I have gotten two fraudulent checks from people or companies how do i know who is legit and who is not

If you didn't do any work for either of them they are fraudulent! No one pays for work up front, right? Maybe someone you have done work for over several years who knows you and trusts you. And if you never worked for these companies or people, consider this: who pays strangers up front for work that hasn't been done? Check out the link below:

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Think about this for a minute, you received 2 checks from companies that you did not work for nor sign up with. Why would they send you these checks? You did not say this in your posting but I bet that they want you to deposit the checks into your account a wire them back a certain percentage of the money. This is a SCAM, don't send any money nor deposit the checks into your account. You may want to contact your local police officials also.

Welcome to the forum. I suggest you use the resources here and start with the following post in the New Shoppers section.

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

But now I am wondering if you were the victim of a scam and are trying to figure out a way to make an honest living doing mystery shopping and want to know who to trust. If that's the case, look at the link at the bottom of the page "Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies" and I can say that most people who are registered in this forum are signed up with many of those companies and have a good working relationship with these companies. Please feel free to pose questions and there are many people here who are willing to help you.

You are correct. I just found this forum. Fortunately even though one was a cashiers check and one a postal money order i waited for the first one to clear my bank and it didn't the second one i took to the post office and they verified it was phony and are involved it's a federal crime. Just didn't know how this worked until i found this site. Thank You

Please talk to your bank also to make sure there will be no repercussions with your banking status.

@daaron53 wrote:

I have gotten two fraudulent checks from people or companies how do i know who is legit and who is not

Hi daaron53

You say that "I have gotten two fraudulent checks". If you are describing the checks as fraudulent, are they not fraudulent?

Then you ask "how do i know who is legit and who is not" why do you want to make that differentiation if you are already suspicious?

Here how the scam may work:

You will be presented with a monetary instrument, say a check or a money order for $2500.
The fraudster will ask you to deposit that check into your account and return $1000.00 back to them.
If you do so, and the monetary instrument you received is fraudulent as you said then you are out a $1000.00 because your bank will not honor it. Plus it takes longer times to clear these monetary instruments especially if it is issued overseas.

This is a classical Social Engineering scheme that makes you think you are going to make $1500.00 for a simple task, but in reality, it is going to cost you $1000.00 and your reputation with the bank.

Please share full details with the Forum so others can be on the look out. Tell us the full story and don't be embarrassed, we all fall for scams and the only way to not fall for them is by EDUCATION.

Be careful out there. But if you really feel audacious, try and wait until the monetary instrument clears your bank and funds are TRULY deposited in your account. If they call, tell them that the monetary instrument has not cleared yet and you can't do a thing before it clears, and that will hopefully take you off their radar as a smart consumer you will be pegged.

Reading the rest of the thread I see you have already done so, and that was marvelous.

Although not every mystery shopping is a member of MSPA, over 150 are. To get a list of legitimate companies go to [www.mspa-na.org] then click on Service Provider Search. Sometimes these scammers use the name of a legit mystery shopping company and even have a phone number (a throw away cell phone). You can always call the mystery shopping company listed on the MSPA site to verify, but I can guarantee you that if any company sends you a check it is a scam and you will deplete your bank account if the check is cashed or deposited.

@daaron53 wrote:

You are correct. I just found this forum. Fortunately even though one was a cashiers check and one a postal money order i waited for the first one to clear my bank and it didn't the second one i took to the post office and they verified it was phony and are involved it's a federal crime. Just didn't know how this worked until i found this site. Thank You

While it is correct that the MSPA list of member companies contains only real MSCs, at least one quarter og the 200+ legitimate MS companies are not MSPA members, for a variety of reasons. However, most of are included on this Forum's list of MSCs and most have written reviews for one or more active shoppers on the forum.

dcrector is correct; many legitimate MSCs have had their good names hijacked by scammers, to checking the two lists for the true Internet addresses of any MSC is always a good strategy. I am also glad to see that many MSCs, when they discover that their name id being used by scammers, have chosen to post warnings on this and other forums.

Also, it has been reported in several instances that when a shopper presents a fraudulent check at a bank the police were called due to a tellers suspicion. Although not charged the shopper was detained for investigation of attempting to pass a fraudulent check. This has happened several times in the past.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2017 06:55PM by dcrector.

It's really sad, but at least they were prevented from bouncing checks and losing a bunch of money.

That is a positive way to look at it. I never thought of that.

If a person can't tell if a check is fraudulent( who pays for work BEFORE its completed?), IMHO, said person should NOT be a mystery shopper.

I don't think the OP was a mystery shopper.