I wanted to use this free write post to talk about a babysitting scam that I just barely avoided! As a college student, I have used Care.com, a reliable and reputable website to find babysitting and nanny jobs within any local area. Throughout my entirety of using the site, I have met many great families and have never c ome close to almost getting scammed. Here is what happened:
I was texted by a family that inquired about me babysitting for them with the pay at $18/hr. In the text, it was asked for me to forward my resume to the specified email address if interested. I kindly replied and said "I'm currently away from my computer, but I will email my resume over when I get a chance!" She replied with a "Thanks!". Later that night, I sent my email over with a brief message. Their reply back to me was quite quite, and I was surprised, but after reading the message I understood that this lady has been through trouble times. She stated in the email that she was deaf and had just recently lost her 4 month old and husband in a car accident. She then stated that she was relocating to Phoenix from Colorado because living in that area brought back sad memories. After mentioning this detailed information, she stated that she would be sending a check beforehand to ensure that I would present on the days asked. I stated to her that that was not necessary, and that I am not the type of person to back down from an arrangement unless I was in an emergency of my own. She stated again that it was necessary for her to send the check because she has had troubled times.
She asked for my address and I reluctantly gave it to her, even though it was in the header of my resume that I had previously sent her a few emails ago. When she typed my address out in the next email, I noticed that she had forgot to put my apartment number, however, I did not contact her back mentioning this error. A few weeks passed, and I texted her asking her what time she would like to meet this coming Friday because we did not have a scheduled time planned, just the date. I got no reply. On Thursday, the day before we had planned to meet I decided that I would try emailing her instead of text. When I sent the email they were undeliverable to the email address. I was confused by this because when she stated that she was deaf, she also mentioned that her only form of communication is really writing by text and email. I texted her again but no response. I decided to contact the community she told me she was living in, which was Scottsdale Gateway. I contacted the front desk and they told me that no one by the name that I mentioned was signed to a lease there, nor did anyone by that name move in there this week.
I was shocked and scared. How did I fall into this trap?? All I knew was that someone, somewhere had my address and my phone number and I had no idea who. I didn't know if this person lived close to me, lived far from me, or let alone lived in another country. I felt unsafe to go back to my apartment. What if this was a man who had still planned to meet me, but had my address? I called my mom and dad crying because I was so confused and scared. I literally had taken time off of my current babysitting job to help this family that I had planned to babysit for the entire weekend. My mom found a blog online after doing some research about this SAME EXACT SCAM happening to other girls my age! Basically what this person was trying to do was to get me to deposit their check and get some of my bank account info after doing so! I am SO thankful that this person forgot my appt number in the email sent back to me, although I don't think I would have deposited the check until after working for them. I knew that wouldn't have been right. Either way, I barely avoided a scam. Whoever is sending these checks around is sending fraudulent money around and trying to get more. Watch our for scams, because it is really scary just barely avoiding something that could really affect you (and your bank account!!)
- Renee
(Blog 11 Free Write)
She asked for my address and I reluctantly gave it to her, even though it was in the header of my resume that I had previously sent her a few emails ago. When she typed my address out in the next email, I noticed that she had forgot to put my apartment number, however, I did not contact her back mentioning this error. A few weeks passed, and I texted her asking her what time she would like to meet this coming Friday because we did not have a scheduled time planned, just the date. I got no reply. On Thursday, the day before we had planned to meet I decided that I would try emailing her instead of text. When I sent the email they were undeliverable to the email address. I was confused by this because when she stated that she was deaf, she also mentioned that her only form of communication is really writing by text and email. I texted her again but no response. I decided to contact the community she told me she was living in, which was Scottsdale Gateway. I contacted the front desk and they told me that no one by the name that I mentioned was signed to a lease there, nor did anyone by that name move in there this week.
I was shocked and scared. How did I fall into this trap?? All I knew was that someone, somewhere had my address and my phone number and I had no idea who. I didn't know if this person lived close to me, lived far from me, or let alone lived in another country. I felt unsafe to go back to my apartment. What if this was a man who had still planned to meet me, but had my address? I called my mom and dad crying because I was so confused and scared. I literally had taken time off of my current babysitting job to help this family that I had planned to babysit for the entire weekend. My mom found a blog online after doing some research about this SAME EXACT SCAM happening to other girls my age! Basically what this person was trying to do was to get me to deposit their check and get some of my bank account info after doing so! I am SO thankful that this person forgot my appt number in the email sent back to me, although I don't think I would have deposited the check until after working for them. I knew that wouldn't have been right. Either way, I barely avoided a scam. Whoever is sending these checks around is sending fraudulent money around and trying to get more. Watch our for scams, because it is really scary just barely avoiding something that could really affect you (and your bank account!!)
- Renee
(Blog 11 Free Write)
Thank you for sharing, this is good information that I will forward to others. I'm sorry you had to go through this, Im sure you felt awful during this time. I'm glad you didn't get fully scammed, stay positive.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is scary. That is the last site I would have expected a scam to generate from. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete