Scam or for real?

I got this email a few days back, and I was wondering if it is scam or not. I does not feel like scam, but I want to be shore.

"Hello there,

I received your file from Almondbury Au PAir agency and wondered if you would be interested in joining out family? Below is some more information about us.

My name is Carmel & my son's name is Matthew. He is 8 years old and an only child. We have 2 Labrador dogs, a cat and a hamster!. We live in the countryside, approximately 3km from our nearest town, Athy. We live on a private roadway, beside 2 of my brothers and mother. I work as a Policewoman in Dublin, which is approx 60Km from us.

I am from a family of 7 children and there are 19 grandchildren. We are a big noisy bunch, but good fun. There are 8 other children living beside us and there would be additional options for earning extra money from babysitting, if you were interested.

My au pair has her own large, bright bedroom and a large bathroom. I have wi-fi internet in the house also. I enjoy cooking and do so every day. In addition to my full-time work as a policewoman, I also have a new business making special occasion cakes for people.

My au pair is required to mind Matthew while I am in work. He attends school from 9am till 2.40pm. He goes to school by bus and returns the same way. He usually leaves at 8.40am and returns by 3pm. He then has a snack and does his homework, I usually return home from work by 6pm at the latest.I do not provide a car for my Au Pair. There is a bicycle for their use or transport can be arranged if required.

I am involved with Matthew's sports clubs and would require my au pair to babysit, when I have meetings or events for the clubs. This would be done be prior arrangement.

If you are interested in the position, I would require you to be in Ireland from the 3rd week of August 2011, in order that you would have time to settle in and get to know us, before Matthew returns to school on the 29th August.


If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Regards,

Carmel Henry"

It doesn't sound fishy, at least at first sight. However, we always advise to proceed with care.
There is a lady with that name on Facebook who lives in the same place; of course, the information might be stolen.

We would need her email address and the header of her emails to analyse further.

How to get headers?

http://www.abika.com/Reports/Samples/em ... rguide.htm

It would also depend on what country you are from. Anyone really wanting an au pair would know who can work in Ireland or not.
I did look at the Agency concerned and couldn't see anything that matches what the email describes. It also seems to me to be a bit odd that it is a 60 KM trip to Dublin to go to work, and that stretches my imagination somewhat. We don't use km in UK or Ireland and so I think there is more to this than immediately apparent. I believe police work in shifts, and getting home at 6 pm means leaving work at 3 -3.30pm because that drive will take over 2 hours to do because it is more than 50 miles and involve getting out of the city. Hmmm!

Hello lsclj92,
First of all are you registered with us?
Secondly we do not have scam families please check http://www.aupair-agency.com/Aupair-Scams.htm but regrettably a lot of families mention our name as we are the biggest agency in Europe so that they look more legitimate.

Actually we do have a verified family by that name, so if in doubt ask the family for their ID with us and then email us directly ( from the contact on the home page ) at http://www.aupair-agency.com and we can then help you.

Almondbury Au pair & Nanny Agency

Very nice to see that reputable organisations arrive here and offer assistance. The site is always grateful for input from you and it does point out ways to verify what is true or not.