While residents are seeking babysitting jobs online, Troy Police Chief Randall Barr said thieves are seeking people they can scam.

“This is a new type of scam that is focused on identity theft and has been reported over the past several days,” Barr said. “The scam has been targeting people that have placed their profiles on Care.com looking for babysitting jobs.”

Barr says the victims are being contacted by thieves posing as interested customers, asking for personal information such as birth dates and social security information under the guise of running a background check on the babysitters.

“The suspects then contact the victims stating that the background check has been cleared and sets up a meeting point,” Barr said. “But when the victims show up, nobody is there to meet them.”

Barr said victims report being contacted afterward by credit card companies inquiring about their information being used to open new accounts and have found that merchandise has also been ordered with their information.

“The Troy Police Department wants to remind the public to be very careful to whom they provide their information and always verify who you may be dealing with,” Barr said.