Protecting Short-Term Rental Deposit as an International Student

Hi there, I would appreciate some advice on renting from a private landlord as someone who is paranoid about scam.

I live in the UK and am moving to New Haven, CT in August to attend university for the semester. I need a short term place to stay and have found a room in an apartment through a website called Furnished Finder.

Green Flags:

• The name of the person I've been speaking to matches the city's ownership records
• I have the email, telephone, home address, and LinkedIn of the person which I've Googled and check out
• The property is listed on AirBnB (which I will not book through) and has 3 reviews from legitimate users
• The landlord is verified on Furnished Finder and AirBnB
• I did a FaceTime tour and the apartment matches the photos

Red Flags:

• None?

I know rule number one is to view the property in person but this is not an option for me. They're asking for half a month's rent as a refundable deposit ($700) and the first month's rent when I'm at the property. They suggested Zelle, Paypal, bank transfer, or wire transfer (absolutely not) to make the payment.

I suppose my questions are, how legit is this sounding? How can I protect my deposit in the case things go awry? In the UK we have a scheme for protecting rental deposits, but nothing similar exists in CT.

Appreciate your time!

submitted by /u/badgalry
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/1cx2jmf/protecting_shortterm_rental_deposit_as_an/