Possible scam

Was anyone afraid this was a scam when they started??? Getting my first assignment and everyone keeps telling me its a scam. I honestly hope not cause i need this job.

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Did you visit a mystery shopping company website on your own and register in their database? If you got an unsolicited email offering to pay you several hundred dollars up front for an "assignment," it is a scam.

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BHarnage, please tell us about your first assignment and the company it is with. Mystery shopping is a real profession, but there are scammers out there who will pretend to be from a reputable company (but aren't) and will send a large check to some unsuspecting individual to deposit into their bank account and then wire most of the money back to them. That is indeed a scam, because about 10 days after the check is deposited, the bank discovers it is fraudulent and will debit your account for the amount. And you could have serious legal repercussions as well. If your first assignment involves getting a payment up front for work you didn't do, please take the check to your post office, your bank (not to the teller, to the branch manager), or to local law enforcment.

I signed up after it came up on my facebook. I got a priority mail envelope in the mail with detailed instructions and a check and was told to deposit the check in my bank. Aftet the funds are deposited i take out my salary and i will be given instructions on where to go and what to do.

Total scam. Think about it, who pays a stranger up front for work not yet completed? My guess is they tell you to keep $200 to $300 for about an hour's work. How many people make that kind of money?

Real mystery shopping is legitimate. Average assignments pay anywhere from $5 to $25, can take an hour or more and pay and reimburse for purchases anywhere from 30 to 90 days after you have completed the work.

BTW, don't deposit the check and send them anything. Eventually your bank will discover the check is no good, you will be on the hook for the entire amount plus any fees incurred and you risk legal action if they suspect you had an idea the check was fraudulent.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2017 10:48PM by LisaSTL.

BH, it's a scam, I am so sorry, I hope you did not deposit the check. We get people in the forum asking about this all of the time. If you did deposit, please call your bank tomorrow and ask to speak with the manager and explain what happened. DO NOT SPEND A DIME OF THE MONEY AND DO NOT WIRE ANY OF IT. No one pays for work up front. Did you wonder why someone would pay for work in advance and send a large amount of money to a stranger? No one does this. If you have not deposited the check, please call the police or take it to your bank or post office (it's mail fraud). They can help you and they will tell you the same thing I just told you. Mystery shopping jobs pay $10-$20 on average and we have to do the work first, then wait 30-60 days usually to get payment. We do not get paid until after the work has been completed.

Oh, I hope you have not done this yet....this is a TOTAL scam!! Contact the postmaster at your local post office and/or local law enforcement, but do NOT deposit that check!!

So I am wondering why these scams are not featured on major news networks and in newspapers and magazines. How can this continue to go on? When people are down and out, they want to believe so hard that something like this could be true and it seems like we are getting more and more people coming into the forum only to find out the horrible truth, often too late. What can we do to help bring this to light?

The stories have been featured on every imaginable form of news for over a decade now, probably longer. We can't really expect all those news sources to keep running the story daily. I am not going to assume everyone who falls for the scam is down and out. People need to start using some common sense and ask themselves the pertinent question, "Why would someone pay me up front more than the average doctor or other highly trained professional earns for relatively unskilled work?"

I can honestly say that I have never seen this featured in the news. I have only seen it in the forum or warnings posted on MSC websites. Maybe banks and post offices should put up posters in their lobbies.

But I don't understand why people fall for it, either.

My husband was just saying it's a possible "back end" scam, too, since the scammer may have obtained access to passwords, SS#, address, phone number, etc. in a phishing expedition, and now the scammer has access to things that can be sold and are way more dangerous than the initial scam.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I can honestly say that I have never seen this featured in the news. I have only seen it in the forum or warnings posted on MSC websites. Maybe banks and post offices should put up posters in their lobbies.

But I don't understand why people fall for it, either.

i agree w/lisa. internet scams covered in media all the time. scams in general not specific to ms. msing is supposed to be a secret.

Yeah, posters and news stories don't have to mention MSing but somehow some people are missing the message about the check scams.

agreed

Everyone would like a check for 2500.00, but too believe someone will send you a check before you do a 15.00 job is too naive and trusting, who would do that. the internet tricks trusting people, so, use common sense and not fall for this. Take the check to the police, there are websites to report this to. Banks in CA have different hours, mine closes at four, while Banks in grocery stores stay open later. I think the Bank may hold a portion of the check but release quite a bi of money if you have an account. I wonder why tellers are not more savy to this and notice the check is false. I think we learn about these scams more on the internet than the news. I hope they don't cash that check, and you'll be o.k....fingers crossed.

Live consciously....

Testing pool from a scammer to see exactly what kinds of copycat assignment details will actually work.

Mystery Shopper Services recently added a new "scam alerts" page. It is very helpful, as there are a lot out there. [www.mysteryshopperservices.com]

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