Good day....

Is this a scam or is it legit?????

I have never had this happen before but in the last 2 months have had it happen twice....

I have my ad up to get possible clients, from those ad's I have had a few responses. However I have gotten two that, are from other countries and are wanting care, stating that they are very interest and want to start but will not be able to meet until the day they drop off, they want to now if there is a registration fee, what my hours and rates are....

this is the last one

Her -

Hello. I have a 3 year old son. I'm interested in your daycare service, please let me know how much you charge daily/weekly, so we can arrange for a meeting . Thanks.

Me -

Good morning
Thank you for your interest in my center.
Is your son in Junior Kindergarten, for I do not do before and after school ..... You are more then welcome to come in for an interview. I usually do evenings after 7:30 pm or on Sat's / Sun's any time..... Let me know
Thanks again


Her -

Hi,
i would have loved to call you but we are presently on vacation and it will not be convenient for me, that's
why i chose email for proper understanding .
Please let me know your charges per day/week on time, it's important, so we can continue.
Thanks

Me -

I charge $35.00 a day ... which is the normal for home based childcare....... You are more then welcome to come in for a interview.....

Her -

Your charges are very affordable for me.
I will be happy if you can tell me little about your self and your service. You may also supply any additional information as well.
I will get back to you with all the necessary information you need to know about my son as soon as i hear from you.
Thanks

Me -

Here is my web page
www.mariahomedaycare.webs.com
I am also on Google maps

Her -

Hi,

Thanks for your detailed response to my questions. I'm happy and comfortable to put my child in your care. As
i said earlier, i would have loved to call you and meet with you immediately, but we are presently on vacation
in Quito, Ecuador, we will return to Canada in less than two weeks.
My son is toilet trained, doesn't have allergies or dietary restrictions and doesn't need any special care.
He's a normal kid, very active with good behavior and no temperament. My son walk smartly on his own without
stroller. His already potty trained. My son can start by 10th of October if 10th of October is available, you
can give us any other resumption date according to your opens.
I will like to know if their will be a registration fee or any additional charges before he starts. I have
attached my picture and my son's picture with this message, so you can see what we both look like.
My son's name is Jason, date of birth is: July 3rd 2011.
Please get back to me on my question on if their will be any additional charges for registration as soon as
you can.
Thanks

I left out the pic that she sent of her and her son ( if that is them )

So is it a scam ???
What would or have you done in this / these cases?????

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I believe it is a scam... use to get the same thing and I knew right off the bat because it was always for a kid over the ages I took. I also would never contract anyone that wasn't willing to interview at least 48 hours ahead of time either. If they can't talk to you on phone or in person before hand, it's a NO WAY in my book

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I'd insist on an interview and tour before agreeing to enroll the child. Then have the forms ready to go and if she doesn't fill out the forms and leave a deposit I wouldn't enroll the child.

It could be a scam, or it could be she's originally from overseas and is legit.

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I have seen many responses to ads very similar to this . Usually always from someone just moving into the country for work . Seems like a scam to me.

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I responded to her the other day

Me -

Hi;
Thank you for your interest. How ever I'm going to have to decline, for the simple fact that I MUST do a in person interview before I can accept any child into my care. I then MUST have a few days of trial to make sure that it is a good fit. I do this for the safety of all my clients and their children including my own family. I hope that you can understand the reasoning for this for it benefits the safety of everyone. How ever if and when you are back home from your vacation we may be able to re-visit the possibility of me providing care.

Thank you again for your interest and time. All the best


She just got back to me with this....

Her -

Hi,
I'm afraid things can change when you are making arrangement like this without a deposit to make it a stable agreement that the space will not be given to another family,words and promises are not just enough.Prior to this conversations,i have contacted about 7 different daycare before i got your contact for my son, but they are all full and telling me they won't have anymore space until 6 months time or 9 months time, I don't want anything to change at all, because i believe this is a very hard time to get hold of any daycare or home daycare. that's why the deposit is more than important at this time because it's like a luck to have you for my son.
All this process is to have everything ready for my child, because i will be very busy with my work once we arrive, so this is the only chance i have to make sure the space is secure for him ahead of our arrival. Please send me your name and address or PO Box Address to mail the deposit to you on time, so i can be sure that everything is secured, intact and concluded.
Please understand that If you say no to our deposit, means we should go and find another daycare for my kid.
You will receive deposit within 2 business days. Waiting to hear from you soon.
Thanks

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Definitely a scam. They send you too much money. You deposit it. They ask for the extra back and then you find out the check never cleared. And now you are out the extra money they asked for back and the back fees

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Her last response pretty much sealed the scam deal.

I've gotten something like this before, and came right to this forum only to find out it's a scam. Usually if you question it, it's something that you need to be iffy about.

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Thanks ladies,,,,

That is actually what I thought on both cases...... but I just wanted to make sure that my gut instincts where still working ok.......

I have yet to respond to her last e-mail .....

I was thinking on this

Again thank you for your interest in my care. How ever I CAN NOT accept any clients until I have had an in person interview and have gone over all contract forms. I thank you for your time and wish you the best on finding a suitable provider for your child...

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Hmm, I'm not sure about this one. My friend got the usual scam where the person eventually asks for your bank account. Could this be real? Maybe? Did you try to search their names or search for the picture online? Two things stood out to me: the insistence to put down a deposit and mentioning the potty trained thing twice. I guess scammers are getting more thorough?

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Either way, scam or not, I wouldn't enroll without an interview prior anyways. It would be odd to take a child without meeting him/her and the parents.

If you really need to fill the spot, you could have them send you the deposit and see if it is over the amount, then it's a scam for sure.

Like Shell said, parts seem legit, but scammers could be getting smarter.

I've gotten a few emails that you could tell were scams because they were basically the same and they way they were worded shouted scam. The email you received is a lot more detailed than the ones that I got.

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thanks ... how do you search peoples names and pics online...

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I have only searched on Facebook. I have tried googling names before, but it brings up everyone that has that name.

I'll be following this thread for more ideas!

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I'd say scam although the ones I have seen were never as thorough but I also never really went back and forth with one either. I would just respond with what you posted about needing an in person interview before you would accept any deposits, etc.

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100% scam. The deposit will be in a form of a cashiers check. It will be for more than the required amount and when you tell them that, they will just tell you to send the rest back to them. By the time you do that, the bank will declare the check a fraudulent check and you will be out the money you sent to them. I don't even waste my time responding to them.

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Its a scam plus you gave out lots of personal information such as your address, your schedule, the fact that you have two children of your own, ect..

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Here's some info on searching with an image-

http://www.google.com/insidesearch/f...chbyimage.html

It's fun to play around with, so even if you don't care to search their photo, you can just check it out.

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Scam!!! Just like the guy who sent me a friend request here on the board who has NO posts. Yeah think I will pass!

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Yup, scam!

I've had a lot of those emails where the people are in another country, but looking for care here, usually for a short period of time, like 3 weeks but will pay $600 for those 3 weeks.

I never responded them, getting the red flag right away. I wondered what the scam was...now I get it! Sending too much money then asking for it back...aha!

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Looks like you have a live one on the line. I would notify the police. Its called wire fraud and could take on a federal twist if they are out of state.

In the United States, mail and wire fraud is any fraudulent scheme to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services via mail or wire communication. It has been a federal crime in the United States since 1872.

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oh wow.... i thought of going to police, but unsure,,,, I would believe that the laws on fraud are very similar though here where I live....

I e-mailed her back stating that I could not accept them and that I wish them the best,,,,,,

will look into that link that katiescorner posted....

I am soooo scared know for at the time it did not even dawn on me the amount of info I gave to this person....

Thanks everyone......

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OMG OMG...........

I just used that site that katiescorners posted,,,,,

THE PIC IS NOT HER ,,,,,, ITS OF A MOTHER AND SON THAT PASSED AWAY IN A FIRE ....

IF ITS OK I WILL TRY AND POST THE LINK ....

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I'M AM LITERATELY SHAKING AND IN TEARS,,,, HOW STUPID CAN I BE.....

SORRY EVERYONE....




http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.1224738

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Please don't feel stupid, you didn't know!

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Now, people are doing it with PRODUCTS.

My friend tried to sell a kitten. This man said he REALLY wanted a kitten, and was sending a "certified" cashier's check and that he would have someone pick up the kitten on his behalf as he was in some other state.

My friend said "Is this a scam?" and he said "NO" She didn't believe him and I told her that CASH ONLY on things like that unless she could verify funds, so she told him she would not cash til the funds could be validated thru the bank.

He insisted on getting this cat. So she told him to send the 'cashier's check' and he sent her $1200 (or something) but she was only asking $800.
She called him out on it and told him that the check was wrong, that she took it to his alleged bank (Either Capital one or another big one) and was unable to verify the check, so was not going to be doing business with him.

He freaked out! Told her to send his money or he'd kill her and her family and friends, torture, etc.

She said that she called the police, the confiscated the fraudulent check. IDk what the outcome will be probably not much, because it's so hard to trace these jerks. She had THREE different states (TX, VA and GA I believe) that allegedly the transaction was supposed to be from.

I said "NO CHECKS, LOCAL ONLY, CASH ONLY" That's it.

I've had a few child care ones, I just ignore those. If they aren't local, I don't even talk to them unless they call by phone, and if they call by phone and say they're military or something, they must not reserve a space, instead they take their chances to meet me when they get here.

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Awe, don't feel stupid! The previous poster is right, you didn't know. But you followed your gut and asked others opinions which in my book means you did the right thing

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Wow, that is disgusting and I for one would turn them into the police and see if you can work with the police to catch them.

Using a picture like that is unspeakable! Ugh

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Yup, everyone is right. I worked at a bank for 13 years before opening a daycare. It's called the cash back scheme. Same as others described it. Don't worry, they're typically only worried and concerned about getting cash from you. They are sick individuals. If they write to me like their from Nigeria, then I figure it's a scam. Same as the emails I get daily saying I've won a milliion dollars.

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Update....

I called the police, they gave me a number to call regarding e-mail fraud.... The guy said that it was for sure a fraud e-mail.... and that it happens ALL the time.... and to just delete and not answer....

Have not heard anything since.....

THANK YOU ALL for the help...... It means a lot.....

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