Adoption Scam / Adoption Fraud
Unfortunately, adoption scams and frauds are not uncommon. Adoption fraud can be perpetrated by pregnant or supposedly pregnant women, by an adoption agency, attorney, or facilitator, or by adoptive parents.
An expectant, or supposedly expectant, woman can promise to place a child with an adoptive family for adoption with no intention of following through. She can make this promise in the hopes of getting money or support. Or she may want an emotional connection. A prospective birth mother may also lie about risk factors the baby may have, such as drug or alcohol exposure.
An adoption agency, adoption attorney, or adoption facilitator can perpetuate fraud on adoptive parents in various ways, including:
- charging exorbitant fees
- not providing the services promised
- not disclosing all information about the child to the adoptive parent (also known as a fraudulent adoption)
Although not always classified as adoption fraud, we believe that adoptive parents can also scam birth parents. They may make promises during the “courting phase” (pre-adoption) with little intention of following through. For example, adoptive parents who are not comfortable with an open adoption might promise continued contact after the baby is born, knowing that it will be hard for the birth parents to enforce. Prospective adoptive parents might lie about themselves to convince an expectant woman to pick them. For example, they may lie about their religious affiliation or involvement or about whether the adoptive mother plans to return to work post-adoption.
Creating a Family has many resources on adoption scams. A few we think you will find particularly helpful are:
- When You Find Out the Adoption “Story ” is Untrue (article)
- Top Ten Warning Signs for Adoption Fraud (article)
- Top Ten Tips for Avoiding a Birth Mother Adoption Scam (article)
- Adoption Scams: How to Recognize and Prevent (1 hr. podcast w/ expert)
Other Creating a Family podcasts with experts, articles, and other resources on adoption fraud can be found at the icons below.
Image credit: Bored-Now
Additional Resources
