Scam or not?

Hey, this woman - called Brigit Navarro - has contacted me and i want to know if she is a scam.... her e-mail address : [email protected]

here are the two e-mails she wrote me:
1.
Hi,
Nice to hear back from you.
I work for a Mining Company, I am the payroll administrator. I have worked with the company for 18 years!! yes, I know! And since I started when I was 19 you can guess my age! hahahha I have had 3 jobs within the company and it has become more of a family than a job. I still feel like I am "playing" office sometimes!!
Luis works for BCAA. He is a licensed mechanic and is ERS (Emeregency Roadside Service) for BCAA. He is the one that when you have broken down on the side of the road..he comes to save you. He has worked there for 6 years now.

We dont have any pets but we love animals. We use to have cats...but they passed away just before we had kids. They were 15 years old.

Why do you want to come to Canada? Do you have any family here?

What are you doing right now? School? Work?

Brigit

2.
Hi,

My dad wishes I spoke German...but unfortunately I can only help you to go left or right..or straight ahead! hahah


Marcos is a relaxed easy going child (like his dad) that loves to play with other kids, be outside, play at the waterpark…anything outdoors really. We have a huge back yard where some of his buddies come over and play. He turns 5 in October. He has lots of energy and love to laugh and be on the go. Nicolas is just starting to really show his true colors. He also has his birthday in October. He laughs all the time and is a truly happy boy. He loves being with his brother, anywhere he goes.

Luis is from El Salvador, raised for many years in Mexico City and I am 100% Canadian but my parents are English/German..so we speak English and a bit Spanish to the kids on a daily basis.


Right now it is our summer...so starting September Marcos will be in school Mon-Fri 9-3pm for Kindergarten. Time is flying by for me! Nicolas will be in school 12:15-2:45pm..his first time being in pre-school so he is very very excited to go on his own. They aver very gentle caring boys. Nicolas is very determined to do everything on his own..and before his brother if possible!!!

I have one brother (Mark, 38) he has a wife and 2 little kids. My Mom lives with her husband on Vancouver Isalnd...about 20 minutes froom my brother. My Dad lives with his wife on Gabriola Island. Everyone is less than 3 hours away from each other. We speak with them all the time on Skype.

I play soccer on a team (not the oldest one yet...this year at least! ) so the boys have picked up on that and love to play also. We try to keep them active as much as possible and we get tired before they do that is for sure!

What would your ideal timeline for coming to Canada be? Staying for how long? Would you you be returning to school in October 2012?? or keep travelling?? You have been to so many amazing places!! You are very lucky.

Did you travel with friends? or family on your trips?

Brigit

PLEASE HELP ME I REALLY WANT TO KNOW IF THIS IS REAL OR JUST A SCAM

THANK YOU !

It's not a typical scam, but there are a few odd points. The amount of detail that would be of little interest to an au-pair, such as the nationalities of her parents, details of her brother and his family, and their employers.
And the emails show American spelling such as "colors", although "colours" is more usual in Canada and she claims an English mother. I can't see an English person referring to her child "showing his true colours" either.
But [email protected] is a Canadian email address. I'd like to see the email headers, and we can tell you how to find them, but we'd need to know who you use for email.

I would proceed with extreme caution. The email headers would be a big help as Arnold said. You can go here to find out how to get headers. http://www.ip-adress.com/faq/view_email_header/

Please take out you information and post the headers. We will have a better idea as to where it came from.

Have you spoken to this person on the phone? Where did she find you or you find her?

The emails show no typical signs of a scam. Please, however, check the regulations regarding childcare positions in Canada, and be sure to follow these exactly.

Live-in Caregiver

Travel and Work Program

And, of course, never send any money to a potential host family, nor anyone who they put you in contact with.

thank you I'll defenitely try to find out the headers...she also send me this mail which looks (to me) very queer....mostly because she says at first her current au pair would be "Laura" and later she says " Anna"....???


Right now Laura (our current Au Pair) takes care of the boys 3 days a week, 7am-6pm. Making breakfast, lunch and dinner for them. She takes them outside everyday either to the Library, Open Gym, Playground or the waterpark. Rain or shine. (Ok maybe not to the waterpark in the rain! ):p)

The boys get up around 8am each day (we leave at 7am to work). She makes breakfast , maybe… eggs, toast, sausages, cereal which ever they would like...gets them dressed and out of the house by 10:00am to go and enjoy the day. Packs any food/snacks/water that is needed for the day.



There are lots of things to do in our area for kids so the summer is going to be fun! In July and August Marcos has some day camps that he is doing at school. He also has soccer camp for 2 weeks in August. You would walk over to the school (10 minutes) and drops him off at class. Then watche Nicolas (and Marcos) and plays with him while Marcos is in class. You could enjoy lunch in the park at the same school to play, then maybe go to the library, then head home for dinner. She makes dinner for the kids and herself while they watch tv.The kids help tidy up their toys before they can watch any TV. Anna then tidys up the kitchen puts all the dishes away before I come home..



Other duties are light vacuming which the kids like to 'help' you with.This is done when needed, but at least once a week. Once a week does kids laundry and daily tidys the kids rooms. I am home by 5:30-6pm. Some months there are fewer full days that we need 'kid care' so that is when she helps us with some babysitting or watching one child while the other one is at swimming, or helps on the weekends when I go to play soccer and Luis is working.



So at 6pm you are free! And a normal week would be 3 days..which means you would have 4 days off in a row to do anything that you would like to do. You can always join us in family things that we do if you want too. We are more than happy for you to come with us. Once I went over to Vancouver Island and Anna came with us. She did all the site seeing for 2 days while I spent time with my family. We dont mind at all. We are very easy going.



School will start for Marcos in September so you would need to bring him to class for 9:00am then pick him up at 3:00pm Monday-Friday (on the days you are working).Nicolas is at a different school (10 minutes away) and he needs to be walked over Monday-Friday (again, only on the days you work) for 12:45 and pick him up at 2:45pm. See, Luis works 3 days on and 3 days off so you never have the same days off during the week. I dont work Mondays so normally you have Mondays and weekends off. Unless we need a date night! :O)

School is starting in the next couple of weeks, so it is going to be interesting. We are busy with day camps for Marcos, camping and all the fun stuff to do here in the summer time.


Brigit

Hmm that is odd about the name change. If you are contacted by a third party regarding immigration or a work visa that YOU did not initiate that would be a red flag. Any talk about sending money at all would be suspicious.

One thing you might consider is asking the ENTIRE family to participate in a Video chat on Skype or similar. These can be faked but if you request the whole family participate it would be hard to fake. It's not an unreasonable request. I'm assuming you meet this person on the Internet. It would make perfect sense for you to ask to see the people you will be working for before continuing.

Hello to everybody!

Can You help to decide if these 2 are scams:

1.
?? ????: tatyana Elizabeth <[email protected]>
????: undisclosed-recipients:;


Good day Au pair,
I am a British Family My name is Tatyana Elizabeth residing and working in London area of United Kingdom with my husband,we are blessed with 2 lovely kids being Mileg and Sarah,we are seeking an Au pair from any part of the world as long as he or she can speak little English,and willing to stay with our family for a minimum of 3Months and maximum stay as long as he or she is willing to stay with my family.
However,i have decided to contact you as regard the possibilities of becoming our next Au pair with my family to enhance cultural exchange and to widen my child horizon.i work as the Chief Chef in Hotel Company situated at the outskirt of London,my husband also work as the quality control officer in Food processing Plant in London also.Due to the nature of our job we hardly give our children full parental care that they deem necessary everyday.
In addition,your monthly salary shall be 950 pounds,you shall also be provided an apartment fully equipped with the necessary facilities,you shall also be entitled to a car if you can drive,Mondays to Fridays shall be your working period 9am to 2pm,Saturdays, Sundays and public Holidays shall be your off days with our family.
Finally,i will like you to get back to me if really you are interested because,we shall need you with our family soonest,we have had an Au pair for 2yrs just terminated her stay with our family last week
Hope to hear from you soonest,Await your immediate response
Cheers



And second :

2.
Hello Au pair,

We are an easygoing couple with a happy, fun, and healthy kid. We saw
your profile on http://www.aupair-options.com and decided to contact you on the
possibility of becoming our new family member. We are looking for
an Au pair who can take good care and be a big brother or sister to
our only child.

My name is Mr Leonard Cole and I am 46 years old, Am FB Manager of
Royal garden hotel London. My spouse Mariah is thirty three years old and
works as a Nurse here in London.

We live in a four bedroom house in 24 Kensington High St Kensington London
W8 4PT United Kingdom and have one son Casey age 5 years old.

We spend 3 months at a beach house in East London each year. Casey our
son is so much fun and this age is adorable! You will have the chance
to really impact his life since he is so impressionable now. We are
only interested in hiring someone who is willing to work in the UK.

All Travel expenses shall be borne by us and we shall also provide
fully furnished live in or live out accommodation. Write us soonest
with your picture/resume, introduction and how soon you can start as
we need a Au pair that can start as soon as possible.

You can contact us via email - [email protected] or call me
on + 44 7024052801 or give me a direct mobile number to reach you with
so that we can discuss further.

Best Regards
Cole family.

Both of those are definite scams.

Thanks!

Hey, this woman - called Brigit Navarro - has contacted me and i want to know if she is a scam.... her e-mail address : [email protected]

Hi!
The same woman contacted me about an au pair position, and the emails she has sent me were pretty much the same.
I have no idea whether she exists or not, she has not asked for money (yet?).
I tried tracing her email address (created in Alberta) and her IP address (from Vancouver) but I really don't know what to think.
Is there anything else I can do?

Thank you very much.

I will repeat what Chris Fuller wrote: please read about childcare regulations in Canada here:

Live-in Caregiver

Travel and Work Program

And again, if you are told to get in contact with a lawyer, immigration agency, or travel agency, then it is a scam.