My g/f and I used VRBO to rent an apartment in Rome, Italy two years ago.
We booked it 6 months in advance with no issues.... HOWEVER, the same apartment was still being advertised, on Air BnB, with our dates showing as available but, with a higher price.
We figured that the renter was going to cancel our reservation if he got someone else to take the apartment at the higher price.
I emailed Air B&B and VRBO explaining the situation and said we must all work together to prevent scams.
The next day, the Air B&B listing showed the apartment as being booked.
Between the time we booked and arrived, we communicated a lot with the rental management company in Rome.
They sent us the House Rules PDF and a list of things to do and restaurants in the area.. this made us feel more confident.
We were worried that, when we finally arrived in Rome, that the apartment was going to be a fake... luckily it wasn't and we had a great time.
The g/f's family rents a house on the Jersey Shore every summer.
One listing, on VRBO, was for a beautiful and very large house that was in our price range so, we sent a request for our dates.
We received an email from someone who wanted us to wire transfer the full amount, in advance, to somewhere in India!!!
Needless to say, we reserved a different house and reported the incident to VRBO.
The listing was removed a few days later.
I have to add that we've used VRBO several times without any issues.
I asked him if he had a contract and he said no but he tells people to just take a picture of the check and his address on the envelope 
WTF
