Is this a scam?

Hello!!

I got a message on facebook last week and I am not sure if it´s a spam:

Linda Maria Willinghton 06. April um 10:09 melden
I am linda from USA. I am using this opportunity to come in contact with you because it seems i saw your profile in Au pair site if you will be available to work for my family. I deactivated my account recently not knowing that i will be needing someone to help me take good care of my kids. I liked your profile. . I will appreciate if you can forward your reply to ([email protected]) Thanks so much and i will be awaiting your favorable response soonest .

I replied and this was the next mail I got

Hello Jasmin,
My name is Linda .I work with an IT Company in Cambridge, MA while my husband is a lawyer here in Boston.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.I would love you to see me as your sister.so that we can leave as a family.We will be needing your services due to the time commitment that is demanding by our job.
Elizabeth is Two years, we just enrolled her at a kindergarten school for this summer..She is welcoming and though she is young,she has a warm and friendly attitude.she like s playing a lot and I do not think you will not have any problem with her so far she eats and plays well. Michael is six years old, he's in his first year in elementary school.He likes outdoor activities playing with his bicycle with our neighbor and he also enjoys watching cartoon movies. Elizabeth also likes playing a mother role cos she's always with me in the kitchen..
Your job is not a hard one,I do not believe in supervising or monitoring people to do their job.I believe people should be giving a free role in whatever they do. So I believe you should be able to perform well without being told. All entails preparing the kids for school in the morning,taking Michael and Elizabeth to the point where the school bus picks them up to school.You will have a free period then whereby you can do any vocation or practice whatever is at your disposal. Then you help monitor them after they are brought home by the school bus,just to make sure they are alright till my arrival from work.
Morning: help children get 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 them baths,help them put on pajamas, help them with any projects and school activities.
You have every weekend as your off day as my husband will not be going to work weekends except special overtime and we will also permit you on the 40 days vacation without pay if the need arise for it but you will have to give us at least a month notice before you commence on the leave.
You will be entitled to a pay of $1250 every month while you will also be given an entitlement of $100 every week for petty expenses which you
might need for yourself..This salary is subject to negotiations for an upward review upon your arrival and week can actually get it high to about $1950 if we discharge your duties with all levels of seriousness.
I will like you to answer these Questions:
When to start? - "This is actually open to both of us so i will like you to tell me when you will be free to start up but if it is possible for you to start as soon as possible that will also be welcome"
I will like to also know how long you intend to stay with us?. Then Concerning your Visa and other travel documents( work permit insurance etc.), I have a solution to it but i will need you to provide answers to my questions so that i will be able to know what type of visa we may need and when to start processing it. Can you please send me some of your pictures?
A well furnished bed room will be made available for your personal use soon as you get here. TV and other necessary gadgets at your disposal.There will be enough privacy for you,i guess you'll really like it.
We have cars and you can actually use one which mine a Toyota Camry but you will have to get use to Left hand driving Wheel system here in America, there are also public transport and other necessary means of transportation.
You will be free to study in any school of your choice soon as you get here.
Hope you find this mail comprehensive enough. I would like you ask me questions and would also like you to tell me about yourself you family and your love life.
I care. With Love,
Linda

And the next:

Hello Jasmin,
Michael pasted your pictures on the wall.We would like you to know that to get all your travel documents we would need to go through an agency which we have registered with here n America.America is a very good place for you to improve your language skills and expose you to another kind of culture.So Concerning the Visa, flight and other traveling documents we will have to get them through an agency because of our past experience: so it will only be perfect to apply through them, they helped us with our last Au pair and it was very great and also very secured patronizing them. We want to make sure that you have a valid visa so that when you get to the US Embassy there wont be any hitch whatsoever. We had our first Au pair In the year 2008 from Croatia that processed an invalid visa and was later caught some few weeks after staying with us which costed us so many Court cases, please in that case i hope you are okay with this security measure. 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 as soon as possible because i am sure that the Processing usually takes around 2-3 weeks and by then you will have received all your traveling packages and also fully ready to join us. So concerning the Visa, flight and other traveling documents you will have to contact Mr. Benson-Foster (The International Relation Officer) of the 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 that you have found your American Host family (Willinghton family, living in Boston,Massachusetts, USA.) and also tell him how long you intend to stay with us .
Linda

Is this a real family? I am confused because she contacted me on facebook...

Thank you for your replies

Hi there, from first reading it looks likely to be a scam. I'm saying this based on the standard of English and the amount of salary which is offered (high for au pairs).

It sounds as though you are being lined up to pay in advance for all the documentation they say you need.

I would have a look at the email "headers" of the email you have received (not the messages via FB) and perhaps ask for a phone number to call. Could you post both of these here and we can further advise you?

thanks for your reply!

both mails were sent from the adress I was given in the first message on facebook: [email protected]
should I write to this agency to find out more details about them?

Don't bother Jare2011

It's a scam.

An au pair host isn't able to contact an au pair direct and offer them a job and you are not allowed to apply for a job directly with a host. If he (it will be a male contacting you from an internet cafe) had previously had an au pair they would know this.

These are the official US goverment regulations.

http://exchanges.state.gov/jexchanges/programs/aupair.html

http://exchanges.state.gov/jexchanges/programs/au_pair_hosts.html

He won't mention this procedure as he knows you will discover that he is a scammer. If you seriously want to become an au pair in the USA then you need to contact one of the agencies mentioned on the links. Until then it will be impossible to become an au pair in the USA.