BBB Tip of the Week

Babysitting referral websites are becoming popular and convenient for caregivers, parents, those with elderly dependents and scam artists. Scammers are targeting caregivers on these sites with the overpayment scam, by pretending to be a parent or responsible for an elderly family member.

If you’re a caregiver, here’s what could happen to you. The scammer replies to your listing as an eager parent. Of course, her situation is unique because they live in another state or country and are moving to your area soon. The “parent” will usually share some heartwarming details that involve special needs for her children, like equipment or training. She will insist on sending you a check and ask you to deposit it, keep some as a prepayment and send the remainder to a third party for the special need.

It is an emotional story, all told by email and text message. However, it has an unhappy ending, with a fake check, bogus third party and your bank account much lighter.

The Better Business Bureau offers the following advice to avoid overpayment scams:

• Be wary of any business relationship handled only by email and test. Insist on meeting in person or videoconferencing.

• Never accept a check for more than negotiated. Be immediately suspicious of anyone sending an overpayment and asked to send the balance on to someone else.

• Consider contacting the issuing bank to verify a check or money order, using contact information that you find from a verifiable source.

• Never wire funds or use a prepaid debit card to send money to someone you don’t know or just met. Once sent, the money is untraceable.

• Understand that you are on the hook for all your bank deposits. Banks often make money from deposited checks available to you before they can detect fakes. Once they determine a fake, the bank will pull that money back out from your account.

If you’ve been targeted by or the victim of a scam, report it to the BBB at www.bbb.org or by calling (509) 455-4200; to the FTC at www.ftccomplaint assistant.gov; and to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Also, be sure to report in-person and cyber crimes to the local police.

By Erin T. Dodge, BBB editor