What it is:
This is an example of a counterfeit check scheme. Victims are lured in by the promise of large pay for easy work, and wind up losing thousands of dollars.
How it works:
The Mystery Shopper Scam usually starts with an advertisement on the Internet, through an email message or even in the Classified section of the newspaper. Once you answer this ad, you’ll be instantly “hired” as a mystery shopper, supposedly to evaluate customer service at different businesses.
Soon, a cashier’s check will arrive for several thousand dollars (around $2,900 is common). You are instructed to take this to your financial institution and cash it, keeping a few hundred for yourself. They expect you become pushy and complain if an attempt to place a hold on the check is mentioned, since instant availability is vital for the scheme to work.
You are instructed to take the rest of the cash to a Western Union outlet and wire it to an account in Canada. If asked, you are supposed to tell the representative you are sending money to a relative.
A few days later, the cashier’s check you took to your financial institution comes back as fraudulent, and you are responsible for the several thousand dollars you withdrew.
How to protect yourself:
- Always carefully evaluate any job offer before acting on it. Does something seem unusual? Did they contact you first via email? Are they offering an awful lot of money for an hour’s worth of work? All of these are possible signs of a scam.
- There are legitimate Mystery Shopper jobs available. REGIONAL even uses these services from time to time to evaluate our member service. However, they do not pay $300 for a couple hours’ work, or anywhere close to it.
- However, there are NO legitimate Mystery Shopper jobs that involve wiring money to evaluate Western Union customer service.
- Any employer asking you to lie (“It’s for a relative in Canada”) is up to something shady.
- Cashier’s checks were once seen as beyond reproach, but it is becoming easier than ever to make counterfeits. Calling the number on the check doesn’t help, because it leads to a prepaid cell phone owned by the criminals. They will always tell you the check is real.
- Understand that if you present a fake check and take cash from your financial institution, you are responsible for paying that money back. Your bank or credit union will not cover it, nor will the bank or credit union whose name appears on the check. They did not create it. They are not responsible for it.
- Also remember: if you wire money to an unknown entity overseas, it is gone. You will not get it back.
