Legitimate mystery shopper services will have people go into
stores and restaurants, do some shopping or have a meal, then give an
evaluation on the service that they received. One thing these services do not
do is to send you a check in the mail without meeting you first.
The scammer sent a letter that looked legitimate with a check
for $1,499 inside. The letter wanted the receiver to act as a “secret shopper”
at a MoneyGram store, a money transfer company. The letter receiver was to
deposit the check into their bank account. Then they were to wire $1,179 to the
Philippines via the MoneyGram store. The $200 difference is supposed to be pay
for being a mystery shopper. And the letter wanted this done as soon as
possible.
What can happen with this deal is you do as instructed, send
the money off, and then your bank discovers that the check is no good. When that
happens, which will take place after the bank credits your account; you are
responsible for the full amount. You have no protection. The bank will take the
amount of the bad check out of your account.
The red flag for this letter was that the return address on
the envelope was from Phoenix, AZ, the check had a P.O. Box from Alabama and
the money was to be wired to the Philippines.
For more about this letter and mystery scams in general go to
the following links:
KOMO TV:
Federal Trade Commission:
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