Do Not Engage Mystery Shopper Scammers
Have you received one of those mystery shopper scam bogus checks? In addition to the fake check and the form you are supposed to use for your “mystery shopper assignment,” the package includes a phone number where you can call the “mystery shopping company.”
It may be tempting to call the scammer and give him or her a piece of your mind. However, telling them that they are low-life slime and threatening to call the police on them is not your best course of action.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported about a 68-year-old woman who avoided becoming the victim of one of these mystery shopper scams. She took the fake check to her bank, where it was immediately identified as counterfeit. After threatening to call the police on the scammer, “Suddenly I am getting phone calls from all over the country saying why did you send me these emails and checks? They are using my name and address. I have gotten calls from at least 30 or 35 people from all over the country, from California to Florida to Pennsylvania.” The scammer has now started using her contact information in their emails and on checks.
So what should you do if you are one of the intended victims of this mystery shopper scam?
Of course you should not cash the check. That should go without saying, but I am saying it so there is no doubt in your mind. The check will bounce, and you will be responsible for the amount of money you received, plus bank fees. You may even have to spend some time convincing your bank and local police that you are the victim of a scam, and not a criminal who is knowingly passing fake checks.
Next, you may wish to notify the authorities. Local police can take your report, although they may not be able to do much about the scam. The origin is usually outside of the county. The Federal Trade Commission takes reports on these crimes, and they have information on reporting check scams to the authorities on their web site.
Do not contact the scammers to tell them that you are “on to them,” or that you are filing a police report. Simply do not respond. They send out hundreds of these bogus checks, so if they do not hear from you they will probably not even notice. They will be busy picking up the money wired to them by the people who fell for the scam.
If they do call you, there are a few things you might do. One is to say that you never received the package. Play ignorant. “I don’t know anything about a check. I didn’t receive a check.”
You could also say that you can not do the “mystery shopping assignment” because you do not have transportation or your spouse will not allow you to do it or some other excuse. Tell them you have been sick and start describing your symptoms to them. Make the symptoms graphic and disgusting. Tell them you had a death in the family. Don’t worry about telling them something that is not true. There is nothing wrong in lying to someone who is trying to steal thousands of dollars from you. Play dumb. And don’t worry that they might think you are stupid. Their opinion does not matter.
Whatever you do, resist the urge to contact them and tell them off. It will not make them change their ways, and may make you more of a target.
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on June 3rd, 2009 at 7:35 am
[...] you have learned that the check is a fake. What should you do next? Resist any impulse to call the person behind the mystery shopper scam. One option is to shred the check and throw it in the trash. Another is to contact the authorities. [...]
on August 5th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Beware of a company called Domestic Merchants Inc. They sent me a check for $4,965 (how very nice of them!) to do a few mystery shops for WalMart, McDonalds etc.The envelope was handwritten with no return address (What a surprise!). The company says they are at 709 Easton Road in Willow Grove, Pa, but a check of the yellow pages and Google search shows no such company at that address. The postmark on the envelope is Canada. A reverse phone number search (604-710-0481) shows a Vancouver address. I know this a scam, obviously — I will turn it over to the authorities, although I do not know what they can do about it. Apparently this company thinks we are all born yesterday! Thanks for this site.
on August 5th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Good catch of the scam. One note: Unlike what you found, the company name used by a scammer may be a legitimate company. They often use the names of real mystery shopping companies, or the bogus checks are drawn on the accounts of real businesses. Do not assume that a company is fraudulent because their name is used in connection with a scam. They may be victims of the scammer, too. Conversely, do not assume that if you get one of these checks and find that the company named is a legitimate one, do not believe the check is really from them. Anytime you get a large check in connection with a mystery shop–before you have done any work, and from a company that doesn’t even have you under contract–it is a scam. Legitimate mystery shopping companies do not work this way. Ever.
on September 24th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Well I am a victim to ,but I got smart and decided to wait until what they wanted me to do ,then I printed and took it and the check to the police department and now the will put it on the local news so that everyone will no what to look for.
on November 20th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
What do you do if you have already deposited a check.We got one this week & deposited it! We have done shopping before.We thought, wow, what a blessing. NOT! $2,400 was to go to Western Union; $175 was to cover Western Union Fees;$100 went for Walmart Mystery Shopping; 300 was participation fee. We contacted our “so-called” contact, and gave address of the person to wire it to in Canada.That is when we got suspicious & wanted to stop everything. Bank said check already cleared, but could take weeks to REALLY clear. What do you suggest? What should we do? Thank you and God Bless.
on November 20th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
@Linda, I am assuming from your comment that you did not wire the money. Good! The check has NOT cleared. According to Federal banking laws, the bank has to release funds to you within a certain number of days; however, that has nothing to do with the validity of the check or the check actually “clearing.”
Notify your bank that you know the check was fraudulent. Do not withdraw any of the money. The bank may charge you a small returned check fee when the check you deposited bounces. (These fees are usually much less than the fees charged when you overdraw your account.) If you notify them ahead of time that you have discovered the check was not good, they may even waive this fee.
Do not contact the scammers. You may want to report this to the authorities. Your bank may be able to advise on this.
on April 24th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
The other problem is that the 800 number might be a slammer number meaning that if you call the number, you may be hit with weird charges on your phone bill. Also, I’m fairly sure they have caller id. It’s fairly easy to obtain a great deal of information about a person just using either their phone number or address. Try this site: http://www.zabasearch.com just to check up on all the information available about you.
on June 19th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Thank you so much for this information. I just got a fraudulent check in the mail today, and as much as I wanted to believe that this was a genuine opportunity I suspected that it was to good to be true. After reading these stories I saw that there was many similarities such as a Canada post mark but they didnt leave a address. The check was for $ 2,981.50 and the check looks legit in everyway. I can see how many people could fall victim to these scamers. I’m going to follow your advise and find all the aditional information needed online to further prove that this indeed is a scam just to be 100% sure. I’m 99% percent sure thanks to you. I thought it was strange that they would ask me to do a money gram at Western Union. They even sent me an evaluation form, but like you said this isn’t topical for mystery shopper companies to send checks and then later to do a money gram. Well, I’m so happy that you have this website to help people from getting taken in by fraudulent scams. Im going to take as much information as I can to the authorities and work against it like you. Thanks Cathy Stucker! You saved me from a bad situation…(smiles)
on June 20th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Also be sure to follow the advice here and do not contact the scammers or try to threaten them. Just give the check and other info to the authorities.
on September 8th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
I expect to receive a check in few days, can I just refuse it?
on September 8th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Refuse it, ignore it, shred it…just don’t cash it. ;o)
If the scammer contacts you, tell them that your spouse/mother/whomever won’t let you do it. Or whatever you want to tell them. Or you can screen your calls for a while and not take the scammer’s calls.
on September 15th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
What happens if you already deposited the money into your account and it went through??
on September 15th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
It did not “go through.” Under Federal law, banks have to release funds to you within a few days. That does not mean that the checks you deposited were verified or cleared.
When it is discovered that they are forgeries, the bank will come after you for the money. Go to them right now and let them know that you were the target of an attempted scam and you unknowingly deposited fraudulent checks. Don’t wait for them to contact you.
And for heaven’s sake, don’t wire money to anyone you do not know, for any reason.
on December 17th, 2010 at 1:55 am
I got one of those checks today and I took it to my bank and thank god they found out it was fake and didn’t cash it . In the morning I’m going to take all the emails from that company that I printed off to the bank to show them I was a victim . They kept the check and just told me never trust people like that.:
on January 27th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
what do you think will happen….i already had one money order cashed and sent, i went to cash another money order today and the bank teller said it looked fake and then suggested i take it to the post office and get it checked. turns out it was fake. im scared they’ll put me in jail. ill be more than glad to pay the bank back for the first one. and im glad they caught the ones today. bt im worried they’ll think i knew about it. i’m still in shock.
on January 27th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
i have all the emails and letters the employer sent me.
on January 27th, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Go to the bank and tell them you were scammed. Make arrangements to pay them back. Do not refer to the scammer as your “employer.” They did not employ you, they scammed you.
If the bank thought you knew that the money orders were fake, they probably would have called the police today, while you were at the bank. Go to them now, tell them you will repay the first money order (which apparently has not yet been returned) and there should not be any legal problems.
on March 23rd, 2011 at 9:39 pm
I RECEIVED A CHECK ON YESTERDAY FOR $1798.59 AND DEPOSITED STRAIGHT TO MY WAL MART PREPAID CARD. IT WAS ON THERE LIKE 5 MINUTES LATER. I TOOK $50 FOR POCKET CHANGE AND FILLED MY TRUCK WITH $70. I DIDNT SEND NO ONE MONEY AND ITS STILL ON MY CARD. WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO ME SINCE I ALREADY SPENT SOME OF THE MONEY. I HAVE NOT EVEN CONTACTED AUTHORITIES NOR MY PRE PAID ACCOUNT CUSTOMER SERVICE YET. WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?
on March 24th, 2011 at 7:19 am
Contact customer service and tell them that the check you deposited was forged and that you were the victim of a scam. It is better to go to them than to wait for them to come to you.
on November 5th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
I received two us postal money orders for $995.00 each.
When the scammer told me I need to wire $1770.00 to the philippines, I told him I don’t want to be a part of this and I just want to send the checks back. He gave me another address and I’m supposed to fed ex the checks on Monday. Is that the right thing to do for me. I don’t want to anger this person and I don’t want to endanger my family since he knows my full address?
on November 5th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
I wouldn’t waste the money sending the money orders back. It is unlikely he is giving you a real address anyway–he is a crook.
It is unlikely that he would do anything else. After all, there are people lining up to get scammed, so why should he waste time with someone who is on to him?
on November 13th, 2011 at 12:26 am
I just went throught this this week, I needed extra money because my husband lost his job but I work full time and go to school full time so I looked into this mystery shopping because I heard some is real. So long story short I got a cashiers check I goggled the bank on the check and the compnay which is Onion Insights and I couldnt find nothing bad about them so I deposited the check and a day later it cleared. I just started to get worried because it was a check for 4,735 and they are not returning phone calls and who sends someone that kind of money and do not give real instructions. They havent told me to wire any money yet so I just though it was true but after reading all of this I will be at the bank first thing money and let them know that I think it is fake and what can I do so they dont think I was trying to cash a bad check. I am so scared. Should I go to the police first or the bank?
on November 13th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Do not withdraw any money, and if you already have, make arrangements to return it to the bank.
Go to the bank right away (or call them). Let them know that you were the intended victim of a scam and you have discovered that the check you deposited was a forgery.
The worst thing that is likely to happen is that if you withdrew any money you will have to find a way to pay it back. The bank may charge you a few dollars for the returned check, but if removing the money from your account does not cause any checks to bounce it should be just a few dollars.
Go to them and it is unlikely there would be any legal problem for you.
on January 19th, 2012 at 1:50 am
Today I received a check that my bank thinks is legit for a job exactly like all of these stories. The check is $3900 and I’m supposed to western union all but $300 of it to some woman in California. I think this is a scam. I told my bank the situation about thinking the check was a fake and being afraid if the job was legit or not and the check would clear. They let me do a form on a special delay so that they would know if the check cleared or not in 7-10 days. Is this what I should do or should I still do something else because after reading this I’m almost sure its a scam. Can I get into any trouble since I notified my bank on the situation and took precautions on getting the check cleared?
on January 19th, 2012 at 2:11 am
Charlie, your bank can not tell that a check is good just by looking at it. I can tell you, though, that this situation is ALWAYS a scam. No exceptions.
You were wise to be cautious. Do not withdraw any of the money and don’t wire any money to the scammer. Let the bank know that you are certain that the check is a forgery. You shouldn’t be in any trouble. You brought it to their attention and clearly were not trying to pass a bad check.