Spoting an Adoption Scam

Details

Published on Saturday, 21 January 2012 22:20

Written by Rebecca

Types of Adoption Fraud 

Financial Fraud

The most common form of fraud involves someone who accepts money from an adoptive family knowing that she is either not pregnant or planning not to fher child. She may promise a child to several families, collecting money from each.

Emotional Fraud

It’s rare, but has happened: fraud not for money, but for attention or to inflict harm. In these cases the birth parent is not pregnant at all. She may be desperately lonely and in need of psychological help. She wants to talk intimately with someone and knows she can find emotionally fragile adoptive parents who will care about her. Her victims are manipulated into longing for the child. The game lasts only until she is asked to document her pregnancy or to meet the agency caseworker.

To protect yourself from any type of fraud, consider the following points as listed in the booklet Someone is Missing.

• Due to your strong desire for a baby, you may be vulnerable to online scams and unreasonable requests that are not in your best interest.
• Always choose an ethical path for your adoption, which is not necessarily the shortest or easiest path. For instance, some states require birth father notification before a court approves an adoption to occur. In addition, all states dictate that adoptions are subject to finalizing court custodial decrees prior to a couple crossing state boundaries to return home with the baby. These laws can be inconveniences to adoptive couples but are required. Other ethical issues may also surface that call into question the best interest of all parties to the adoption. For example, a birth parent may request that an adoptive couple pay for inappropriate items, services, or procedures that have nothing to do with support through her pregnancy. Couples are strongly encouraged to abide by the laws and ethical practices of adoption.
• Protect your privacy. In online profiles, don’t mention your employer, salary, home or work phone numbers. Invite birth mothers to call your adoption cell phone number if you are in possession of one.
• Don’t make a hasty decision, no matter how anxious you are for a child. Don’t over commit to anyone until your caseworker has had time to check out the situation.
• The most common form of fraud involves someone who accepts money from an adoptive family knowing that she will never place a child for adoption. She may promise a child to several families, collecting money from each. 
• Be cautious with anyone who contacts you directly and prefers to work only through you. A woman who is sincere about adoption will provide you with specific contact information and she should respect your request that she talk with your caseworker or attorney.

Also, you make sure your adoption professional does their due diligence in verifying information such as employer, school, doctor, etc and indentifying red flags. A wonderful idea would be to share this article with them even if they are aware of adoption fraud in the adoption world today.

Be Careful with Money

Money should only be given through your agency or attorney. Do not give money directly to the birth mother. The agency or attorney will approve expenses and disburse funds directly to the appropriate person such as a landlord, physician, or utility company. Each state has different laws concerning the amount and what expenses are allowed to be paid by the adoptive couple.

Red Flags 

• The birth mom wants to deliver the baby to you. She may say this to get you to buy a plane ticket for her that she can cash in later. Most true birth mothers want you to come to them.
• The birth mom is not available by phone or the address is not verifiable.
• She does not provide proof of pregnancy or other requested documents. She seems to always have a reason for not sending you identifying information. She may have a sudden miscarriage or hospitalization when you ask for too much information.
• She does not want you to contact anyone else concerning her pregnancy. She will not give you real names or numbers of doctors.

From the website The Cruelest Con - Adoption Scams, here are additional red flags to look for when screening an adoption situation.

• Asks for money to be sent to them due to a crisis.
• Refuses to name birth dad.
• Refuses to tell family or friends.
• Does not ask you questions about you, your home, or your family.
• States, “you are the family” with in the first contact.
• Seems to be dealing with one crisis after another. Much drama in her life.
• Is being kicked out of home, homeless shelter and needs money wired immediately.
• Keeps changing due date.
• Sends you ultrasound without a name on it or other verifying information.
• Insist on being the one who does the contacting.
• Will only have contact with you over the Internet or text messaging.
• Constantly needs money.
• Knows too much about adoption and how it works.
• Refuses or has a lot of excuses as to why she/he cannot utilize resources within their community.
• Does not tell her doctor about the adoption plan.

Research/Screen the Birth Mother

Caseworker can help confirm an expectant parent's sincerity in placing their child for adoption. In your first phone call, find out her phone number and the location from which she is calling. With this information, you may be able to enlist the help of an agency caseworker in her area to meet with her and verify her information.

You may receive an email or phone call from a person claiming to represent a birth mother. It is best to say, “Great! Have her contact us or our caseworker. We’d like to talk and we’ll send you some information you can give her.” If this person says, “You can only go through me to reach her.” Consider that a red flag and move cautiously.

Example Situation

You may receive a call from a woman you don’t know in the middle of the night or weeks prior to her given due date. She has put off her decision to place the child for adoption until the last possible moment. If she is currently in labor or goes into labor prior to pregnancy verification, then ask her to tell you her full name and the name of the hospital. Give this information to your caseworker who can call the hospital maternity ward to verify the woman’s story. Please wait until your caseworker contacts you with verification before spending any money on travel arrangements or related expenses.

The booklet Someone is Missing suggested these ideas as ways to research a birthmother.

• Search out her contact name (e.g. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. …type in “JaneDoe”) and her email address. If the birth mother is using a different name while chatting with an Instant Messenger program, perform a Google search on this name as well. If you are dealing with a scammer, you may find that they have posted information on other Web sites.
• If your contact has sent you pictures, right click on the picture and obtain the picture’s file name. Take the file name and perform an “Image” Google search. Some scammers steal pictures off of other Web pages and then send them to adoptive couples claiming the picture as their own. Be very cautious when you use this screening technique as searching some contact images may lead to Web sites that are pornographic in nature. 
• Some adoptive couples have visited online forums such as the “adoptionscams” yahoo group. Couples who have encountered a contact that turned out to be a scam may post this information on these forums. Building a networking relationship with other online adoptive couples can be valuable in detecting fraudulent contacts who claim to be birth parents. Always exercise caution when networking online as information you receive may not always be accurate. 
• A contact may give you a cellular or residential telephone number. The Internet has many Web sites where you can verify a contact’s telephone number. This is calleda “reverse look-up” and allows you to type in a contact’s cellular or residential phone to ensure it matches up with the name. Some sites are free while others require payment for use. 
• Verifying a contact person’s state or city is important when screening birth mothers. Web sites such as switchboard.com allow you to search by name or telephone number.
• One of the best tools to screen birth parents is your agency or attorney. An attorney or caseworker can verify information and pregnancy status.

Sources

1. Crean, Ellen. "How To Spot An Adoption Scam." CBS News. CBS Interactive, 11 Feb. 2009. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/15/earlyshow/living/parenting/main1128218.shtml>.
2. "Detecting Red Flags." The Cruelest Con-Adoption Scams. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. <http://www.thecruelestcon.com/flags.html>.

3. "INTERNET SAFETY - ADOPTION." Someone’s Missing . . . MAKING YOUR ADOPTION HAPPEN. A Finders’ Guide for Families Who Are Hoping to Adopt. 7-9. Print.