Scam alert: Handy app house cleaners

POSTED BY
Evelyn Kanter

Scam alert: The NYPD is warning New Yorkers about using the house-cleaning app Handy, after logging dozens of recent robberies by house cleaners hired through the service. Handy says it background-checks and vets all workers hired, but that should not make you forget the basic rule that letting strangers into your home, especially when you are not at home – simply – is not smart.

The NYPD reports thefts of fancy designer handbags and other personal property, such as jewelry, by workers with sticky fingers working for Handy.

SEE ALSO: Protecting your smart home devices from internet hackers

According to the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, “In 2016, there were over 50 crimes reported to the NYPD related to theft of property after internet based company Handy.com was contracted by NYC residents. In the past month, a Handy employee was arrested for such incident.”

The NYPD Community Affairs Bureau reminds us to safeguard valuables when inviting a stranger into our homes or apartments, whether that’s to clean it or rent it through a service like Airbnb..

In July, a cleaner hired through Handy stole a pair of pricey designer bags valued at $8,000 after cleaning an apartment in the Financial District, NYPD reported at the time.

Jennifer Hanley, a spokeswoman for the company, told DNAInfo that Handy workers are “fully vetted professionals” who did 300,000 jobs in New York in 2016, and assures users and potential users that house cleaners undergo background checks.

But let’s be real – even a fully-vetted and background-checked professional can be tempted by a pretty bauble worth a bunch of bucks. Or a $4,000 designer handbag or two.

Handy is not the first app to run into trouble via less-than-professional people hired by these service platforms.

Uber, Lyft, and other ride-sharing apps have faced repeated accusations of sexual assaults by of drivers and not doing enough to protect customers, especially women, especially women using the service late at night.

And a GrubHub deliveryman was arrested after beating a superintendent of an apartment building who tried to stop him from locking his bike to her building.

Have you had a bad experience with an app-based service? Let us know. Email evelyn@nyconthecheap.com.