Mystery Shopper's Manual

How Do Mystery Shopper Scammers Get Away With It?

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Every year, scammers take millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims who believe they are doing mystery shopper jobs. The scam is always the same. The bad guys send a forged check to the victim, get the victim to cash the check and wire most of the money away, then the victim is left holding the bag when the check is found to be worthless and the bank demands repayment of the money they received.

The victim usually wires the money to the bad guys, using Western Union or MoneyGram, so the obvious question is, why doesn’t law enforcement set up a sting and arrest the crooks when they go to pick up the cash? The scammers call the victims and give them a number to call, so why can’t the phone number be traced?
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Bad Reporting = More Scam Victims

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Every week there are stories on television and radio and in newspapers about mystery shopper scams. The worst thing you can say about most of these stories are that they are repetitive. After all, how many times have we heard that someone got a big check, cashed it and wired the money to someone, then learned the check was a fraud and they must repay the money to the bank?

Even though I have seen literally thousands of these stories, people keep falling for the scam, proving that many have not heard about them. That means that these stories serve a purpose in warning people about the scam and showing them how to avoid being victims.

Well, a few days ago I saw a new kind of scam story. New because it was completely wrong about how to avoid getting scammed. This was a story on the website of a television station, and represented a story they had run on their newscast. I am not going to link to the story, because I don’t want them to get views and clicks on ads in their bogus story; however, here are the two things they said to do to protect yourself from the scam.
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Deposit Slip Scam

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deposit-slip-scam
Scammers are nothing if not creative. We all know about the fake check scam, but scammers are including in-person bank transactions to make their fraud seem more legitimate. So far, I have not seen reports of this associated with the mystery shopper scam; however, it is just a variation on the typical check scam, so I won’t be surprised to see it happen. Here’s how this new twist on an old scam works:Continue Reading

Scammers Send Credit Cards Instead of Checks

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credit-card-scamI have written more times than I can count about the mystery shopper scam where scammers send fake checks to people who believe they have been selected as mystery shoppers. The victims are told to cash the checks, evaluate local businesses, then wire money to other “shoppers” or back to the scammer. Some time later, the victim discovers that the check they deposited was fraudulent and the bank expects them to return any money they received from the bad check. Individual victims have lost thousands of dollars to these scams, and the total stolen is in the millions.

Now there is a new twist on this scam. A Georgia woman received a package that included several credit cards. She was instructed to use the cards to make purchases at WalMart, Target, Home Depot and the Apple store, then ship her purchases to an address on the west coast.
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8 Lies Mystery Shop Scammers Love to Tell

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scammers-lieScammers lie. It’s what they do. Anyone who is willing to steal thousands of dollars from you has no problem telling a couple of lies.

Honest people tend to take what scammers say at face value. They believe them, because as honest people their first instinct isn’t to lie and cheat people. To protect yourself from scammers, you have to understand that everyone doesn’t think and act as you do, and you cannot assume that random strangers on the Internet are honest and have your best interests at heart.

Here are eight lies that mystery shop scammers tell:

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The FBI Says to Do Your Mystery Shop

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fbi-agentA shopper called me recently and said she had been doing some mystery shops, but one of the assignments she received looked fishy. Well, if it looks like a fish and it smells like a fish, it is probably fishy.

This shopper (who asked that her name not be used) had received a check to do a mystery shop. She deposited the check and the money was in her account ready to be withdrawn and wired off, but she was having a bad feeling about it. She called to ask what I thought. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know what I told her: SCAM! Continue Reading

Is This Any Way to Get a Mystery Shopper Job?

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stupid-walmart-crookA lot of odd news stories involve Wal-Mart or Florida. This one has both, with mystery shopping as the cherry on top.

Last Sunday, a man walked into the Wal-Mart in Delray Beach, Florida, stole some clothes and put them on over his own clothes, then headed to the manager’s office. He grabbed a trash bag and started putting electronics and other items into the bag.

Because Wal-Mart is not down with the whole shoplifting thing, they called the police. When they searched him the police discovered that, in addition to the items in the trash bag, the man had a loaded gun and a variety of drugs, including heroin.

The best part? Continue Reading

Does Western Union Get Mystery Shopped?

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western-union-mystery-shopBy now you have probably seen the infamous check scam that tries to pass itself off as a mystery shopping opportunity. You know how it works: cash a large check, shop at WalMart or some other major retailer, keep a few hundred dollars for yourself, then wire the bulk of the check amount to someone via Western Union or another service.

The scam? The checks are bogus. Although banks are legally required to release funds within a few days, the fact that the check is a fake may not be known for weeks. The victim believes that the check is valid (or why would the bank have given them the money?), they send the money off and later learn that the check bounced and they are responsible for repaying the money from the check to the bank.

There are, however, legitimate mystery shops involving Western Union. Here is how to tell if a shop opportunity you received is legitimate or a scam.
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Where to Report Mystery Shopper Scams

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The fake cashier’s check scam has been around for a long time (well before the Internet) and it continues to ensnare new victims every day. The scammers send one or more checks or money orders to the victim, ask them to cash them, keep some of the money, then wire the rest to someone. The latest twist is that instead of wiring the money, victims are asked to buy pre-paid MoneyPak cards and send the PINs to the scammer. That is just a minor variation on a long-running scam.

This is not just a “mystery shopper scam.” Yes, the mystery shopper scam works this way, but this scam has been run on eBay, CraigsList, and in other marketplaces, as well as in direct dealings with victims, such as this law firm.Continue Reading