The very first email from the "landlord" would tell me it was a scam. Maybe it's just because I've been doing things on the internet from before the web was a thing, but that's a pretty obvious scam.
The whole "I'm working away from my usual home city on oil/mining/gas projects in (HARD TO REACH LOCATION)" thing is at least 20 years old now for scams.
Maybe. Real estate is weird, full of odd personalities, third parties, bizarre business practices.
My first NYC apartment I left the broker feeling 90% sure I had been scammed. But all of the things that seemed weird to me were actually fairly normal and indeed I had the place. In big cities where rentals are big business, the unusual is pretty usual.
My first real job I got from a recruiter who reached out with an email of broken English and different fonts/colors. Turned out to be a huge legitimate company.
Were it not for them saying they would be in town to sign the lease and accept payment, I would agree with you. If not for that, I would call this an unusual arrangement, but not 100% a scam.
My rule though is to never put down money down, except for a reasonable application fee, on a place I can’t physically see the inside of, in the company of someone with a key. That would have stopped me from going ahead with the deal altogether, and it stops 99% of all rental scams.
This is a great rule but there are rental scams where they rent the place to show you, eventually give you a copy of the key and the place was never for rent.
Check broker's credentials, do property records searches, be diligent, particularly when dealing with an independent owner.
The whole "I'm working away from my usual home city on oil/mining/gas projects in (HARD TO REACH LOCATION)" thing is at least 20 years old now for scams.