Alternative stay in New York City

When I booked the accomodation for mum and I to stay in New York I booked it through a new website I had heard about called crashpadders.com. This website allows people to rent out their unused bedroom, couch, or apartment on a short term basis and some conveniently located accomodations can be obtained at economical prices and you can skip the hotel environment for a while.
I think it is a great idea. In today's economic climate there are many people looking to make dollars from what they aren't using. It is almost a bit like couchsurfing but with dollars involved, both use a system of references.
Unfortunately the system didn't work out for mum and I. We chose a new 'host' (one without references)... But hey, I was new and without references too. I submitted the online booking request for this apartment in Manhattan, and the host accepted. In booking with crashpadders if your request is accepted they (crashpadders) take a deposit at the time of acceptance, the balance to be paid on arrival.
But, strangley, I got an email from the host instructing me to pay the balance to him via Western Union. I gave it some thought and wrote back to say that by doing so I would have no safety net and so I would pay him on arrival as per the original agreement. He wrote to me again demanding that I pay the money in advance, and in this email the tone was horrible.
I forwarded his demand to crashpadders. They agree that he did not seem trustworthy and advised that they would refund my deposit and close his account. Prior to recieving the response from crashpadders we had already decided we wouldnt be staying in this guys house. I tried to call him to tell him so but he had given a false phone number. Mum and I made plans for a hotel instead.
It was unfortunate that I picked a dodgy one as I do believe that crashpadders is a great idea and I intend to give it another try in the future.
Interestingly, I just met someboby else with a similar story. She found accomodation for her New York stay on Craigs List. Her host asked that she pay $850 via Western Union in advance. She did, and was left standing on a New York street with her luggage, two elderly aunts, and no host. The host never showed and she realized she had been scammed out of $850 and needed to find alternative accomodation.
I guess the moral of this story is that if you want to stay short term somewhere other that the regular hotel type options then go through an official booking service, and follow their advice. It didn't work out for me this time but crashpadders.com did the right thing when advised of the goings on. Like I said, I intend to try again in the future.