Belt Auction

Nanny/babysitter Scam?

Has anybody been a victim of this? Luckily I was warned about this before I went for it.. I just want to tell you what happened and how to prevent being a victim of these sort of scams and see if anyone else is in a similar situation. I ANSWERED THIS POSTING ON GUMTREE AND GOT A THIS REPLY: I’m happy to hear from you. I am in Chicago . US and I need a nanny or babysitter to take care our kids when my wife is visiting London on a 6-8weeks holiday. I need a well behaved, loyal and competent nanny. My wife will be in town for 6-8weeks on vacation, she will be going out three or four times a week and she will be spending at least 3 hours for shopping or sightseeing. Her arrival date should be April 5th, I am offering you £450 weekly and you will make yourself available for 3 or 4 times a week to her schedule for 3 or 4 hours each day making a minimum of 12 hours weekly. I’d also like to secure your service and be sure that you will be available for the duration of time in which your service is needed. My client in Ireland will send you a payment covering the First 2 weeks as a form of deposit, and when my wife arrives, she will start paying you in cash after the first 2weeks. Kindly get back to me with the following details of yours if you will be willing to occupy this position; Full Name, Address, City/State,Zip Code, Phone number, A pay cheque will be forwarded to you as soon as possible; I will appreciate a quick response from you. Note that, this position is temporary and it will last for a maximum of 8weeks. THEN THERE FEW VERY "NORMAL" AND CONVINCING EMAILS FROM HIM IN BETWEEN... UNTIL I RECEIVED THIS ONE. Thanks for your continuous e-mail, we are happy that we are able to secure your service prior to my wife’s arrival. My client has posted the check as promised, but there seems to be a little problem which I think we can handle with care. After speaking to my client, I was made to understand that the secretary in charge made out a check of £2,900 instead of £900, claiming that was what I instructed. The payment has already been posted before I was informed about the minor error, but I wouldn’t want any delay regarding the payment due to the fact that my wife’s arrival date is closing in. The pay cheque is also a Bankers cheque (certified); rectifying it will take some days. What you have to do is; when you receive this cheque, take it to your Bank and cash it, after you have successfully cashed the cheque, deducted your two weeks wages which is £900. The excess fund on the pay cheque must be transferred to my client via Western Union without any form of delay. Or I’ll ask my client if you can give it to my wife when she arrives. Kindly let me know when you have the pay cheque in your possession. You should receive it within the next 2days. Please reply to this e-mail as it’s contents are quite important. SO I DID REPLY SAYING: Please do not worry, I will not cash the cheque. I am happy to wait for a cheque with the right amount on it and or I can sort it out with your wife when she arrives, I can give the cheque to her and she can pay by cash. Rest assured, everything will be as you wanted, I have made a commitment to you and I will definitely work for you. Look forward hearing from you. Many thanks. THIS WAS CLEARLY A SCAM, "THE FAMILY" NEVER WROTE BACK TO ME AGAIN... THESE EMAILS WERE FROM A YAHOO ADDRESS AND I FOUND SCAM WARNINGS WITH THIS PERSON´S NAME FROM THE INTERNET. Cheque overpayment scams This could be a response to your ad or online auction posting, offering to pay with a cheque. At the last minute, the buyer comes up with a reason for writing the cheque for more than the original price, and asks you to transfer back the difference after you deposit the cheque. If you deposit the cheque, you lose. Typically, the cheques are counterfeit, but they're good enough to fool bank staff - when they bounce, you are liable for the entire amount. Don't accept a cheque for more than your selling price, no matter how tempting the plea or convincing the story. Ask the buyer to write the cheque for the purchase price. If the buyer sends the incorrect amount, return the cheque. Don't send the goods.

Public Comments

1. That type of scam is all over the internet.
2. This is a fairly new spin on an old scam. I have seen many versions of this, but this one is new to me. Thank you for posting this, as I am sure some who may read this will now be more aware.
3. any kind of overpayment, send me the extra back thing is a scam and anyone legitimately looking for a nanny, would probably use a professional nanny service to protect themselves, especially when visiting a foreign country