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Nanny Scams on the Internet
Both nannies and families need to be aware of con artists that prowl nanny matching sites hoping to trick you into sending them money
 Many Americans have a hard time balancing their careers and the responsibilities of raising small children. This has
led many parents to hire nannies to watch and care for their children. There is no worry over care-giver to child ratios
and nannies often come to live in your home or at least arrive just as you are headed out the door to work. The trick
is finding an experienced and reliable nanny. No mother in her right mind is going to leave her baby in the hands of
a stranger unless they can provide excellent referrals. In recent years several websites have been created to help match
nannies with families.
If you are looking for a nanny you just register on the site as a family and then search their
database for nannies that fit the criteria you specify such as age, sex, skills or country of origin. This is a great way
for both nannies and a families to connect, communicate and develop a relationsip that may or may not result in a job offer.
This process does not come without risk, however, because of the possibility of fraud. We'll show you what to look out
for on nanny matching sites and how the scam works both ways.
How Nannies Get Ripped Off
Con artists register at these nanny matchmaker sites pretending to be a family in need of a nanny. They will
describe themselves as wealthy and willing to pay an excellent wage in exchange for child-care duties. To ice the deal
and get the prospective nanny's attention they advance a generous amount of money in the form of a check or money order.
Immediately after that the scammer posing as a family will say that they sent too much by accident and request that a
portion of the advance be returned via Western Union or other electronic means. The key here is that the original
payment hasn't cleared the bank yet. If the nanny sends some of the money back he or she has just been duped by a classic
money order scam.
Good con artists know how to take need and especially desperation and turn it to their advantage. Many nannies really need
these jobs and being sent a generous amount is meant to disarm you and make you think you've hit the jackpot. It's not hard
to see how many people might fall for this. Just remember, if something seems too good to be true then it probably is.
People don't send large amounts of money to people they neither know nor trust. If something like this ever happens to you,
think about the situation before acting. You may save yourself a bundle.
How Families Get Conned
Con artists have developed methods to rip off families looking for a nanny, too. What they do is register as a nanny with outstanding
qualifications and references. Families will then contact them and begin to develop relationships through email to get to know them better.
These fake nannies will assure a family that they have all the necessary papers including a work Visa. The scam comes shortly after you have
hired this "perfect" nanny. You get a last minute request for money to cover some unforseen circumstance. It could be anything from plane
tickets to a sick mother. You may have conversed with them so long that you think you know them well enough to trust them. Think before you
send any money because a con artist's job is trickery and they can be very convincing. Think about the context of the situation. If that
still doesn't sway you try this: never send a stranger money. You should also do your due diligence and check those references out early
in the nanny screening process. If they don't check out or seem fishy in any way there are thousands of other excellent nannies for you to consider.
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