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You are here: Home / Mystery Shopper Scam / Mystery Shopper Scam = FAIL

Mystery Shopper Scam = FAIL

March 17, 2011 by Cathy Stucker 10 Comments

Finally, a story about a mystery shopper scam that has a happy ending.

Back in January, Kathy Jones of Chesterfield, Virginia wired $4680 via Western Union as part of what she thought was a mystery shop. You know the rest, right? Shortly after sending the money, her credit union informed her that the check she had received bounced and she would have to repay the money.

The happy twist?

The scammer never picked up the money. Usually the scammers pick up the cash immediately after the victim lets them know it was sent. Once the money has been picked up, it is gone and there is no chance the victim will get it back. However, because Jones’ scammer forgot or got nervous or for some unknown reason never picked up the cash, she got lucky.

A Richmond, VA detective discovered the unclaimed cash and advised Jones to cancel the transfer. She did, and Western Union returned the money to her. Now she has the cash to pay back her credit union.

Don’t count on the next scammer being this lazy, stupid or unlucky. However, if you are reading this immediately after wiring money to a scammer (and if you wired money to someone you do not know, you wired money to a scammer) IMMEDIATELY call the transfer company (e.g., Western Union, MoneyGram) and try to cancel the transfer.

Filed Under: Mystery Shopper Scam Tagged With: check scam, secret shopping scam

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Comments

  1. Nick Wood says

    December 8, 2011 at 2:38 am

    I recently got a letter in the mail with a check for little over 1900 dollars and I have to go to a western union and observe the customer service and wire little over 1400 of it to some person in the UK. Then the second step is to spend 50 dollars at best buy or wal mart and i have to evaluate there customer service and other stuff and i get to keep the item i bought but i have to email them or fax them the reciepts and evaluation on both best buy and western union. I get to keep the left over money. The check is from some company from NY the name is lambert and associates. I looked up the bank on the check and its a real bank called Star something. But is this a scam or how do I tell. I haven’t done anything yet.

    Reply
    • Cathy Stucker says

      December 8, 2011 at 8:19 am

      It is a scam. Any time you are asked to wire money to someone you do not know it is a scam. This has nothing to do with mystery shopping, it is purely a scam. It doesn’t matter what company name the scammer uses or how good the check looks, it is a scam. 100%, no doubt about it.

      You can ignore them and shred the check, or you can turn it over to law enforcement, the FTC or the bank named on the check. The check is worthless.

      Reply
  2. Connie Bennett says

    February 24, 2012 at 6:26 pm

    Hi I have received a cheque for alittle over 3990.00, I called the # on the letter and a lady asked on the other end, told me to put the cheque in my bank account and call her in a few days and she will tell me what to do, on the letter it states for me to spend 100 at walmart or k mart etc observing the store, then wire money by western union or money gram and fill out the information sheet she sent me, once this is done I will get to keep the 450., and my next assignment will be sent next week. IS THIS A SCAM!!!!

    Reply
    • Cathy Stucker says

      February 24, 2012 at 7:49 pm

      Yes, it is a scam. The check is a forgery. Do not have further contact with the scammer. Do not cash the check, and definitely do not wire money anywhere. Scam.

      Reply
  3. chechago says

    March 7, 2012 at 8:33 pm

    i got today money (postal money ) for $980.00 and asked me to be a secret shopper at western union. they asked me to wire in minutes after i cashed in the check i feel this is a scam. i mean they are paying $200.00 for a very simple task. why ?

    Reply
    • Cathy Stucker says

      March 23, 2012 at 9:12 am

      Why are they paying $200 for a simple task? Because they are not paying anything. They are stealing from their victims. There is no money. The money orders are forgeries.

      Reply
  4. Sandra Long says

    August 26, 2012 at 1:51 pm

    I received the same checks from 2 different companies. I assumed it was money laundering. I have been completing surveys on line for extra cash and did sign up to be a Mystery Shopper. I assume this is where they came from. I checked the companies on the Internet which led me to your site. So, something good did happen.

    My question is – what can I do with these checks and letters? I would really like to turn them over to someone that would be able to take some action against these companies!

    I have signed up on your website to receive a weeks worth of tips and really look forward to receiving them. I travel all over the country for my work and am in one location for about 3 weeks. Can I apply for Mystery shopping jobs in areas other than where I live?

    Thanks,

    Reply
    • Cathy Stucker says

      August 26, 2012 at 2:13 pm

      First of all, the checks do not come from “companies” they come from scammers. They have nothing to do with mystery shopping. You can contact the bank the checks are supposed to be written on. They may have a fraud department. (To contact the bank, look up the name of the bank online. Do not rely on what is written on the checks or anything the scammer sent you.

      To answer your other question, yes, you may sign up for mystery shopper assignments in areas other than where you live. Many companies have job boards where you can view assignments available anywhere.

      Good luck with your mystery shopping career!

      Reply
  5. Wallace says

    September 9, 2012 at 12:47 am

    I recently received a text message that said I would be receiving a check via usps and that I was to deposit it into my account and once cleared go to nearest Walmart and mystery shop and spend 50.00 dollars, then go to Western Union and wire the remaining monies to a Secoya Ballard in the Philippines the check was in the amount of 2903.00. Well the kicker is the check did clear but not with the other bank as of yet. My question is if it is a scam then how do another bank clear a fraudulent check. Can I still be charged even if I do not make a withdrawal? I kind of figured this was too good to be true because the person who name is supposedly Mike Davies was pressuring me to wire the funds once I withdrew from my account. I was told years ago when someone is trying to pressure you into doing something without giving you time to think, it’s the Devil. 🙂 I am not going to withdraw anything from my account and wire anything now that I am writing and thinking how much sense this does not make.

    Reply
    • Cathy Stucker says

      September 9, 2012 at 8:25 am

      The check has not “cleared.” The law requires banks to make funds available within a few days. However, once the check is discovered to be a forgery, the bank will take the money back.

      The best thing to do at this point is to notify your bank that you unknowingly deposited a bad check. Do not remove any of the funds from your account. The bank will charge you a returned check fee when the check bounces, but that will probably be the only problem you have. If you do not notify the bank, it is possible that they would take other action, perhaps even have you arrested. That is not likely, but it has happened.

      The bottom line is: Never cash checks or money orders and wire the money to anyone for any reason. It is always a scam, no matter what they claim it is.

      Reply

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