Information on Loughborough

CHILDMINDERS TARGETED BY SCAM

Posted on 08/05/2008
P. Klein

teddy bears and a couple of rats

Childminders are being targeted by an email asking them to look after American children. Trading Standards have told inLoughborough: "We have seen two emails that are purported to be written by different people, but both messages are almost identical."

The emails are written by people who purport to be Americans, who are coming to live in England. They say they are single parents, who have a three year old son and a younger child and they need a childminder.

The email asks for the childminders location and fees. They say they will post a ‘certified UK cheque’ in advance for the deposit and pay cash on arrival. Both end: ’I await your urgent response’.

However Trading Standards thinks something devious is going on.

"We would expect the next step in this childminder scam would be for an overpaying cheque to be received by the childminder, should they reply to the email, with a request to then forward the difference to a third party. The cheque will then not clear on the childminder’s account, and the childminder will loose money."

David Bull Head of Leicestershire County Council Trading Standards said; ‘This has all the ‘hallmarks’ of a well known scam. The ‘scamsters’ are using yet another angle to cheat people into sending bank details or cash. I would ask people not to respond to such offers that arrive out of the blue. If you are not sure whether an offer is genuine contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06”