How to avoid nanny hiring scams: a guide for nannies and families

To avoid nanny hiring scams, talk live and meet in person before you commit, and get the job in writing. Look the person up, and never accept a check or send money before work starts. Keep bank details and your Social Security number out of every chat.

How to avoid nanny hiring scams.

Scammers post fake jobs and fake profiles in the same places nannies and families look for each other. Federal Trade Commission data show job scam losses jumped from $90 million to $501 million between 2020 and 2024. That FTC category covers job and employment agency scams of every kind, so read it as a hiring-wide trend.

How nanny scams work.

Most nanny scams follow one of two scripts. Both end with the victim's money moving toward the scammer.

The fake check scam.

A job offer comes fast, often without an interview. Then a check arrives before your first day, called your first paycheck or money for supplies.

You're told to deposit it and send part back, or on to a third party. Later, the bank finds the check is fake and takes the full amount back from you.

The Federal Trade Commission's FTC guidance on job scams says scammers post fake job ads for nannies and caregivers. The FTC adds that a legitimate employer will never ask you to forward part of a check. Your employer pays you, and money never moves from a nanny to a family.

Upfront payment scams.

The second script asks you to pay first. The request might be for a background check, training, a "start-up kit," or a placement fee, before any real job exists. The FTC is plain: honest employers never ask you to pay to get a job.

A legitimate cost looks very different. Gathered Hands shows flat, transparent membership pricing up front: $29.99 a month for families and $19.99 a month for nannies, with the background check included. There's no placement fee and no commission, and nannies keep 100% of their rate.

Any fee is set by the platform, in the open. If a family asks you for money in a message, treat it as a scam.

Red flags to watch for.

The warning signs differ a little on each side of the hire. If you're a nanny, slow down when you see any of these:

• You're hired without a phone or video interview.
• The family has excuses for not meeting, like being out of town or too busy.
• The pay is far too high for the hours.
• They push to move the chat off the platform quickly.
• Duties and hours stay vague, and they won't put terms in writing.
• They want payment by gift card, wire transfer, cash reload card, or crypto.

The National Conference of State Legislatures reports the FTC received more than 41,000 gift card fraud reports in 2024, with $212 million lost. That count spans all scam types involving gift and prepaid cards. Refuse any gift card request from a supposed employer.

Families face their own version of these scams. Watch for these signs:

• The candidate won't video call or meet in person.
• The candidate asks for money before starting, for any reason.
• The candidate's references can't be reached by phone.
• The candidate pushes to leave the platform right away.

Ways to protect yourself.

Each step below is small. Together, they close the doors scammers rely on.

Research the person first.

Search the person's name, email, phone number, and a line from their message with the word "scam" or "fraud." Scammers reuse scripts, so copied text often turns up in someone's warning.

Families, call references and verify CPR or first aid certifications yourself. Our policy asks you to, since we don't verify what members write. When you hire a background-checked nanny, the check covers identity and criminal records, and your own calls cover the rest.

Get the job in writing.

Before you accept, get the duties, hours, pay, and start date in writing. A family that refuses to write down terms is giving you a warning sign.

On Gathered Hands, every job post lists the pay and the schedule up front. You'll also see the kids' ages, and posts that go quiet close automatically.

Meet before you commit.

Start with a video call. Then meet in a public place before anyone is alone with children.

Our safety policy tells families and nannies alike to meet in public first. A good interview alone doesn't prove someone is legitimate.

Keep money and private details out of the chat.

Never send money in a conversation, and never share bank details or your Social Security number there. Direct deposit gets set up after you're hired, with real payroll paperwork. Keep conversations on the platform until you feel confident about the person.

On Gathered Hands, families start every conversation, and nannies can't cold-message families. A person on our team reviews every account before it becomes active. You can read more about how nanny accounts work.

Know what platform screening covers.

Scammers use legitimate platforms too, so no badge replaces your judgment. Here is what our screening does and where it stops.

Every nanny account completes a background check before it's shown to families or can apply to jobs. Checkr, an independent consumer reporting agency, runs the identity verification and criminal records searches.

Family accounts are reviewed by a person, but they aren't background checked. We also don't read or scan messages, and a clear background check is a point-in-time record search that can't guarantee anything. You can see the details in our safety and screening policy.

Quick checklist.

Save this table and run through it at each stage. If a check fails, pause the hire.

What to do if you've been scammed.

If money or personal details already went to a scammer, move fast. Work through these steps:

1. Stop all contact, and don't send more money, even for a promised refund.
2. Contact the payment company right away and ask for your money back.
3. If you shared your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov.
4. Report the scam to the FTC and your state attorney general, then tell the site where you met.

For step two, the Federal Trade Commission lists steps if you were scammed for each payment method. For a gift card, call the issuer at the number on the back of the card. For a wire, contact the company you used, such as Western Union or MoneyGram, or call your bank if a check bounced.

For step four, the Federal Trade Commission lets you report it to the FTC online. If the fake check came by mail, also report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. On Gathered Hands, you can report a profile or conversation, and a person reads every report.

Where safer hiring starts.

Anonymous job boards make scams easier. Posts go up with no review, and terms stay unclear until money is moving.

Direct hiring can be safe when profiles are real and a person reviews every account. Pay should always flow one way, from the family to the nanny.

Gathered Hands is for families who want to know the whole person before anyone walks through the door. It's for nannies who are tired of dead-end listings and want to keep 100% of their rate. There's no agency in the middle, and we never take a cut of your pay.

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