Care.com or Scam.com?

Deaths, Death Threats, Fake

Profiles, and the Predatory Babysitter
Who wants Harvey Weinstein as a babysitter?
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Disclaimer

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Batman Research has no affiliation with Gotham City Research.

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Summary
Batman Research believes:

At least three children have been killed by Care.com babysitters

Care.com babysitters have repeatedly abused children
Care.com background checks are not reliable
We successfully registered as a Care.com babysitter and applied to babysitting jobs as
Harvey Weinstein
Many of Care.coms key metrics (e.g., # of users) appear to be very inaccurate

Table of Contents
Introduction (3)
Care.com Deaths & Abuses (4)
Harvey Weinstein Babysitter (7)
Background Checks (9)
Death Threats (10)
Fake Profiles (11)
Other Warning Signs (16)
Valuation, Target Price $0-$3 (20)
Conclusion (20)
Appendix A (21)

Anyone with information on a Care.com death or abuse please contact tips@batmanresearch.com

Introduction
In theory, Care.com is the worlds largest online destination for finding and managing family
care, with 14.2 million families and 11.0 million caregivers. Both parents and caregivers can
join for free, but most of the platform requires upgrading to a paid monthly membership.
Care.com makes money off these paid memberships and add-on services such as background
checks and profile visibility.

In practice, we believe Care.com is nothing more than a glorified Craigslist. We believe the
vetting done by Care.com is non-existent to minimal, with real consequences including at least
three deaths. We believe Care.com is dangerous for both families and caregivers. Further, we
believe that the majority of Care.coms 14.2 million registered families and 11.0 million
caregivers do not exist and other key metrics are incorrect.
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Care.com Deaths & Abuses

Since its inception Care.com caregivers abused those they were caring for. While these cases
receive a lot of attention locally, we have not seen any major stories on the totality of
wrongdoings. Below is just a sample of disturbing articles we found on Care.com:

(Care.com babysitter Jonathan Tavara-Nima sexually assaulted the girl, who is younger than 13)

(Care.com babysitter Justin Alexander Jefferson)

(Care.com babysitter Benjamin Nelson)

(Care.com babysitter Moriah Pulani Gonzales)

(Care.com babysitter Brittney Mae Lyon)

Detectives said Lyon advertised her services as a caregiver and babysitter on Care.com,
Sitter.com and SitterCity
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(Rylan Koopmeiners death)

Now, Nathan and Reggan Koopmeiners say Care.com is partially responsible for their
daughters death. The infants parents say they paid for the Premier Background Check, the
highest level of background check offered by the website, but that the site was negligent in
performing the check they paid for.

(Cash Bell Death)

In the portion of the lawsuit against Care.com, a website that matches prospective nannies
with parents, the Bells allege that the site didnt turn up Cullens prior drunken-driving
conviction.

In another case a Care.com babysitter killed a 3-month-old child, Ryder Joseph. However, this
incident went largely unnoticed and we could not find a single news article about Care.com and
this death. However, archived screenshots (one shown below), an archived website, and
secondhand sources allowed us to verify a Care.com babysitter caused this death. The difficulty
in finding many of these cases lead us to believe that many serious abuses have gone
unnoticed. If you have any information about a serious abuse or death caused by a Care.com
babysitter please contact tips@batmanresearch.com.
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(Justice for Ryder Josepharchived screenshot)

Many of these incidents have alleged wrongdoing by Care.com. In two of the deaths the
babysitters had criminal histories and in all three deaths the parents said they purchased a
background check through Care.com. As we will show in this report, we believe Care.coms
platform is currently dangerous and its problems have not been solved.
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Harvey Weinstein Babysitter

To test the security of Care.com we decided to apply as Harvey Weinstein. For detailed
documentation of the process see Appendix A, but it was remarkably easy. We were asked for a
home address and birthdate. In both cases we did not use Harvey Weinsteins actual home
address or birthdate. At the end of the process we were told, Your profile has been submitted
and is being reviewed for approval (within the next 72 hours) by our member care team. To
our amazement we passed Care.coms review process. After adding a bogus Facebook and
Twitter account (each with 0 friends/followers) we started applying to babysitting jobs.

We successfully applied to multiple Care.com babysitting jobs as Harvey Weinstein:

If Care.com had a human screen the profiles or just verified house addresses or birthdays (very
easy) this would not happen. Based on our experience it looks like anyone can sign up as a
Care.com babysitter under whatever name they want. Care.com is no better than Craigslist!
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It gets even worse. Care.com has three levels of babysitters: Newcomer, CareForce, and
CarePro. Care.com was so convinced we were legitimate, our Harvey Weinstein profile was able
to join the CareForce meaning we would show up in search results:

Below is our profile pre-Harvey Weinstein profile photo. We were able to get CPR and First Aid
certified without providing any evidence1:

1Our Care.com profile was eventually taken down. Once you message a family on the Care.com
platform they can flag you. We believe this is what happened.
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This is not an isolated incident. In one case an Atlanta family hired the Care.com babysitter
Regina Christopher to watch their 8-year-old son. However, Regina Christopher was really
Gina Groves, who had warrants out for her arrest in four Georgia counties for various charges.
According to the article, when [the family] spoke to someone at Care.com about Groves, she
said the representative noted that she'd only paid for "one of the cheaper background checks."

Background Checks

In addition to a paid membership, Care.com sells third-party background checks on its site. We
believe these background checks are a small portion of Care.coms revenue so wont go into
much detail. The salient point is many news outlets have questioned the efficacy of these
background checks. Read the intro of this great Boston Globe article:
Stephanie Lee Fox was a notorious thief. She was convicted of dozens of larceny
and fraud charges in Greater Boston, spent time in jail, and was still on probation
when she registered as a nanny on Care.com.

Yet, the Waltham-based company that calls itself the worlds largest Internet site
for finding family care failed to detect Foxs lengthy, public criminal record
during a background check a service it explicitly promised to provide to a
Boston couple seeking a caregiver for their two children, according to lawyers for
Fox and the couple

A 2016 article titled Background Checks for Care.com Fail highlighted more problems. A 2012
NBC Chicago investigation found Care.com and rival background checks routinely failed to catch
egregious offenses. In one case a woman convicted of multiple accounts of prostitution passed
Care.coms background check.

Batman Research also found multiple complaints online about Care.coms flawed background
checks as well:

They approved a convicted felon who abused our elderly parents & [familys] trust. This
person's background check came back clean from Care.coms site - however later we find she
has a wrap sheet a mile long!! August 2016 (Link)

The background check DOESNT matter!!! We have tried them over and over thinking we just
got a bad egg. Thieves, liars, crazy people!!!! July 2017 (Link)

Care.com does not review or do [an] adequate background check on anyone. Missi Lehmann
abused my child and was allowed to post as a legitimate caregiver. June 2017 (Link)
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I go on to look for a sitter in my area, and found at least [four] people either on felony
probation or with child endangerment charge (I worked for felony probation and parole).
March 2017 (Link)

Again, we want to emphasize that the background checks are not done by Care.com, but done
by a third-party Care.com contracts. However, if Care.com cannot provide background checks
that are reliable we believe parents will be hesitant to use the site.

Our research suggests Care.com babysitters have killed and abused children, Care.com
babysitters can easily sign up under false identities and apply to babysitting jobs, and the
background checks offered by Care.com are not reliable. Why would a family pay $37/month +
up to $300/background check for an unreliable service? If they are willing to pay that much
money wouldnt it be better to just use an agency or professional service? And if they dont
have that money do they want to risk hiring a Harvey Weinstein?

Death Threats
Sadly, many babysitters on the Care.com platform have received death threats from scammers
posing as families. Once again death threats fit the mosaic that Care.com isnt safe. A Care.com
babysitter interviewed by Batman Research confirmed she received death threats from
scammers. We also found complaints online about death threats:

My daughter applied for a dog-sitting job that was a total scam- she wound up getting threats
that someone would "slice her up" if she didn't cash a fraudulent check. No help from care.com
but we did go to the police. --July 2017 (Source)

I started receiving death threats to my cell phone, the sender had my HOME ADDRESS. I still lock
the doors, terrified, every night. The care.com team did nothing but send an automated,
impersonal response to my complaint.July 2017 (Source)

These Care.com scams are widespread. Here is a story about a Houston Care.com babysitter
who was almost scammed, an ABC news story on the Care.com scams, a Connecticut teenager
who was also scammed, and a GoFundMe page for a babysitter that got scammed. The
babysitter in Houston said she estimates the majority of her friends who offer child care on
Care.com and similar sites have experienced similar scams. Not all of these scams include
death threats, but their volume and Care.coms inability to stop them is troubling.
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Fake Profiles
On page two of its 10-K Care.com claimed, As of December 31, 2016, we had 22.8
million members, including 12.9 million families and 9.9 million caregivers. Care.com has
repeated similar claims in its investor presentations and earnings calls.

Batman Research believes Care.coms membership numbers are materially overstated and it is
our opinion that some Care.com members may be fake. We believe this because:

Care.coms disclosures on its # of users seem implausible

Care.com search interest is declining and a large portion comes from Bangladesh and
Nigeria
Care.coms SEC disclosures seem to contradict common sense
100s of former Care.com users complain about suspicious or fake job postings
Care.com CEO Sheila Marcelo previously worked at TheLadders.com, a pay-to-play job
site sued for allegedly creating fake job opportunities

Care.coms disclosures on its # of users seem implausible:

On slide 12 of its most recent earnings presentation Care.com claimed to have 9.2 Million U.S.
Caregivers. To test this claim we used Care.coms own search tool to see how many caregivers
are in each of the 25 biggest U.S. cities. The top 25 U.S. cities have about 10% of the U.S.
population so you would expect them to have about 10% of Care.coms U.S. caregivers. As a
result, our search should yield about 920,000 profiles, but we found less than 1/5 that amount:

City Population # of Care.com profiles2

New York City 8,336,697 39,201
Los Angeles 3,857,799 11,414
Chicago 2,714,856 14,192
Houston 2,160,821 4,158
Philadelphia 1,547,607 11,313
Phoenix 1,488,750 4,980
San Antonio 1,382,951 2,596
San Diego 1,338,348 8,139
Dallas 1,241,162 3,585
San Jose 982,765 5,357
Austin 842,592 4,367
Jacksonville 836,507 533
Indianapolis 834,852 3,321
San Francisco 825,863 5,953
Columbus 809,798 4,030

2We used a zip code in the center of each city and did an unrestricted search for caregivers
within a 10-mile radius.
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Fort Worth 777,992 2,834

Charlotte 775,202 5,385
Detroit 701,475 3,356
El Paso 672,538 1,118
Memphis 655,155 1,606
Boston (CRCM HQ) 636,479 15,065
Seattle 634,535 5,407
Denver 634,265 7,079
Washington (DC) 632,323 11,170
Nashville 624,496 3,070
Total 35,945,828 179,229

We believe this is strong evidence that Care.coms U.S. caregiver base is closer to
2 million versus the 9.2 million claimed in its investor presentation.

Care.com Search interest is declining and a large portion comes from Bangladesh and Nigeria:
In its earnings presentation Care.com shows long-term growth in all aspects of its platform:
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Yet we looked on Google Trends and were surprised to see interest in Care.com going down
over a similar time period:

We are also confused by why Care.com would have high interest in Bangladesh and Nigeria:

(Google Trends)

Batman Research is not tech savvy, but we do know that something doesnt reconcile.
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Care.coms SEC disclosures seem to contradict common sense

Graphic taken from Care.com SEC Registration Basic Math

Statement (2014)

We estimate that there are about 50 million

children in the U.S. below 12 years old.
Assuming two kids per family, that is ~25
million families who potentially need
babysitters.

Do you think 20% of all families with young

children had Care.com accounts in 2014.
Now Care.com claims to have 12.9 million
families. Assuming 10 million of those are in
the US, that means ~40% of all families with
young children have Care.com accounts!
(40% = 10/25)

We conservatively assume 5 million of the

6.3 million+ visitors are in the U.S.
5 million unique visitors per month in
2013 = 75.6 million unique visitors per
year! Did ~1/5 of the U.S. population visit
Care.com in 2013? We dont think so.

One Job every 30 seconds is 1.1

million/year. Do only 20% of families post
jobs? Why do the other families register a
Care.com account?

Also Care.com co-founder Dave Krupinski

said in this video (2014), we make a care
match about once every two minutes, does
this mean only 25% of jobs posted get a
match? CRCM IR slide 20 implied about 18
applications per job posting!
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100s of former Care.com users complain about suspicious or fake job postings
More troubling, many Care.com users complain that Care.com job positing may be fake. We
want to be clear: we do not have proof of Care.com faking job postings, however we believe
these large number of complaints warrant an explanation. If you want a longer list of
complaints about fake jobs look here.

It is my opinion that Care.com is nothing but a scam, suckering people into paying for monthly
and upgrade fees with the promise of potential work, or of nurturing caregivers or hardworking
housekeepers. After I signed up & then paid for the subscription and upgrade, I not only never
got any replies, but no one ever even looked at my profile - yet the "jobs" remained open. I
believe that Care.com is setting up fake profiles in order for people to think that there are
legitimate accounts and therefore shell out money for the monthly subscription and upgrades.
--January 2017 (Source)

I think there are a number of fake profiles on the site. Over 2 months I could not get more
than 2 or 3 "experienced" care givers to reply to my messagesOctober 2017 (Source)

After two months of paying for premium membership and contacting dozens of "employers" I
didn't receive a single response and realized that those job ads were all fake. Dating sites use
the same tactics. They create fake profiles that are too good to be true to encourage people to
subscribe.February 2015 (Source)

Fake Profiles and Job Postings!!! I just started using their services about 3 weeks ago and I've
applied to MANY positions and only heard back from 2 individuals. The rest never replied and
don't appear to have even looked at my profile (there is a tab where you can check who has
viewed your profile). Is each job posting getting so many applications that the users don't even
bother looking at some applicants? I find this doubtful. February 2016 (Source)

I believe Care.com has set up fake accounts with no families to respond back. I set up an alias
account to respond to and vice versa and what do you know no messages went through and
both accounts were taken down with no explanation April 2017 (Source)

I feel like the site is a farce and that many of the 'adverts' are fake and aimed at certain
postcodes in order to get people to buy credits and apply. Avoid May 2017 (source)

I think there are a lot of bogus jobs advertised on the site. Can't prove it but when you apply
for over 50 and get 0 responses, something's up.October 2017 (Source)

I think this website is a scam September 2017 (Source)

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Care.com CEO Sheila Marcelo previously worked at TheLadders.com, a pay-to-play job site sued
for allegedly creating fake job opportunities

Before founding Care.com CEO Sheila Marcelo worked at TheLadders.com, a pay-to-join job site
accused of faking job profiles:

(Source)

(Link to Lawsuit)

We did not find any convictions of TheLadders.com for improper conduct, but we view the
extreme amount of complaints against the TheLadders as a negative. We note Care.com CEO
Sheila Marcelo was not accused of wrongdoing. However, we believe the evidence presented,
when viewed in totality, suggests that Care.com may be improperly disclosing the key metrics
investors use to evaluate the company. This belief is supplemented by Care.coms other
warning signs below.

Other Warning Signs

Terrible User Ratings
Website Glitches
Basic web interface
AG investigation
High Insider selling
Matrix Partners (original VC investor) sold entire CRCM stake near lows at ~$8
Sudden CFO Resignation + others
Very Strange Care.com studies and press releases
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Terrible User Ratings: Care.com has very poor user ratings. No single rating online should carry
much weight but when one thousand ratings produce 1.1 or 1.2 stars that is not a good sign.
We encourage all to read Care.com consumer reviews on SiteJabber, HighYa, and TrustPilot.

Website glitches: If Care.com has 10 million+ caregivers you would expect the website to be
flawless and the sign-up process to be smooth and well designed. Below I am already logged in,
but Care.com wants me to log in again:
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Very basic web interface: Many of the pages looked like they were taken from 2005.

(Screenshot taken from our Harvey Weinstein application)

AG investigation: In November 2016 the Boston Herald reported, Attorney General Maura
Healeys office is looking into complaints against Waltham-based child care website Care.com.

High Insider selling: Executives know the status of their company (and the status of any
investigation) better than an outsider. As a result, we find it troubling that Care.com executives
have been large sellers of their own stock (still well below its IPO price):

(Source)
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Matrix Partners (original VC investor) sold entire CRCM stake near lows at ~$8:

Matrix Partners seeded Care.com in 2007 and participated in all follow-on rounds until the
companys IPO in 2014. Yet, Matrix Partners decided to sell 80% of its Care.com shares back to
the company at $8.25/share (well below the $17 IPO price) and eventually sold its remaining
stake. Second to executives, early VC investors have a good gauge of how well their
investments are performing. We view Matrixs sales near CRCMs lows as a negative.

Sudden CFO Resignation + others

In November 2014 Care.com CFO John Leahy suddenly resigned after less than two years on the
job. Furthermore, despite being public for less than four years Care.com has had an assortment
of resignations and departures from its board including: Patricia Nakache, Steven Cakebread,
Amanda Ginsberg Antonio Rodriguez, Laura Lang, and Brian Swette.

Very Strange Care.com studies and press releases

Care.com has paid for many strange studies and often publicizes the results in odd press
releases. These press releases seem more fitting for The Onion, not a $500 million company:

(Care.com Press release)

(Care.com Press Release)

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Valuation, Price Target $0-$3

Care.com was founded in 2006. Eleven years, five acquisitions, and $100 million in VC funding
later the company doesnt have a product that works and is barely profitable. Most important
to investors, the online babysitting marketplace is extremely competitive. If Care.com were to
lose the trust of consumers, other companies would quickly take market share. Some of
Care.coms competitors include CareLinx, UrbanSitter, Sitter, SeekingSitters, eNannySource and
SitterCity.

Care.coms market cap is $465 million and they have $87 million in cash ($2.92 per share). We
believe the Care.com platform is worthless, which suggests 80%+ downside from the current
~$15.50 price. However, we believe Care.com will start losing money once members leave the
platform and Care.com will slowly bleed out all its cash. This gives the lower price target of $0.

You may wonder, A) why do people still use Care.com? B) How is Care.com a $465 million
company?

Answer A is lots of advertising by Care.com. Over the last four years Care.com has spent $380
million on SG&A. Thats equivalent to 80% of its market cap and over 2x last years revenue.
This advertising has helped offset the understated negative publicity around Care.com.

Answer B is Google Capital took a stake in Care.com and gave it credibility and a much higher
share price. In mid-2016 Google Capital struck a deal to buy preferred stock in Care.com and
effectively became its largest shareholder. We believe Google Capital simply didnt do enough
due diligence. Who knows better, insiders and original investors (sellers) or Silicon Valley
venture capitalists (buyers)? Google Capital has made bad investments in the past including
Lending Club and Outcome Health and we believe they made another mistake with Care.com.

We believe this report will serve as a catalyst. In addition, Care.com reports earnings and hosts
its investor call Thursday, November 2nd.

Conclusion

Care.com babysitters have repeatedly abused children and killed at least three. We were
successfully able to apply to Care.com babysitting jobs as Harvey Weinstein. Multiple young
babysitters on Care.com have received death threats. Many of Care.coms key investor metrics
appear to be inaccurate and insiders are dumping stock. Batman Research believes CRCM is an
attractive short now and at prices well below the current level. Care.com is nothing more than
a glorified Craigslist.
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Appendix A
Harvey Weinstein Care.com application:

Harvey Weinstein Care.com application Tell us about yourself & Your bio:
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Harvey Weinstein Care.com application Why wait? Please note, we successfully applied to
jobs after getting our account approved by Care.com:

Harvey Weinstein Care.com application Member Disclosure: Harvey Weinstein Care.com

application Required Disclosure:
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Harvey Weinstein Care.com application Thank you!: