Woman nearly falls victim to scam involving popular caregiving website

Rennie Manning says she wants others to be aware, alert

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman who nearly fell victim to a scam says she was almost out thousands of dollars.

Rennie Manning said she was contacted by someone who got her information from Care.com. She trusted the person until the money became funny.

The woman said this isn't the first time she has dodged a scam, but since this continues to happen she wants others to be aware and alert.

"I was looking for tutoring jobs when I first moved back to Jacksonville and August," Manning said. "I was gone for a while, so I signed up for Care.com and that's how this whole thing started."

With a master's degree in English, teaching diction and grammar, Manning thought she'd found the perfect side job to keep money coming in. She was successful, receiving leads of tutoring jobs on her cellphone, like one that came in the form of a text.

"My name is Sandra Mannix and I got your contact on Care website," the text read. "I need a very smart and intelligent tutor for my 10-year-old son."

The two began corresponding. The woman stated that her son would be coming to the U.S. this summer to stay with a nanny and she wanted him to be tutored, and then Manning said she saw the first red flag.

"She said, 'We are Canadian and looking to relocate to the United States, but in the meantime I'm in Malta, so when I send you money it will be honored here. I'll have to send it to you in the United States,' so that's when I got very suspicious," Manning said.

The woman then sent Manning a legitimate United States Priority Mail envelope. Inside was a cashiers check for $4,800. The sender wanted Manning to deposit the money into her account and give a certain amount to the alleged nanny, but Manning didn't fall for it.

"Had I deposited this check in my bank account and tried to take out the money and then sent her the remaining money to the alleged nanny, by the time all this happened this would have been proven to be a bad check and my bank account would have been out $4,800," Manning said. "That's a scam and it happens all the time."

Looking closer, Manning noticed the routing number was actually fake. She now recommends Care.com users read the fine print so they wont fall victim to the scam either.

"Never ever accept an overpayment. Never accept anything from someone who says they're relocating to the United States, but I let them know that I'm not interested in tutoring anymore because I've got a job," Manning said.

The woman knew it was a scam and never made it to her bank. She did contact police but there wasn't much they could do. She also called the postal inspector and had her fill out a mail fraud form.