Calgary RCMP arrest three in 'mystery shopper scam' mail fraud
By Arthur Weinreb
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Calgary - A couple from Calgary and a man from Cochrane, Ontario face several charges in a 'mystery shopping scam' police began investigating in 2011. The scam was directed at Americans.
Police allege 10 Americans were bilked out of $21,000 and items seized indicated the con artists were ready to send more letters to potential victims in the United States.
The scam involved the use of equipment to make phony checks, postmarks, and logos of legitimate companies that appeared genuine. The equipment used included cheque paper, printers, and cheque-writing software. RCMP Inspector Gordon Sereda said, "It was fairly sophisticated to gain the names of the victims and there was a high degree of coordination." The frauds depended upon assistance by accomplices in the U.K.
Victims who indicated they were interested in becoming mystery shoppers were sent packages in the mail. Contained in these packages were checks made out to the victim. The recipients were then asked to go to a cheque-cashing establishment and report back on the business.
The victims were then told to wire 90 percent of the cash received back to the fraudsters. This was done by the use of international wire transfers going to the United Kingdom. The remaining 10 percent of the cash was the victim's remuneration for carrying out the mystery shopping.
The cheques looked legitimate and only when they arrived at the cheque-clearing centre were they determined to be forgeries. The victim would then be on the hook to make good on the cash they initially received.
Police recovered thousands of phony cheques that were set to be mailed to unsuspecting marks.
Emmanuel Davies Uzonwanne, 37, and Tina Marie Uzonwanne, 41, aka Tina Marie Towbridge, both of Calgary, are charged with fraud through the mails, possession of instruments for forgery, possession of counterfeit stamp and possession of instruments to make impression of a stamp.
Daniel Tochukwu Ezeani, 34, of Cochrane, has been charged with fraud through the mails and use of a counterfeit stamp.
According to police, the victims were chosen at random. Although there are legitimate companies that hire mystery shoppers to test retail outlets, Staff Sgt. Les Dolun said, "Someone sends you a cheque out of the blue and says, 'Please cash this, keep some of it, send us a portion,' you should immediately be suspicious."
The investigation was headed by the RCMP's Financial Integrity Section. They were assisted by Canada Post and the U.S. Postal Service as well as the Alberta Partnership Against Cross Border Fraud.
The three accused are scheduled to appear in court in Calgary on Oct. 22.
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