How to Prevent Scams

Don't let this happen to you!

Even though you may not always be able to prevent scams from reaching your inbox, you can prevent yourself from becoming a victim, a penniless victim at that.

No matter what online services you use - be it Sittercity, Yahoo, MySpace, etc. - here are some things we recommend you do (or in some cases, not do) to keep your hard-earned cash from falling into the hands of shady criminals with horrendous typing skills.

SITTERS: DON'T GIVE OUT YOUR ADDRESS

Unless you run a day care out of your home, there is no reason why you should share your address with a family you haven't yet worked for. If pressed for it, you can always say that you're simply not comfortable giving out that information right now. Any normal parent will understand. And if they don't, is that really someone you want to be working for anyway? Probably not.

SPOT THE INCONSISTENCIES

Let's face it. Scammers may be getting smarter, but no one said they were actually that smart. What's more, very few are as detail-oriented as they need to be to successfully orchestrate a complicated scam for the masses. This means that there are bound to be inconsistencies in their emails. For example, take a quick look at the sender name in your inbox. Does that name match the name used in the body of the email? Seems simple enough, but many scammers unknowingly switch genders. So your inbox may say that the email is from Angie T. but the body may say, "Hey Babysitter. My name is Dan R." Oops. Also, scammers may forget what they named their fabricated children, so if you do actually end up with several correspondences with a potential scammer, pay close attention to the names, ages and, yes, genders of their kids as well.

DOUBLE-CHECK LOCATIONS

Oftentimes a scammer will say that he is from a certain area or country, but don't believe everything you hear - or see, in this case. When you receive a questionable email, check the user's profile to see where it says the family is located. Florida? But you're in Boston? If that's not a scam, then it's one heck of a commute! Either way, no thanks. You can also go to the White Pages online and do a reverse address lookup. Does the name in the email match with the address they provide?

RUN A BACKGROUND CHECK

We have them on our site for a reason - safety, safety, safety. Not only are you entitled to run a background check on any Sittercity users, we strongly encourage this kind of screening as a part of our four-step process.

DON'T ACCEPT MONEY UPFRONT

While none of us likes the idea of turning down money, anyone who wants to pay you before you do any work, sight unseen, is certainly someone to be wary of. The way these scams typically work is that the nanny is paid an upfront sum (with a fraudulent check) but is suddenly asked to return all or some of that money to the family who has, for one reason or another, cancelled the job. The nanny sends money before the bank realizes that the check is a fake, so she has just paid the scammers out of her own pocket. A simple fix? Put your financial fantasies aside and don't accept money upfront. No matter how hard this may be, it will be ten times harder to garner sympathy from a bank to which you now owe a ton of cash.

DRAW UPON THE EXPERIENCES OF OTHER SITTERCITY USERS

If you can't figure out if you're dealing with a scam or not, take a look at one of the articles in our library that recounts the scams that other babysitters and nannies who use the internet have posted. Any of those look all too familiar? If you don't see yours there, take your story over to our Sittercity Message Boards and ask your fellow sitters if they've received the same email. Be prepared for the lively responses - hell hath no fury like a babysitter scorned.

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS

If something, even if it's something you can't exactly pinpoint, doesn't feel right about a potential job, don't waste your time. Listen to what that inner voice is telling you and just move on. Sittercity has tons of parents eager to pawn off their children for a night, so search the job postings for a good match, and introduce yourself to families in your area if you don't see any active listings.