I have had the same experience. I got this number (708-357-4169) from an email exchange with a potential landlord for a house for rent in Atlanta, looking for a "god-fearing" family to rent his house. It's a total scam.
Be careful, this is a scam. This guy was trying to rent a property in San Jose, CA. The rental posting for the following house : 5540 Dartmouth Drive, San Jose. The guy called himself Thomasa Turney.
Re: Lead for 5540 Dartmouth Drive, San Jose, CA 95118 on hot pads (www.hotpads.com)
He is of course requesting money to send you the keys by mail but his wife wants to be sure that you are a honest renter.
Please be careful!
I agree this is a scam. I researched the house in question for rent. Same deal $600 deposit then they will mail the keys. Interestingly, they offered to send the key first so I can check out the house. The rest was the same. Bad grammar. "God-fearing" tenants wanted. What gave this away was it was in a gated community in Tom's River, NJ. I only got thru asking for the broker on the property. The house's neighbor told me that the recent owner was a 90 year old American woman who died the past month. When the scammer called again, I asked about the woman. He answered in a young foreign voice (Haitian?) that it was his wife. I told him that in this country someone meets you with a key and prepares a lease. He said he was on a mission in Texas, but he would mail the key. When it seems too good to be true....
These people tried to get me to send $700 via mail in exchange for keys to a house that wasn't even for rent, the house was for sale. They stole the real listing and duplicated it with their own information. Once I called the realtor they told me they had already reported the fake ad on Trulia. They used the name Theodorah Ferguson in the email and then they called me at least three times. Very bad connection, sounded like an African man that couldn't speak English very well. The number traced to Ilinois.