Hello, everyone!
I am new to Mystery Shopping. On May 3rd, I was searching for flexible job opportunities when I saw an opening for mystery shoppers. I submitted a cover letter and didn't give it a second thought because, although the job description seemed too good to be true, the job site is reputable, include positions for many Fortune 500 companies, and I have found a job with Amazon.com from that site. I then started searching for reviews and became suspicious when I noticed that buttons on Research Masters website did not work and would not link to Facebook or LinkedIn as I expected. Two days later, I was surprised to receive an email with 'ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK' in the subject heading, advising that my first check was in the mail. The email included the USPS tracking number and instructions to deposit the check, purchase four money orders, 'pay' myself $350.00, then await further instructions. Continuing my research, I found MSPA-NA, Mystery Shop Forum, and other sites with invaluable information. I plan to contact the Federal Trade Commission once I receive the check. Can anyone tell me who else I should contact? Should I also involve the police? My thinking is that since I have no intention of depositing the check or making purchases, then there has been no crime committed.

I received a second email today thanking me for my application, with the subject heading of 'REPORT NEEDED!!!' I think RESEARCH MASTERS <billy.anthony293@outlook.com> needs a little help with correspondence sequence.

You can tell the police, but not much is likely to happen. You can tell the Postal Inspectors, who have the right to close their post office box and even stop mail getting delivered to them, but they are probably using an address that does not belong to them anyway.

You seem to have come here before you deposited a check that was destined to bounce, and before you wired them any money. Often, people come here after they are scammed, asking what to do after the check bounced (often a fake cashier's check), the bank asked for the $1800 (or whatever) money back, and the bank closed their account. Better to avoid quicksand than to see if there is any way to extricate yourself (you can survive quicksand, but once you have deposited a bad check and spent the money, it just keeps getting worse.).

I am in the same situation! I am assuming I should just shred the check and pretend like nothing ever happened?!

yep ! I have gotten 3 of these checks," I am holding on to them" .

Apparently it seems that this scam artist monitors his scams because he has sent me no further emails and the check never arrived.

Research Masters is a SCAM!!! I can say this with certainty because I am a business owner whose checks they are COUNTERFEITING and whose signature they are FORGING. Thanks to the many individuals who thought to call a REALTY company to ask why they received a check from them from Research Masters, we have been able to close the account before any funds were deducted. But BEWARE, it is the individual CASHING the check who will be liable and criminally charged....not the criminals behind this scam.

Please be very careful of the companies you choose to work with. Good luck and God Bless.

Thank you for your input. Apart from his emails requesting updates on my progress with his scam, I have not received the check, so I have nothing tangible to take to the authorities. My hope is, that by coming forward with this scam, others will be made aware, and avoid this person.

Good for you! Maybe this will help lead to the con artist.

I used them and initially felt played because the bank had said they had ran across scams like this so I deposited and didn't worry about it. Well the company cashed the check and my account was credited. I withdrew the money and completed the job. I was paid $300 for the job.

Fubu,
How long ago did you deposit the check. It takes 10-15 days or so for your bank to find out that it was a fake check, not the 1-2 days that it takes for your bank to release the funds for your use!!!!

The same happened to me except it was $2900, I was so angry that I had to put a stop to the check when he his number did not work. uhhh These people upset me sooo much!

I am a recent victim of Research Masters. I was contacted through LinkedIn about a Mystery Shopper opportunity. I completed the necessary steps and received a check for $2370.00 to purchase 4 One Vanilla cards in the amount of $500.00 each. First the check from Research Masters did not clear my bank and I notified Paul Lundstrum of the issue. His response was that the funds should clear the next day. I watched my account and the check deposit did clear. I experienced difficulty purchasing the One Vanilla cards but continued with the assignment. I completed the purchase of 3 totaling $1500,00 and my bank notified me this morning that my account was overdrawn, Checking my account online I see that the $2350.00 check from Research Masters was returned. I now am experiencing fees from the returned check as well as the overdraft. I emailed Paul Lundstrum twice this morning about this issue but received no response. I am going to attempt to deposit the funds from the three cards back into my checking account today in the hopes of recovering some of my money. I am unemployed and needed the income for bills, food, etc. Paul Lundstrum stole $1500.00 from me and I am now desperate for some recovery on these funds. He used LinkedIn and the USPS to commit Theft by Deception, Issuing a Worthless Check, and Federal Mail Fraud which are all serious crimes. It is sad to read the many posts about victims having no recourse against this man and his organization. I have provided all of the information as a warning to other mystery shoppers who may suffer as I have.

My suggestion would be to go to your bank and speak to a personal banker. Since you were the victim of fraud they will most likely work with you to remove all or at least most of those fees. You do have an advantage over some scam victims since you have not sent the prepaid cards to anyone yet. If you have trouble getting the cash back from the cards contact someone at the issuer's office. They may also be willing to work with you.

The likely scenario is the crook used someone else's name and LinkedIn account or created a fraudulent account. Same with the business name. If there is a Paul Lundstrum and a Research Masters they have probably been victimized too because the thief is using their name. The actual scam artist is probably located outside the U.S. which makes tracking them down to prosecute like looking for a needle in a haystack.

On a related note...... I placed a for sale( for a refrigerator) add on Craigslist. Long story short, I was contacted by someone who wanted to buy it They would send me a money order and arrange for delivery. Days later, 2 money orders were going to be sent and the buyers assistant made a mistake and made the money orders out for two much. Could we please deposit the money in our account and then write the guy a check for the overage. Yeah, sure. My wife is a Police officer so we had him send the money orders to her work. LOL. Duh,

The package with the money orders even came from England. I called Western Union and researched the numbers of the money orders. They were previously cashed for different amounts. Let me tell you, they looked so real. Of course the buyer kept texting us, asking for his money. We told him he sent the package to a police station and he was caught. He didnt care, he kept texting and bugging us for the money. We blocked his number. End of story.

I find it very hard to believe that people "fall" for these scams. It was so apparent to me that it was a scam. I find it hard to "feel" bad for someone who buys into these.

Its stories like this that give Mystery shopping a bad name. Whenever I tell someone I mystery shop, they tell me a Sad story about being scammed.

I received the same assignment where they are sending me a check via USPS priority mail. I am to take it to my bank to have it cashed and deduct $350 for my commission and then purchase 4 Vanilla gift cards at $500 each. I received an email on LinkedIn about this opportunity and now I am locked out of my LinkedIn account and that it was "high restricted". Something fishy is definitely going on here. Thank you all for sharing your experience with this. Im typically not this gullible. Geeeeez