If they really wanted to rent the apartment, they’d enlist a local person to show it.
Marley23, yes, it is a scam. Prowl the rental / roommate parts of Craigslist, as I have been doing recently looking for a roommate, and you’ll find many just like this. They’re so similar that it looks like a 'bot or something writing them. Usually it’s a woman, foreign country, wants to take the place sight unseen, can’t or won’t communicate by phone, “I trust you”, etc.
There’s been a somewhat similar scam operating in the UK rental market recently.
Over there, the scammers ask the marks to send a payment through Western Union, not to the scammers, but to themselves or to a trusted friend of relative. Then, the mark is asked to scan the WU receipt as proof of good faith.
Of course, the next step is for the scammers to take the scan and some fake ID to the Western Union office, and walk away with the cash.
Moderator Note:
Please start a new thread about the writing skills of engineers. This one is discussing a scam.
Thank you.
samclem Moderator, General Questions