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Better Business Bureau: Beware of Mystery Shopper Internet Scam
Posted: Dec 14, 2011 5:17 PM by Lindsay Curtis - lcurtis@kristv.com
Updated: Dec 14, 2011 6:51 PM
CORPUS CHRISTI - The Better Business Bureau wants to warn internet users of a new scam that's swirling around the internet on websites like Craigslist. This scam advertises for people to sign up to be a 'Mystery Shopper' but is actually a ploy to take thousands of your dollars. One local resident caught on to the scam before it was too late.
In need of some cash for the holidays, Jesse Belock took to job hunting on the web. He says Craigslist led him to an ad to be a 'Mystery Shopper' for a company called Shopper's Guide. The company emailed Belock saying a check was on the way in the mail. He was instructed to cash the check, keep $400 as compensation, and wire the rest of the money to someone else via Western Union. "I was supposed to give them the time it took, customer service, and to see if the money actually got transferred," explained Belock.
A couple of days later, Belock got a check in his mailbox worth over $2,000, and the checks just kept coming. However, after taking a closer look Belock says he noticed some red flags. "The banks were all different, and also the checks didn't have water marks. If you hold this (check) up to a light, nothing else will show and even on the back it has everything a check would have," he said.
Belock called the Better Business Bureau and they confirmed his suspicions. The checks were all bogus. Had Belock completed the secret shopper assignment, his new job would have severely hurt his credit score. "By the time it came up as a fake check, my credit and me, would be responsible for that amount," said Belock, who is relieved he caught onto the scam before it was too late.
A spokesperson for our local Better Business Bureau says he's received six reports of mystery shopper scams today alone, and well over 200 reports in the past month. Unfortunately, nothing can really be done about these fake ads, since the scammers usually live overseas.
If you suspect an online ad is a scam, you can report it to the government by visiting www.ic3.gov. You can also call the local Better Business Bureau to find out whether the ad is legitimate.
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