How Child Care Providers and Parents Can be Swindled

There's no ESC key in real life (that'd be way too easy), so educate yourself on ploys some scammers use.

The emails seemed legit. The families seemed genuinely desperate. The nannies seemed responsible. But in the end, someone was still out a ton of money. That almost sounds like some twisted new-age crime novel (okay, a bad one), but sadly, it can be real life for users of any online service.

There are different variations of scams circulating online babysitting communities, so here are a few ways that scammers can try to swindle online users.

OVERSEAS SWINDLE

The scammer poses as an overseas family looking for a nanny to relocate from the US. After building trust through several back-and-forth emails, the family offers the nanny the job and offers to pay 60% of the nanny's travel expenses to relocate. The nanny must wire her 40% share to the overseas family, who promises to then purchase the nanny's ticket. Instead, the scammer pockets the money and runs off quicker than your kids before bath time.

"ACCIDENTAL" OVERPAY

To convince the nanny that they are truly interested in her services, a family will offer the nanny an upfront sum on good faith. The nanny cashes this (fake!) check and - whaddaya know - there's suddenly a problem. The family tells the nanny that they accidentally overpaid, so she must send some of the money back. The only problem is that, unbeknownst to the nanny, there hasn't been any real money deposited into her account. Before the bank recognizes that the check is a fraud, the nanny wires back a lump sum, never to hear from the family again.

BUSINESS TRIP BLUFF

An overseas scammer will hire a US-based nanny to watch his child while he is in town on business. He will then send (fake) checks to the nanny to cover the child's food, expenses and stay. As soon as the nanny cashes the checks, the scammer immediately cancels the trip because his child suddenly falls ill. He then requests that the nanny send the money back to cover the child's medical expenses, without which the child will be denied necessary treatment. Yes, he will shamelessly exploit your concern.

THIRD PARTY PAYOFF

A family that has agreed to hire a nanny tells the nanny that a third party owes them money and will thus be paying her a sum upfront as a way to pay off his debt to the family. Apparently, this scammer confuses "complicated" with "creative." Either way, the third party wires what he owes the family (say, $1500) to the nanny, but this sum is actually more than the nanny's fee (say, $1000). The nanny must send the remaining amount ($500) to the family, since it is "rightfully" theirs, owed from the third party. Of course, the original check is fake and, once again, nanny just paid out of pocket.

VISA VICTIMIZATION

A family will contact a nanny who they know needs a visa to work in their country. They will convince the nanny that they have a lawyer who can obtain this visa, but he charges a hefty fee (you'd expect nothing less at this point, right?). The nanny will need to pay either part or all of the lawyer's costs to get the visa, which she does. The problem? You guessed it. There is no lawyer.

SPONSORED STRING-ALONG

A family will find who they think is a fabulous nanny, but the nanny is from out of town or overseas. Once she has the family hooked, the nanny reveals that she needs part of her trip sponsored. Ever so responsible, the nanny suggests deducting those funds from her paycheck once she arrives, to pay the family back for their generosity. The family thus wires money to the nanny, who in some cases goes as far as booking a flight and providing the family with flight information. But she never gets on a flight, and the family never hears from her again.