This scam also has another "flavour" and is rife in the UK too -I watched BBC's Watchdog last week :-). The potential landlord/lady asks you to transfer money via Western Union, to someone you know, just to "prove you have the funds" and send a copy of the transfer to him/her. Of course they then summon up a fake id and go and withdraw the dosh. Check out the BBC Wathdog website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/...sfer_trap.html