HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We hope that 2009 will be a prosperous and happy one for all of our friends! We look forward to serving you all in the coming year.

Training Calendar Correction

The Foundations training for 1/15/09 is on a THURSDAY - not Monday.

The SIDS class for 1/06/09 is already full.

CHILD CARE SCAM ALERT!!!

I use Craigslist as a tool to promote Child Care Answers regularly. I have an account there that is tied into my personal email address. Yesterday I got this email in my inbox:

My name is Fain Jeff,I was looking for someone to take care of my daugheter and son when i return to the state and someone introduced craigslist.com to me and i saw your ad on there as a Childcare and Babysitter,i am interested in you as my babysitter/Childcare.My kids name is Juliana and Ben,i would like you to take care of them while i am at work in you Location ,i use to stay in United Kingdom but i am moving to your location because i would have a contract with Boss Perfume down there,i work as a model and the contract will last for 1 month,i want you to take care of them very while i am at work.I go to work 10 am and i get back by 4pm,i will like to know if you will take care of them in your child care centre/Home or in my house where i would be staying in the state,i am confortable with any of the ways,my kids (Juliana and Ben) is 4 and 2years old and i will send you some picture of me and them as soon as everything is considered a deal,i will also like to know how much you charge to take care of them for 1 month and the time i need your service is 10 am to 4 pm.Get back to me with the amount and i will be glad to update you and make the payment in advace to show you how serious i am.Regards and Waiting for your reply.
Fain Jeff

I replied that if they were truly interested in our services they should check out our webpage. I replied from my work email via the internet from home. When I got to the office this morning, this was in my inbox:

Hello Gist,
Nice hearing from you again, and thanks for taking ur precious time to reply my mail and am also happy to hear about ur wonderful family,i know My kids won't be bored and will have play mates to play with while am away for my work,this indeed is great and i will like to employ ur service in taking good care of My kids (Juliana and Ben), am okay with the cost and terms of your weeking service charge , I believe me and My kids will be happy to meet you, mostly, I would appreciate we relate in total trust, honesty and God fearing,Sincere lady like myself. I am Okay with the cost of ur time service like i have said earlier and to be swift about this, I'm making the payment ahead of my arrival for every preparation you would like to do, be done without any delay so you should be starting your work as soon as we arrive in the state in a Jan 5th, cos we are hoping to be in the state before next weekend.
The duration of the childcare will be from Monday - Wednesday 8am to 5pm for a 1 month and I will be dropping them off and picking them later in the day.My Little kids is considered nice and potty trained, friendly and easy to get along with and well brought up kids, from a christian home and I'm sure you would love to have them in your child care home.
My husband is from the United Kingdom and he travels alot as he is into Engineering,I will have my husband send you the payment in form of cashier checks/ money orders which will be sent to you by my husband's client who is in the states, because my husband is currently in France doing some other business, On reciept of the payment please deduct your charge for the Daycare/childcare, then foward the balance to our family Travel agent in United Kingdom who will be helping us process our flight papers as soon as he receives the fees. I still need to augument on some expenses to facilitate my travelling arrangements to the state.

I want you to get back to me with your contact information for payment, e.g Name to which the checks should be made payable to, and the address it should be mailed to, including your cell phone number as well.
Regard to your wonderful Family.......
Thanks

Really? This really upset me - so I called the local FBI office today and asked them what I should do. They told me to cease all communication with this person, and then report the incident via ic3.gov.

As veteran computer user I was quickly able to spot this as fraud. What worries me is that in these tough economic times with so many of our friends in child care with declining enrollment, they might grasp at this straw hoping it will help them, only to discover that it is a life-line attached to lead weights that will drag them further to the bottom! Here are some things to look for to detect fraudulent requests:

1. Poor grammar. 90% of these scam artists are outside of the US and English is not their native language. Look for mis-used words, incorrect spelling, or just wrong sounding terms.


2. An offer that is just too good to be true! Remember if it sounds too good to be true - it probably is.


3. A request that involves anything outside of the United States. This person claimed to be a model - why is "she" coming to Indiana in the middles of the Winter?


4. Cashing a check/money order/cashier's check and sending the balance or overage somewhere. Really? Why would they ask you to do that? Can't they just send you the correct amount? Here is what happens: You get a check, cash it, send them a money order for what is the overage, and then a couple of days later your bank calls you and tells you that the check you deposited was fraudulent and you are responsible for making up the difference. Sometimes hundreds or thousands of dollars
   

If you have any questions please call Child Care Answers Database Manager at 317-518-7674 or email me.

Back to Work

Many of us are returning to work today, for a few days at the least. If you are a parent and need temporary care - because your child care provider is closed this week for vacation or another reason, please give our referral specialists, Vicky or Cathy a call. We have a list of providers that specialize in temporary or emergency care, just for times like these! If you have to work New Year's Day and need someone who is open Holidays, we can find that too.

Cathy or Vicky can be reached at 631-4643.

Have a safe, happy and prosperous New Year!!