Is this legit

[Anonymous]

I put an ad out for a nanny for my two kids. My ad did not include a need for a live-in person, nor did I ask for an au pair. Anyways, someone responded, but I little nervous this may be a scam. Just wanted to see what you guys think. I'm not sure what the responder might think she may get from scamming and it may just be me being a little paranoid. However, with my children being involved (she'll be taking care of them), I will not take any chances. Okay, so a "young woman" from South America responded to the ad. It was on care.com. She had profile photos, which showed a very nice looking normal young woman. Some photos showed her with some of the families she's worked for. On her response to my ad, she put down that she was located somewhere in Maryland, which bothered me because I'm in DC and I don't want someone who may have trouble getting to the city during rush hour, etc... But then in the body of her response, she explained that she was currently in South America. I immediately thought she was someone who had been an au pair or nanny of some sort who had lived with a family in Maryland and then moved back to her home country. She maybe wanting to come back to DC for another experience. I couldn't tell. I'm bothered because I'm not sure why she wouldn't just have said that she was from South America and wanted to return to the States? The whole "I'm in Maryland, but I'm actually from South America" really raised a red flag for me. I could tell from her writing that she does not understand English well (this is not a problem for me as I am advanced beginner in Spanish and have always had no problems with prior nanny's who are Spanish-only. I thought maybe she just couldn't explain herself well. But, there's this nagging feeling that this may be a scam of some sort. She may want someone to help her get here and then she'll run of or something. What do you guys think. Au pair's, I'd like your advice too. Of course, I have no intention to send her any money whatsoever. I'm asking around because her qualifications looked great. I don't want to miss out on someone who seems so nurturing due to me being paranoid. Thanks for all of your opinions!

[Anonymous]

Troll

[Anonymous]

OP here. I am not a troll. If you have advice, it's much appreciated. If not, please do not respond. I'm not sure why there's so many unhelpful rude people on here, but I wish it would stop. It really discourages family's, nanny's and au pairs from using what could be such a useful website.

[Anonymous]

Are you new here?

[Anonymous]

OP - perhaps you could ask her some pointed questions in your response and see what answers you get?

"Would you please clarify whether you are in Maryland or in South America?" "How long have you lived in Maryland and why were you here?" "Why are you looking for a new position?" Etc.

You may get a perfectly fine response. If any more red flags come up, this is not your candidate, no matter how her qualifications look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - perhaps you could ask her some pointed questions in your response and see what answers you get?

"Would you please clarify whether you are in Maryland or in South America?" "How long have you lived in Maryland and why were you here?" "Why are you looking for a new position?" Etc.

You may get a perfectly fine response. If any more red flags come up, this is not your candidate, no matter how her qualifications look.

I most definitely will be doing this. I just wanted to run this passed the "gut" of others to see if it passed the smell test. If it appears that she is completely legitimate, I'll be planning to skype and speak in depth to her references. I know how DCUM can be with people being unhelpful and rude at times, but it is still an excellent resource to get a feel for things. It's a part of my vetting process. Thank you so much for your response!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - perhaps you could ask her some pointed questions in your response and see what answers you get?

"Would you please clarify whether you are in Maryland or in South America?" "How long have you lived in Maryland and why were you here?" "Why are you looking for a new position?" Etc.

You may get a perfectly fine response. If any more red flags come up, this is not your candidate, no matter how her qualifications look.

I most definitely will be doing this. I just wanted to run this passed the "gut" of others to see if it passed the smell test. If it appears that she is completely legitimate, I'll be planning to skype and speak in depth to her references. I know how DCUM can be with people being unhelpful and rude at times, but it is still an excellent resource to get a feel for things. It's a part of my vetting process. Thank you so much for your response!

Ok good. It definitely does set off red flags, but given what you've said it could also be legitimate. I would base my further interactions on her responses to the questions I gave. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

If she's currently in South America then I would definitely ask about whether she's able to legally work in the US, when she plans on coming back to the area, etc. If she has concrete answers for all these questions that don't involve you paying for her travel/visa/etc, then I'd say it's fine to pursue.

[Anonymous]

I'll be the one to say it: paragraphs are your friend.
And I agree with others: ask more questions. Find out why she had different things listed.

Maybe she has herself "living" in Maryland because otherwise she wouldn't show up in your search?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I got some more info. during our last email, but that lead me to further questions. She says she can come to the States in July on a tourist Visa. I'm think that sounds truthful, but I don't know if this is legal. I don't know anything about this. Where should I be looking to get myself educated on this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I got some more info. during our last email, but that lead me to further questions. She says she can come to the States in July on a tourist Visa. I'm think that sounds truthful, but I don't know if this is legal. I don't know anything about this. Where should I be looking to get myself educated on this?

Are you nuts? I mean for real??

[Anonymous]

^^thank you for your helpful comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I got some more info. during our last email, but that lead me to further questions. She says she can come to the States in July on a tourist Visa. I'm think that sounds truthful, but I don't know if this is legal. I don't know anything about this. Where should I be looking to get myself educated on this?

Are you nuts? I mean for real??

Are you bored and have anger management issues?

[Anonymous]

You must be hoping to get a hell of a deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Troll

+1 We know you by your writing.