A woman hoping to find work as a caretaker instead found herself at the wrong end of a scam.

She contacted police on Tuesday and told them she had created a profile on a website called care.com, an Internet site that connects families with in-home care, like nannies, adult companions and nurses.

The victim said a woman from Pennsylvania contacted her and said she would need her to take care of her son, who she said was moving to LaGrange.

According to the report, the woman sent the victim a check for $2,875, told her to cash it, buy a wheelchair for her son in preparation for when he arrived in town, then mail the remainder of the money back.

The victim said she sent back $2,500, but then received a phone call from the bank stating the check was fake and she would need to pay all the money back.

The victim showed officers documents to support her claims.

The case was then turned over to the LaGrange Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Section.

Clerk allegedly locks customer in store

A clerk who believed a customer may have stolen from his store in the 400 block of South Greenwood Street locked shoppers inside the business, according to a police report.

LaGrange police responded to the Pal Express, 415 S. Greenwood St., around 12:30 a.m. today.

One man told officers the clerk thought someone had taken $10 and proceeded to lock the front door, preventing anyone from leaving the premises.

According to the report, the man said he told the clerk repeatedly he had nothing to do with what was going on in the business and wanted to leave. The man stated to officers the employee refused to open the door.

The customer told police he wanted the incident documented and was going to see about taking out a warrant against the store clerk for false imprisonment, a felony in Georgia.

Stolen phone

One woman was able to track down the alleged thieves who stole her smart phone from Walmart on New Franklin Road.

The victim told police she accidentally left her Samsung Galaxy S5 at the checkout counter at Walmart around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. She said she checked her account to locate the phone and it “pinged” around 105 Turner St., near where the victim lived.

The woman told officers she remembered seeing another neighbor behind her at Walmart, but did not talk to them.

According to the report, the officer went back to the store to watch surveillance video taken of that register. The video showed the victim leave her phone and a female approach after she left, place a wallet on top of the phone, pick up the items and slide them into her purse.

Police were investigating.