Long term rental in Portugal

[AlanJones]

I’m trying to find an apartment to rent long term in Coimbra province. I found a beautiful apartment on the idealista website a few days ago and expressed an interest. Since then the advert has been taken down. I received an email yesterday however and my gutt is telling me it’s all to be good to be true? Having looked at other apartments for rent in the same area there seems to be a world of difference in price/quality etc. Any advice welcome.
Here is the email....

Hello ,

I regret my late reply, but now I am in Spain, in Barcelona, and I was very busy at work. Anyway, thank you for your interest in renting my house.
The monthly rental price is € 500 (the price includes: water, gas and electricity) and the deposit is € 500 (one month deposit). I am the owner of the house and since I do not go back to Portugal I want to rent it. The house is in perfect condition, with no need for additional repairs.
The house has furniture, but I can remove it if you want. (the house is as seen in the photos)

Here are the pictures of the house:

https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-JJx4cP

The address of the house is: R. Maestro David de Sousa 78, 3080-153 Figueira da Foz

In principle, I have a few questions:
How many people stay at home?
- How long do you want to stay?
"Do you have a job or are you a student?"
- How do you pay the rent?

So if you are interested in renting my house, please email me for more details.

Really would appreciate any guidance on this?
Thankyou.

Hayley

[AlanJones]

It is almost certainly a scam. The scammer will claim that he has no way of showing the property, but will suggest using someone like AirBnB as an escrow company (a service they don't provide) to hold your rent while he sends you the keys.

Thankyou for your reply. I received an email yesterday saying exactly that.
Apparently he was living in Spain but we could use Airbnb etc. Needless to say I have left this situation well alone. Who do you report these things to?
Regards
Hayley