Indianapolis Company Issues Warning to Sitters

Indianapolis-based LullabySitters.com is warning sitters to use extra care in the wake of a scam that has now hit Indiana. An Indiana college student reportedly had her bank account drained in a scam after signing up on Care.com, a website for people to find babysitters, nannies and cleaning professionals.

The scam

According to news reports, a Hoosier college student was contacted by a family who was allegedly moving to Bloomington and needed someone to set up their apartment. The woman mailed the college student a cashier’s check, which she deposited and used to buy gift cards the woman requested.  The check later turned out to be forged.  The bank took money out of the student’s savings to cover the amount.  The student was scammed out of thousands of dollars.

LullabySitters.com is a home-grown Hoosier company created by mom Marie Maher to solve her own problem of finding qualified sitters.  Marie works to help the sitters who sign up on her site, LullabySitters.com, gain professional business skills to avoid scams like this. She also sets up safe “speed-sitting” events so that sitters and families can meet face-to-face in a controlled setting.

“I never lose sight of the fact that our sitters are also someone’s children,” Maher says.  “LullabySitters.com works diligently to ensure that our sitters and the children they watch are safe.  That’s why we offer these unique speed-sitting events so sitters can meet families in a neutral location.  This face-to-face interaction helps prevent ‘catfishing’ situations like the one in the news.”

Maher says sitters should never agree to make any financial transactions on behalf of a family, particularly one they have never met in person.

“The fact that someone would try to take advantage of a college student trying to earn money through a flexible, professional career is so upsetting and unfortunate,” Maher says.  “Professionals who connect through websites should always trust their instincts, particularly if a situation feels odd.  With a local company like ours, we can issue a warning and our sitters can reach out and get the support they need to avoid a situation like this one.”