The Mukilteo Police Department is warning its citizens about
a warrant scam. Scammers tell potential victims that they have a warrant out
for their arrest and that they need to pay or be arrested.
The Snohomish Police Department told The Herald about the “mystery
shopper” scam. A Snohomish man recently brought in materials to the police
department that he had received urging him to participate as a mystery shopper.
The man did not fall for the scam.
Scammers contact potential victims via email or a letter. The
potential victims are sent a bogus check for their efforts and to cover “expenses.”
But, they are told the check is for more than their “pay and expenses.” They
are asked to send the overpaid amount to the scammer via Green-dot prepaid cards.
So, if you play along with the scammer and deposit the check, the total funds
will be available to you in a few days. You send in the overpaid amount to the
scammer and pocket the rest. But, the bummer comes when the bank discovers that
the check you deposited is fake, and then turns to you to reimburse them for
the total of the check. The scammer has your money and you have no way to find
the scammer.
The Herald posted a copy of instructions for a potential
mystery shopper. The first order of business is to deposit the check and get
cash. As you go through this transaction at the bank, you are asked to evaluate
your teller and give the name and address of the bank, the name of the cashier,
your evaluation of the “smartness and professionalism of the cashier,” and how
long the transaction took to complete. And, you are warned to not to tell the
cashier that you are a secret shopper.
The next order of business is to go to a Rite Aid, 7-Eleven,
or CVS store to get 4 $500 Green-dot Cards. And here comes your next mystery
shopper assignment, evaluate the performance of the clerk who helped you.
In this example, the check that was sent to you totaled
$2,380. The scammer says that you can keep $380 ($300 for your pay, $50 for
transportation, $30 for taking out the Green-dot card). The scammer expects you
to send him $2,000.
Now, the scammer wants you to send him a full report of your
shopping experience at the bank, to include the 14 digit pin numbers of the 4
Green-dot cards by email. There is no address, physical or post office box, to
send the cards to. It’s all done by email or phone. No way to find where the
scammer actually lives.
The easiest thing for you to do if you receive an email or
letter like this is to ignore it, do not click on any links or attachments.
Report the email or letter to the Sheriff’s Office, the Washington State
Attorney General’s Office and to the Federal Trade Commission.
The Herald:
Federal Trade Commission:
Since the beginning of this year local and state law
enforcement agencies have been warning citizens of scam after scam. These
scammers take advantage of just about any situation that they can find. Natural
disasters such as the landslide at Oso, tragedies such as Marysville-Pilchuck
have been prime targets in Snohomish County. But holidays, like the Christmas
gift buying season are also prime times for scammers to take your money. The AARP
recently posted a listing of holiday scams to be aware of. For than list, go
to:
AARP:
No comments:
Post a Comment