I looked up the website pic-time and they are a real site with a 3.8 rating from trust pilot. But somehow I cannot imagine this is real. Did anyone else get this offer? There was a photo of a Whole Foods store that did not copy over.

Whole Foods Market

From:
we@pic-time.com
To:


Tue, Jun 25 at 5:26 PM


View in a browser


WFM HUB


WFM Organic Foods

By WFM Hub

pic-time

Amazing Offer! Evaluate stores around you and earn $400 per evaluation. This program happens 2-3 times weekly, to evaluate, analyze & Survey stores. Sign up here;

[wholefoodsexplore.wixsite.com]

Best regards

VIEW GALLERY

$400 weekly? Need you ask, Sandy?

The webpage screams, "Scam!" There's so much wrong there....

Whole foods is shopped by a company we discuss here but not $400.00 weekly.

You'll most likely get a check for a huge amount, and they'll ask you to deposit it and get back all of the cash except the $400, and send it back to them in gift cards. The check isn't real, but it looks like it is. And you lose, plus the bank fees for the bad check and anything that comes up NSF because of the bad check.

The fact that the website uses Wix is a big red flag for me.

I'm sure Kayla will be directing her flock to sign up posthaste.

I was not planning to apply for this shop as it looked like a scam to me. The reason I was asking was because it had some signs which to me are things I look for. The website had Https, and it was a confirmed actual website. I think others may have or will get this email in the future. Also my email has a very good scam detector. I rarely have a scam email. I wish I could say the same for my phone.
I actually shop Whole Foods market myself and know this is a ridiculous sum, although I would not use what we traditionally get paid as a yardstick. I would say for most shops at least triple the pay would be more realistic.
Service Award, did you actually click and open the website? The offer I got did not have a logo on it at all. It only had a photo of the front of a Whole Foods store on it and nowhere did it say INC or inc. I never would open websites like these that seem scammy. I only searched for pic-time to see if it was legit and found out it is a site for professional photographers Now why would a site that serves professional photographers be used for mystery shopping.

@sandyf wrote:

I never would open websites like these that seem scammy.

That's why you even had a question about it. The link clicks through to WIX page that then collects info for the scam. And it looks immediately and obviously like a scam.

The crazier part is it's not an offer to shop WF, it's a statement that WF is shopping other stores and you will work for them. Specifically:

Whole Foods Market inc®️ is currently in a contract with stores around the states such as Walmart, eBay, Best Buy, Rite Aid, Dollar General e.t.c. and accepting applications for qualified individuals for secret evaluation.

It then explains the minimum is 6 weeks with one shop a week, so the fake check would be for $2,400!

So the claim is essentially that Amazon, the owner of Whole Foods, is shopping eBay. And Dollar General. Because most Whole Foods customers shop at these places?

I've been doing a lot of research on scams lately while trying to educate my parents about them (They are constantly targeted by scammers) and found research that indicates the stupidity in the offers is actually there by design. It automatically disqualifies the less gullible readers that will be harder to scam, so by applying you have already passed the first test of being a worthy target.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I've been doing a lot of research on scams lately while trying to educate my parents about them (They are constantly targeted by scammers) and found research that indicates the stupidity in the offers is actually there by design. It automatically disqualifies the less gullible readers that will be harder to scam, so by applying you have already passed the first test of being a worthy target.

I get irritated at times because my mother brings me every single email she receives, along with every text from a number that's not in her contact list, and it's a lot. But then I think...would I rather spend this time being proactive and prevent something from happening, or spend much longer on the back end unraveling something much bigger and damaging?

I'll take the 'pay-as-you-go' plan, please.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2024 07:44PM by drdoggie00.

Dr Doggie, I know repeats of the same ole same ole can be irritating. But enjoy your mom while you can. I miss my mom so much since she is gone. She used to read the entire 3 page disclosure she got with every med refill and underline all the bad things in red. Some of these meds she was taking for years. Then she would show them to me like it was a new med for her. And I know I can be irritating to my kids. But you are, as you say, doing a good deed being there for your mom who probably does not trust her own thinking capacity and knowledge of what is going on in the world as much as yours anymore.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

I'll take the 'pay-as-you-go' plan, please.

Does your mom print them out like my parents do?

My parents print an file every email, and then delete from the server, so you can't even go back and look at the 'mailto:' info in the email header to tell if it's a scam.

Agreed it's frustrating to deal with, but at least they don't fall for the mystery shopping scams. I have brought my whole family on shops of one kind or another and they know what's involved. And have no interest.

@sandyf wrote:

Dr Doggie, I know repeats of the same ole same ole can be irritating. But enjoy your mom while you can. I miss my mom so much since she is gone. She used to read the entire 3 page disclosure she got with every med refill and underline all the bad things in red. Some of these meds she was taking for years. Then she would show them to me like it was a new med for her. And I know I can be irritating to my kids. But you are, as you say, doing a good deed being there for your mom who probably does not trust her own thinking capacity and knowledge of what is going on in the world as much as yours anymore.

I know. I try to be patient; most days I don't succeed, but I do still keep trying.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@drdoggie00 wrote:

I'll take the 'pay-as-you-go' plan, please.

Does your mom print them out like my parents do?

She would if she had access to my printer. I get them most often through her forwarding texts and emails, or she hands me her iPad and asks me to look at it. I have her email login information, and sometimes I'm able to get to them before she sees them.

She's gone with me on many, many shops, especially restaurants. Other than being a tag-along who gets to eat for free, she has no interest in it. The rest of my family (even the one who doesn't work) has no interest because it's "not a real job."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2024 09:01PM by drdoggie00.

Here's the thing when you are old. I can vouch for these since I am old. Once you stop working due to retirement when you are older you have little access to other age groups other than your own family and even then many are just not available to chat. Many older people have only a small family and sometimes they all live far away.

Your friends all tend to be in the same situation, older and not out in the world with a larger group of diverse people, esp women who discuss not much more than their aches and pains and medical conditions and their grand children, but also the latest scams they read about in the AARP bulletin. If you do not have a wider social network this becomes your life. If your life is limited due to medical conditions it can be even worse. And also probably the biggest segment watching the nightly news on TV is the older people. If you have ever watched the nightly news (local variety in big cities) it is full of stories of scams, car chases, reports of overdoses of meds and other gruesome occurrences. They usually have one uplifting story to balance all that bad and worrisome news. I tell my friends not to watch the local news as it is too depressing.
Older people do not spend much time around younger people who might be talking to each other about the latest and greatest whatever. Many older people are isolated from all that and dont sit around showing their friends the new phone tricks or computer tricks they just heard about. So often they only have their family as a source for all their worries and concerns and they tend to focus on the one person who is able and willing to help them.

I signed up for this (using fake information) just because I was curious to see what I'd get.

This email just came in from "WHFMheadoffice@gmail.com" -lol- like Whole Foods would use a gmail address....with the subject line "Confirmation of your vacancy":

"Attn: [fake name redacted],

You've submitted your information to one of our recruitment agencies to work as a Whole Food Market Research representative. Your details have been verified and you have been shortlisted as one of our representatives. Here is your unique I.D number MS69048, your details have been stored in our database.

Our company has recently been contracted to do a quality survey on Target ,King Soopers, Walmart Stores ,NIKE , Post Office ,CVS ,Rite Aid , Ebay, Kmart , Pizza Hut, Kroger ,Walgreen ,Dillons OR 7Eleven e.t.c. We have shortlisted a few representatives from various states and cities to visit any of the stores listed above randomly, to buy merchandise and share their experience via our feedback checklist/Assessment form.

You will receive an envelope containing a Cashier's Check, Instruction Letter and Checklist/Assessment Form.

Please signify your interest with a Yes, I'm Ready. Thank you.

Best Regards,
Whole Food Market Research ®
HR Business Partner :- Gabriel T Szoke"

Sadly, even though this screams 'I'M A SCAM!', people will still think it's legit. My next stop is to report the email address to Google.

Oh boy Oh boy. it sounds like the job of a lifetime. Woo hoo and they shortlisted you . Probably because they saw by your name you are a doctor (drdoggie) and figured you are good for all sorts of scams and payments for things. You're a doc so you can afford to buy all amounts of gift cards and have a couple of bank accts where you can cash your checks. They probably will ask you to bring your Target paycheck to a different bank than the one you used to deposit Nike into .
Can't wait to hear how the job goes!
Seriously folks who are reading this...SCAM loud and clear. But many do fall for these types of scams. Don't be a victim.

I kind of wish I'd been able to use my legitimate address so I could see what they send and give it to the postmaster, but I didn't want my information on a thousand scammer's mailing lists....because you know they sell that stuff as an additional money-making venture.

Service, I would suggest a senior's group at a community center, YMCA, library, church.... Your mother may even enjoy the Red Hat Society.

The amount of scams directed at the 75+ age group is terrifying. I have been sorting through my parent's junk mail and it's shocking how targeted it is to them, specifically mentioning their names, ages, where they live, etc.

It's also shocking how much of it relates to Walmart and Costco. I'm somewhat surprised to see Whole Food(s) even mentioned as part of a scam, even if it is just the fake MS company name.

@drdoggie00 you are smart to not give your actual address. A co-worker and I rented a PO Box years ago and replied to a a few MS scams to see what would happen. We had set up fake numbers and emails specifically for it, and were also shocked at how quickly all of the scams propagated, based just on a few replies. I got a call from the private PO Box rental place about year after I ended my contract and they had boxes of mail they had been storing in case I wanted it. None of it was legit! We had to shut down the email and phone numbers as well because it became overwhelming.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

The amount of scams directed at the 75+ age group is terrifying. I have been sorting through my parent's junk mail and it's shocking how targeted it is to them, specifically mentioning their names, ages, where they live, etc.

It's also shocking how much of it relates to Walmart and Costco. I'm somewhat surprised to see Whole Food(s) even mentioned as part of a scam, even if it is just the fake MS company name.

@drdoggie00 you are smart to not give your actual address. A co-worker and I rented a PO Box years ago and replied to a a few MS scams to see what would happen. We had set up fake numbers and emails specifically for it, and were also shocked at how quickly all of the scams propagated, based just on a few replies. I got a call from the private PO Box rental place about year after I ended my contract and they had boxes of mail they had been storing in case I wanted it. None of it was legit! We had to shut down the email and phone numbers as well because it became overwhelming.

I would never, Steve - that's just asking for it. I should have used the address of the postmaster general's office in Houston. Next time.

And it is not just scams that are trying to, if you will, "scam" older people. My mom donated to quite a few different charities. She used to send them $10 each but I finally convinced her that all her $10 was going to postage as each of her many charities would hit her up by mail at least monthly if not more often. Even at 95 though my mom was on top of things. She had a list of when she had sent in money and got really frustrated that they were coming after her so soon after her last donation. Of course $10 was probably worth $25 or 30 of todays dollars . But I finally convinced her to give more money to each of fewer charities so they could have enough to use to help whatever cause they were for. I read somewhere that if someone at the time donated $10 they sold off their names to many other charitable groups and made money off of the small donations that way. So she would get 10 or 12 donation solicitations in the mail almost every day from places we never heard of. She moved into a Senior residence that was a pretty nice place when she was 92. The people at the front desk told me she got more mail, mostly donation solicitations , than any one else there. I guess many of you would not call that a scam but I feel like they may be doing all those mailings to elders as they often will not remember they just made a donation last month to that same place.
Service you can also check local organizations. Many church related ones have volunteers that go to visit the older people on a regular basis. If your city has senior centers you might bring her down to one of their lunch times. She might even see some people she used to know there. But they are full of people her age who play cards together, sit and chat, often they have lots of varied activities going on. After the first time with you she might feel comfortable being dropped off or the city may run a transportation service to take her there.

@ServiceAward wrote:

There are certainly places here she could go spend time. The senior center is a mile from the house. She refuses to go. She does not like to socialize.

Sorry to hear that, Service. The senior center has been amazing for giving my mom something to do, and emotional support. Someone there is always having a surgery, some medical issue, or going through a scam, and the group is very supportive.

And I guess that's a key component of remaining social. Keeping a support group active. Everyone is basically in a similar situation, and I think there's some comfort in that. Isn't that what we are all doing here?

In the past, many of the online game services had chat features where the users could engage with one another, but scammers have now infiltrated that as well, so online options for social interaction are limited, if that's all someone is comfortable with.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

Everyone is basically in a similar situation, and I think there's some comfort in that. Isn't that what we are all doing here?

Most definitely. I view this as a social outlet just as much as a work outlet. I know others don't see it that way, but this is definitely my water cooler.


I usually bring in the mail, so I filter what makes its way to my mother. Probably 90% of it goes directly to the trash. Not that much shows up in the mailbox to begin with - maybe one or two pieces each day.


Service, If finances/insurance allow it and you haven't already, please take your mother to see a geriatric specialist. They may be able to start her on a low-dose anti-depressant to help her feel more engaged than she is now.

As for the garage, my first stop would probably be Habitat for Humanity. Second stop: small claims court.

I was trying to curtail the way we have stolen this thread for non mystery shop but this is affecting your life which will affect your shopping to. So Service, you might want to drop into the Senior center someday as they probably have a social worker on sight some days and speak with them about these issues with your mom. She is not the first person to become so entrenched in social isolation and will not be the last so they have had some experience with this and may be able to make some suggestions.
One of my friends had moved her mom into a senior residence but her mom was refusing to go on the bus trips they took every week. So she told her a friend of hers (a friend of my friend) was interested in checking out the place and asked her mom if her friend could come and try the bus trips with her. Then she hired someone to go over once a week or so and met the person first and told her the plan to pose as a friend of the daughter needing help. So perhaps you could have some "friend" of yours who you actually hired for a few hours or was coming for free out of a local agency to visit your mom. Tell her they were coming to your house but you had to go away on an emergency for an hour and leave them with your mom. See how it goes. If your mom does not tell you she hated the whole hour while you were gone you can say your friend really enjoyed spending some time with her and wanted to come over again....to do something with her your mom might enjoy...play cards, take a walk, make cup cakes, share some memory photos etc.

And today I received this:

"Hello [fake name redacted],

We are sorry for our late response, this is because we have been busy collating survey reports. This is Gabriel T Szoke (HR) from Whole Foods Market Research. We are glad to inform you that your first assignment package has been sent and will be delivered to your provided address any moment from now Via USPS in/at your mailbox.

Here is the Confirmation tracking number for the package;- [tracking number redacted], you can track the package Via USPS.

There is an instruction inside the package. Kindly go through the instructions carefully and get back to us as soon as possible. We hope you can serve us better.


Best Regards,
Whole Foods Market Research ®
HR Personnel: Gabriel T Szoke"

The tracking number they provided is legit. It's coming from Dallas, OR 97338. I replied to the email with this:

"Could you please email me the instructions now so I can begin reviewing them? I'd like to get a jump-start on this project!

Thank you,
[fake name redacted]"

Oh you are so cunning. Dr Doggie you may have a whole new career in future sniffing out these scams. Dogs have very good sniffers. Keep us updated.

It may depend upon the state, but in NJ and in DE, when a neighbor's tree falls onto your property and causes damage to a house, a fence, or even a car, it is considered an act of nature and you (not the neighbor) are responsible for repairs. We had this happen three years ago when a rotten limb from a neighbor's tree fell onto our car. Our insurance agent commiserated, but said that our car insurance policy was responsible for repairing the car. The neighbor had no responsibility for the damage.

@drdoggie00 wrote:

As for the garage, my first stop would probably be Habitat for Humanity. Second stop: small claims court.