Au pair scam [email protected]

I am SO happy I discovered this forum as I received e-mails today from a woman with an almost identical text as other people got on this forum. I told my parents about the e-mail - to be honest, I wasn't really suspicious - but they seemed to find it odd. I now have the proof this is a scam mail thanks to this forum, which explains some of the content and weird discussion I had with the woman.

Here are the e-mails:

Stacy Williams <[email protected]> wrote:

"Hi ....,

I am really happy that you replied me and interested in working for our family, I told my husband about you he also likes it so here is a little about us also

THE FAMILY

I work as an IT consultant and do consultancy for many firms here in the city, while my husband works with the government (Office of Resolution Management) so we're not always available at home.

We live on 704 Atkinson Ave, Copperas Cove Texas, which am sure you know is a big city. I am down to Earth, blunt and take things the way they come. I am a very friendly person and easy to get along with. You will have no problem in adapting to our lifestyle here. We will need your services due to the time commitment that is demanding by our job. We want you to know that you'll never have any cause to regret taking up this job. If you smoke and you want to smoke it's most no be in my home cause we don't smoke in the house and definitely not in front of my daughter, I must say here that were Christian family and We are devoted to our Religion.We decided to have an AU pair because of our neighbors across who have a Spanish Au pair and its working great from the, she sometimes prepare Spanish meals and we go over to eat and even teach us a few things in Spanish, its lovely.


MY BABY

My lovely daughters name is Hannah she will be 3 by December, we enrolled her at a kindergarten school this year, after which she will also proceed to elementary school. She is welcoming and though she is young, she has a warm reception for people and she has got friendly attitude too. She likes playing a lot and i do not think you will not have any problem with her so far she eats and plays well. Very intelligent and fun to be with, she likes candy, chocolate enjoys watching cartoon movies. You’ll enjoy staying with her.


SALARY

You will be entitled to a pay of $1250 every month while you will also be given an entitlement of $80 every week for petty expenses which you might need for yourself.This salary is subject to negotiations for an upward review upon your arrival.


SCHEDULE

Morning: Get Hannah dressed, feeding, prepare for morning activities<school, play class etc>

Afternoon: Participate in other activities, library, swimming lessons, read books and Bible, play games, listen to music,

Evening: Help prepare dinner, give her baths, help her put on her Pajamas help with any projects and school activities.



ROOM

A well furnished bedroom will be made available for your personal use soon as you get here. You will also be provided with a personal computer connected to the internet so you can keep in contact with relatives, TV and other necessary things at your disposal,There will be enough privacy for you; I guess you'll really like it.


OFF DAYS

You have every weekend as your off day as my husband will not be going to work during weekends except special overtime.


STUDY

You will be free to study in any school of your choice soon as you get here that's if you still want to. I will be helping you as regards tuition fees and there are so many colleges and Universities here that offer good and qualitative courses. We’ll be willing to help you with that.
Let me know if you are ready to take up this position?
I will love to know if the salary is good by you?
Do you have a valid passport and other necessary document needed for Visa Application?

Love Stacy"

"Hi,

Thanks for your message and I appreciate the fact that you'll be staying with us, my husband agreed to everything , My baby loves everything I told her about you so I'll want us to start preparations as soon as possible and get everything set because I don't know how long the Visa processing takes.

Concerning the Visa, flight and other traveling documents, I believe its best we get them through an agency because of our past experience from our neighbor: so it will be perfect to apply through them, they helped our neighbor with their last Au pair and it was very fast, smooth so we also feel very secure patronizing them. We want to make sure that you have a valid VISA and documents so that when you get to the US there wont be any hitch whatsoever.Our friends had their first Au pair In the year 2010 from Finland that processed an invalid VISA more like a tourist VISA and was later caught some few weeks after staying with them which cost them so many Court cases, please in that case I hope you are okay with this security measure.

Also concerning your Visa processing and all traveling expenses, I believe you know that our family must also pay some amount of money too, that means you will also be paying your own part of the total traveling expenses which is affordable, but right now I cannot give you the current cost breakdown and processing details except you make contact.I want us to make progress without any delay so that you can join us soonest.

As regards the Visa, flight and other traveling documents you will have to contact Mr. Robert Powell (The International Relations Officer) of the Au Pair America Agency on this email: [email protected] for all details of the processing of your Visa, Work Permit, Insurance and other traveling documents including the Total Cost,please tell him "Your name, Your Full contact address and your personal cell phone number with international dialing code, your country and how long you intend staying with us and when you will wanna start and that you have found your American Host family (Williams Family with ID TX260985 living on 704 Atkinson Ave, Copperas Cove, Texas TX, USA).

Then Please kindly get back to me with whatever they tell you so that we can discuss better about the payment. I will be expecting your reply soonest. Make sure you contact them as soon as possible as we can't wait to have you here with us.

I attached a picture of a room provided for you, its a little untidy, I hope you like it

I care with love,

Stacy"

The e-mails were provided with photos of the girl and the room. (I'll have to read how to upload them if this is important)
She contacted me through facebook with this profile: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006782102419
but the e-mailaddress directed me to: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id ... 88&fref=ts
She said in the e-mails she was very glad I accepted the offer, but I never did that; I only asked questions.
I didn't come to the paying part yet, but too many details were odd to continue the conversation. She doesn't know I know her mail is fake, unless she sees this forum.
She said she saw my profile on Au-Pair World, but I couldn't find her there (obviously) and if she's not a member, she could not have known my last name and therefor could not have contacted me.
Another detail that struck me, is that her e-mail was sent at an hour that wasn't the current time in her timezone (far from it!), and that it started with 'Re:...' although I hadn't sent any mail with that subject first. She sent the e-mails too quickly to have possibly been able to write them.
I could provide the whole conversation we had (facebook and e-mail) but I'm anxious she discovers this. What am I supposed to do now?

Welcome to Scamwarners Pchem, It is a scam. The scammer will have you pay fees, travel and etc via Western Union or Money Gram. This email address [email protected] is not associated with any company. It is a free email address that any one, you and I can get. Its just like yahoo, gmail and hotmail.

Dotti wrote:

If a host family asks you to send money by Western Union or moneygram to anyone, it is a scam.

If you are looking for an au pair position in the US, it is very important that you familiarize yourself with the US government's rules regarding au pairs. In the US, you can ONLY become an au pair if you are sponsored by one of the agencies on this official list: http://j1visa.state.gov/participants/ho ... &state=any If a "family" claims they can hire you directly, or if they refer you to an agency that is not on this list (or if they refer you to an attorney) then they are fake. If they give you the name of an agency on this list, you need to follow the link FROM THE OFFICIAL LIST to the agency's website, then contact the agency THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE OR AT THE PHONE NUMBER ON THE OFFICIAL LIST, and verify that they are indeed arranging a position for you. Otherwise, a scammer could just be using a real agency's name.


The US has VERY strict laws regarding au pair visas.
-You can NEVER be given an au pair job offer without having a face-to-face interview, in English, with a representative of the au pair agency.
-You will NEVER send money by WU or moneygram to any family or agency.
-If you meet the requirements and are accepted by the agency, you will be given the forms you need and you will have to go the the US embassy or consulate in your country to get a visa.