I just spoke with a woman in the Midwest who was nearly taken by one of these scams, and surprisingly blessed by it, sort of. It's a woman with special needs kids who has been abandoned by her doctor husband who has been able to hide his income in order to avoid child support (apparently he gets almost nothing as salary, but his assistant gets paid a lot, and she happens to be his new wife). The abandoned woman just received notice that her home has been foreclosed and she has to be out by Christmas eve. Due to bankruptcy, finding a place that will take her has been difficult, but her hopes were high with a low-cost place she found listed online. It seemed perfect and the "owner" in distant Texas was ready to give it to her once she wired a deposit to him. 

When she drove by to check it out, she noticed that the home was for sale, which raised some doubts. When she called a real estate agent to ask if that meant trouble, this common scam was explained to her. The bonus blessing came when the agent also explained that the requirement to move out by Dec. 24 was not absolute, and that she did not have to move until there was a formal eviction notice, and that many times even in a foreclosed home in that State people are able to continue living in their homes for many months. Of course,  there are some other factors to consider (see Nolo's Foreclosure Timeline). For example, if you overstay and force the owner to sue to evict you, that will become part of your public record and may be far more harmful than bankruptcy in making future landlords unwilling to rent to you. But the woman feels blessed to have learned that she may have a few more months, thanks to the events triggered by the scam. Interesting.