KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If you have children, you’ve probably used or heard of Care.com. It’s a website to find a babysitter, or to be one for other families. It’s simple, but as one metro woman discovered, you could be deceived if you aren’t careful.
When Nicole Reynolds got the first text message, she thought she secured a job. Someone named Laundia Sanchez asked Reynolds to babysit her four-year-old boy.
“She said she was a Christian and a God-fearing woman,” Reynolds recalled.
Reynolds needed this job. Her husband just retired from the military and the family moved back to Kansas City to start over. After two weeks of correspondence via email and text, some she even printed out, but then she received something in the mail that raised red flags.
“She sent me the $3,000 which I was supposed to take to my bank and have cleared within a certain time frame, draw it out and put it into someone else’s account,” she said.
The money was for Sanchez’s son who needed a wheelchair. Reynolds stuck with the plan because she needed the income.
“I didn’t want to ruin our chances, I didn’t want to argue with her, and I just wanted to have a little faith,” said Reynolds.
Then Sanchez disappeared and Reynolds was left jobless and in debt. The check was fraudulent. The bank that cashed it wants its money back from Reynolds.
She’s already paid back half by dipping into savings and taking out loans.
“I can’t imagine it happening to anybody else. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. That’s a lot of money,” said Reynolds.
The website boasts more than 13-million members in 16 different countries who depend on Care.Com for babysitting services and jobs.