Need advice: moving to SF, apartment deposit

I'm moving from out of state to SF soon and am trying to lock down an apartment. I have been talking to a company in Chinatown, Oakland called 4CH about a place they had posted online. They are asking that I send the deposit + 1st month's rent directly to their bank account.

I can be pretty suspicious, so this almost sounds scammy to me. I'm used to giving deposits via check; I'm worried about being taken for a ride and not being able to trace the transaction and get my money back if it's a con. Just wondering if this is standard practice out in CA or if anyone has dealt with this company before.

So far they have responded to e-mails and calls and they are faxing a contract, but only because I explicitly slowed the process down and was like "uhh yeah...aren't there usually applications and paperwork to fill out?"

Thanks for any advice!