Showing posts with label babysitting scams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label babysitting scams. Show all posts

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Email Scams

Lately I have noticed an increase in scams on the internet. There are a lot of scammers that contact you through email. Some of the time it is really obvious it is a scam like when they say you won some ridiculous amount from some kind of lottery. Sometimes I wish that it was real because I would be a multi-trillionaire because “I win” many times a day, every day. Then you have scams that you get through email that make you wonder if it is real. Before I had Noah I signed up for those babysitting and nanny websites. I have had a lot of experience with kids and worked in quite a few daycares and preschools. I went to meet some families and they were all too far away from where I was living and not worth the amount of money I made by the time you took out time and gas for travel there and back.

Of course I got the emails from people wanting me to relocate to like England or New York. I knew those were scams but, when I was pregnant with Noah I got an email. It was from a lady who was relocating to my city and was looking for a nanny. She named a website that I was a member of. I was really excited, it was after all really personalized and everything. I thought that I had a job. I started emailing her back and forth and she said some stuff that started not making sense, like she wanted to send me a check and I would buy her child some toys. I thought that was weird. I have always been taught if it sounds too good to be true than it probably was. I decided to google babysitting scams, the woman’s name etc. I mean her name wasn’t like an obvious scammers name. I finally figured out that my suspicions where true and it was a scam. I was lucky that I hadn’t given her any information accepted a check from her that would have been fake and some horrible tragedy happened and I would have to send money via western union. Some people are not as lucky as me and lose their savings or even end up on Judge Judy.

Scammers are getting more creative and smart. I mean I was reached out through a legitimate website that I was a member of. It wasn’t the first time I was contacted from that site that was looking for a babysitter. I urge you to use precaution when you respond to emails that sound too good be true. You might say you’d never fall for it, and I almost did.