Mystery Shopping Scam Posted on February 8, 2008 at 06:49:27 PM by McLean
Lucky you! You have been selected to be a mystery shopper for XYZ Company! They have even sent you a cashier's check to be used to make purchases at the chosen store locations. This sounds great! You get to shop, grade each store location, keep the merchandise you purchase, plus get paid a fee for your services. It must be real; they have even included a Code of Ethics disclosure! How can this be a scam? First of all, the check is counterfeit. You will be asked to deposit the counterfeit item into your bank account and then immediately begin your mystery shopping assignment. The majority of the funds provided to you in the counterfeit check will be wired out using a nationally-known wire service (Western Union or Money Gram), with the ploy that this is one of the merchants you are to grade.
As with the lottery scam, once the check is deemed to be counterfeit (about ten days after you deposit the item), the check is returned as uncollected, and your bank debits your account for the full amount of the check. Since you have already spent or wired the funds out, you are now in a loss situation and left to deal with a mess.
In addition to contacting the appropriate financial institutions as outlined in the Receipt of Suspicious Checks / Verifying Authenticity section, there are others who you should notify as well if you are in receipt of a counterfeit item and associated mystery shopping material. They include:
US Postal Inspection Service - by telephone at 1-888-877-7644 , by mail at U.S. Postal Inspection Service, 222 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1250, Chicago, IL 60606-6100 or via e-mail at http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFraudComplaint.htm
Federal Trade Commission (FTC): by telephone at 1-877-FTC-HELP or by filing an electronic complaint via their internet site at www.ftc.gov
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canadian Scams): by telephone at 1-888-495-8501 or via e-mail at [info@phonebusters.com]. Their website, www.phonebusters.com , provides additional contact numbers.
Most importantly, do NOT make contact with the con artist; they can be extremely dangerous. If at anytime, you feel physically threatened, you should contact your local police department immediately.