Scam targets caregiver website
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) – A viewer looking to make some extra cash called 12 after she says she was nearly taken in by crooks targeting a website for people looking to be care-givers. We investigated and discovered why even on legitimate job sites, you have to be careful.
LeAnn Evans was in need of some extra cash. When she came across a website called Care.com, she thought she was in luck. It's a legitimate website for families looking for caregivers and people like LeAnn looking to provide that care.
"I thought, oh, this is great, now I can have some extra money," said Evans.
Not long after she registered with Care.com she got a hit; someone was looking to hire her for child care.
"They said the child is in a wheelchair and they would send me a check for $2700. I would keep $300 of it and send $2400 to a wheelchair company," she said.
She showed us the emails detailing how the deal would work. But excitement quickly turned into disappointment. Red flags started to go up. The person offering the job was out of state and sent her a check before she even met them. There were also grammatical errors and the person would never contact her by phone.