Media General News Service
Published: May 6, 2008

Dasheba Way of Richmond recently accepted a job as a mystery shopper.
Or so she thought.
It was a scam.
While she was online one evening,
an ad popped up and enticed her to apply for the job as a mystery shopper.
That’s someone who poses as a customer, makes purchases at stores and gets to keep what’s bought. The person shops at places assigned by a mystery shopping provider, which in turn runs the shopping program for, say, a big-box retailer that wants to secretly evaluate its employees.
Way clicked on the ad and filled out an application. Soon, a company calling itself Shopping Track Inc. mailed her a packet of information.
In the packet was a congratulatory letter, a cashier’s check dated Jan. 30 for $4,998 and instructions on what to do. The check was payable through the First Bank of Owasso in Oklahoma, a real bank.
“Everything looked good,” Way said.
Her instructions were to immediately cash the check, keep $300 for herself, make two big-money transfers and then go to certain retailers and shop with the rest. After cashing the check, she’d get instructions on where to wire the money.
Way said she went to a check cashing place off Jefferson Davis Highway in Richmond and asked if the check was legitimate.
It was a fake.
Crooks would have gotten the real money had she cashed the check and sent it to them. She would have had to pay it back because the phony check would have bounced days later.
What should you do if you receive a questionable mystery shopping check?
Check with a trade association.
See if the company offering the mystery shopping job is a certified member of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (http://www.mysteryshop.org.) Plug in your ZIP code to see who’s hiring shoppers in your area.
The mystery shoppers association already knows about the scam. It has issued a consumer alert saying to watch out if you’re asked to wire money back to a specific address, usually outside the country.
The crook who tried to snooker Way handwrote the return address as Capital Way, Bismarck, ND 58502. But, the postmark and phone number are from Canada.
Call the bank on which the check is drawn.
Look up the number. The First Bank of Owasso in Oklahoma could have told Way that the check was fake. Bank Senior Vice President Cindy Scott said the bank knows about the scam. She said a thief apparently copied information off an Owasso cashier’s check and then made fraudulent ones.
It’s a red flag if you’re asked to pay upfront to be a shopper.
“You never ever have to pay to sign up to be a mystery shopper,” said Mike Bare, president of Bare Associates International Inc., a Fairfax-based global mystery shopping firm.
Mystery shoppers are paid only modest amounts of money. They don’t get big checks, Bare said. Expect $10 to $40 per shopping event. One local provider offers $14 an hour.
It normally takes months to get an assignment. Tens of thousands of mystery shoppers are registered and waiting for work.
Look for red flags. If the mystery shopping company’s spelling is atrocious, it’s probably a scam.
If there’s pressure to hurry and cash the check, get suspicious. If you’re asked to transfer money but aren’t told where until after cashing the check, you’re dealing with a crook.
Report the scam. The Office of the Attorney General in Richmond advises reporting the receipt of any large cashier’s check in the mail both to your local police and the AG’s consumer hot line (800) 451-1525.
If you cashed the check or sent the cash, quick, contact the bank.
Tell the bank that you’ve been scammed and ask that no negative actions be taken against you, such as closing your account or reporting you to a checking account abuse database, advised the National Consumers League at its Web site http://www.fakechecks.org.