other words, if you can’t pay with a credit card, look elsewhere.