Hi everyone,

Today I was almost the victim of fraud and could have lost a lot of money, so I wanted to post this message to warn everyone else out there.

Originally I thought I was being scammed by a company called Consumer Connect ltd with a manager called Stefen Zubac. However, recently it has been bought to my attention that the scammers have used this business for fraudulent activity as well. They basically used a legit, trustworthy and reliable company that deals with email marketing, telemarketing etc so that I would (unintentionally) tarnish their name. The legit company is also called Consumer Connect and has a director called Stefen Zubac. But clearly in this instance they have also been victims of fraud and have played no part in trying to scam me.

I applied for a job as a secret shopper on gumtree to earn a little extra money. After I had applied via gumtree the company CONSUMER CONNECT Ltd sent me a text to fill out an online application form. The director of the company is STEFEN ZUBAC. All of this looked very legit and asked for the usual details- name, address etc. Once the form is filled out they email you to say if you've been successful after your "credit check". They then will email you with your secret shopper assignments and a bit about the company, once again looking professional and legit. They then proceed to tell you that the money for your first assignment is in the post and to call when you receive the letter. The first assignment is for Travelex to exchange your travellers cheques back into cash whilst scoring the assistant that serves you. The next day sure enough a letter arrived along with 2000 euros in travellers cheques, which was meant for your wages and money needed to buy the shopping. I then contacted Stefen Zubac to say it had arrived. He told me the assignemnt had changed slightly and that I was to pay the cheques directly into my bank account and to call when I had done so.

Here's the cunning part!

The cheques are fake. If they get paid into your bank account he will then ask you to transfer the money to his account. If the cheques are fake obviously the money isn't really in your account but you are able to send the 2000 euros any way. Meaning you have dealt with fraudulent travellers cheques and are now 2000 euros down having tansferred the money to the little rat.

Lucky for me the cashier at the bank recognised that they were fake and called Amex to double check this. I showed her the letter that was sent to me from the company and she said these types of letters are becoming more and more popular.

In a nutshell if you ever come across CONSUMER CONNECT LTD OR THE NAME STEFEN ZUBAC AVOID AT ALL COSTS! DO NOT GET INVOLVED UNLESS YOU ARE REPORTING HIM!

I googled his name and he comes up as "owning" three companies- Consumer Connect Ltd, SZ Media ltd and Datacr8 (this one no longer exists). A few different addresses come up too- one in London, one in Buckinghamshire and one in Brighton. Non of which match the address on the email he sent out...

I am usually switched on with fraud, ID theft and scams but this one got me. It all looked very legit from the start, which is why I went along with it. In hindsight I should have been suspicious about being paid up front and about not going in for an interview etc etc. So be careful!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2012 02:08PM by Lou_44.

You've just seen a very common fraud.

Unfortunately this is a common, and very deceptive scheme. I am extremely glad that your bank saved you from this scheme.

As far as I know, no legitimate mystery shopping gig will EVER send you money up front.

No request to cash a check and wire tranfer the money is EVER legitimate.

I wish there was a way to send out a worldwide PSA about this.

If you check the front web pages of 200 Mystery Shopping Companies, ALL will tell you that they would NEVER send you a check for $200 upfront for any shop...

Thank GOD your bank did not let this go any further...

If sign on to the companies listed here, you should not run into this problem.

Yes, I have now looked into mystery shopping in much more detail. Should have done this before I applied for the job and took instructions from a con artist!

I'm just concerned now for my bank accounts, credit rating and the fact that this person now has my address and knows where I live. I hope he doesn't sent anyone round because I didn't go through with his plan...

Highly unlikely. The con is probably in Nigeria. They work on odds, sending out enough that if a few people get fooled, they've made bank. It is cheaper and easier for them to move on.

I am a scheduler and one thing our company request even before signing up with us, is to review our company history with the BBB. We never provide you with the BBB website, because of a recent scam going on with the BBB website to make it look like you are going to their site but it re-directs you to a fake site. Instead Google the BBB website and click on the link. Then enter the name of the MS company you are considering registering with. The BBB site will ask for the full name of the company/city and state.

This is a very important step when considering any MS company. You can see their rating and if they have any complaints about them for any reason. If the company is a scam it most likely will not be listed on the site.

I hope this helps.

It's been established that the BBB will not accept complaints from shoppers, since those are business to business transactions.

Unfortunately, that will render an inaccurate portrayal of the MSC on how they work with shoppers. If a MSC asked me to look at their BBB rating, that would actually make me suspicious....

I'm not sure about all BBB offices, but the BBB will look at any complaint any individual request and it will be their sole decision if it warrants a case. I don't know why it would make you suspicious when a MS company wants you to look at their rating.

I just looked at a small, reputable company on the BBB website. Their grade, an F. No issues of any kind. The grade was based solely on the fact they were listed with at-home jobs and the whole category is considered suspicious.

@Lisa, if you found the company to be reputable,with no current issues, that's great. I do not work for the BBB but they have their reasons on why they place certain ratings on companies. I don't understand why they would place an "F" rating on a company just becasue they are listed with an at-home jobs, there must be more to it? But again, the BBB has their own way of rating and perhaps there may have been other relating factors to the rating.

It would be up to the individual if they take this step. If an individual finds it suspicious, then they have the option not to take this step.

Thanks to all who provided comments on this, it helps me better understand how others view this.

I gave you the one and only reason they provide for the rating. This is directly from their site:

"BBB concerns with the industry in which this business operates"

No issues of any kind and no reviews of the business in the last 3 years.

Dear Lou and those who have read or commented in this forum.

This is Stefan Zubac and I’m the Director at Consumer Connect Ltd.

These comments have been brought to my attention by a client and I strongly deny all allegations made.

This is quite obviously an attempt to tarnish me and my business and I will be reporting it to the forum. Our company is a successful, honest and professional direct marketing agency who specialises in email marketing, telemarketing, and lead generation services and, as you can see on our website [www.consumer-connect.biz] – we do not, nor have we ever, been involved in advertising for mystery shoppers jobs.

Alternatively, but less likely, is that I have been the victim of identity theft and someone has stolen my identity. In which case, if this is a legitimate post please send me across the evidence and letters mentioned via the contact information on our website and I will have a solicitor look over the details and will report the identity theft to Action Fraud.

Stefan Zubac

Stefan,

It is very likely that you are the victim of identity theft, actually. Most successful mystery shopping companies have had their names and often key personal names utilized in these types of scams, and scammers have moved on to include other reputable business.

For the sake of your reputation, you may want to consider putting a warning on the front page of your website, since it will be close to impossible to track down the source of the scam, which is probably located in Nigeria.

If you send a private message to Lou via this forum, I'm sure you will find that the scammer was using an alternate email address to what you use, and perhaps Lou would be willing to modify his post to point out that your company is not actually the one that defrauded him.

Gina Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @Lisa, if you found the company to be
> reputable,with no current issues, that's great. I
> do not work for the BBB but they have their
> reasons on why they place certain ratings on
> companies. I don't understand why they would place
> an "F" rating on a company just becasue they are
> listed with an at-home jobs, there must be more to
> it? But again, the BBB has their own way of rating
> and perhaps there may have been other relating
> factors to the rating.
>
> It would be up to the individual if they take this
> step. If an individual finds it suspicious, then
> they have the option not to take this step.
>
> Thanks to all who provided comments on this, it
> helps me better understand how others view this.


Gina,

If you read through the forum about disreputable companies, you will note than in almost every instance, shoppers have quickly filed BBB complaints against companies that have ripped them off. In virtually 100% of those cases, the BBB has declined to act upon the complaint because they are business-to-business transactions.

This has resulted in a general consensus among experienced shoppers that a BBB rating of a MSC has absolutely no bearing on how reputable they are. The feedback provided on this forum is FAR more reliable.

Stefan,

It sounds like you and your business have been caught up in this too. I am not trying to tarnish anyone's business and I fear that maybe we have all been caught up in fraudulent activity. The company I dealt with apparently specialized in mystery shoppers, not a company involved in email marketing etc. I must also let you know that I am self employed and I would never intentionally do anything like this to another persons business.

The company that I dealt with were called Consumer Connect ltd but with a different website and business address to yours. During the time I dealt with the company I spoke to someone called Stefen Zubac (obviously unlikely to be his real name) and I received a letter from them outlining details of my mystery shop assignments signed by someone different called John W Wells. By talking to "Stefen" on the phone I can tell you that he had an accent, quite likely from Europe. He spoke English well but there an accent present.

I am quite happy to send you details of any emails and letters that I received from the company. I have already contacted Action Fraud as soon as this happened.

Lou

Thanks for the feedback Steve. I'm just in the midst of sending the same response to two other forums which Lou posted. I’ll put up notes on my website shortly.
Much appreciated.
Stefan

Dear Lou,

Thank you for your response. It seems we were both victims of this fraud.

I will contact Action Fraud and if you can send me the correspondence that would be great. Just go to my website and our contact details are there.

In the meantime I appreciate that you want to let others know about this fraud, but could you please amend your comments so that my name and companies aren’t mentioned, as this is very harmful for my business reputation, as I am sure you can appreciate.

Many thanks,
Stefan

Stefan, we usually do include the name of the companies that are being victimized as well since the more information out there the better. May I humbly suggest the OP change subject line and body of the post to point out that Consumer Connect is being used in a scam.

Stefan,

I have changed the details on the forums that I posted on and added a bit of information in regards to what has happened (ie that it was not you or your company that tried to scam me).

I will send you the copy of the letter and the email to you later on today.

Please accept my apologies if I tarnished your business (albeit unintentional!) I too would be pretty mortified if somebody had used my business name to scam people out of thousands of pounds.

Lou,

Thank for your prompt response.

I only found out this morning from a client and yes it did come as a massive surprise to say the least. Unfortunately these things happen I guess.
I’ll be putting relevant notes on my website to inform anyone else who might be approached under ‘Consumer Connect Ltd’ and will also contact Action Fraud.

Thanks.
Stefan

Sad to say, you have joined a long list of companies who's names have been used for nefarious purposes. Sadder that there does not seem to be an end in sight.

I know it's not good, not sure how you protect yourself against this type of fraud. Any suggestions?
thanks Lisa

If only we had a way. As much as your business reputation was damaged, think about all the folks who are desperate for money and end up depositing these fraudulent checks and wiring the money away. The scams are stealing from the people who can least afford the loss.

Stefan: Actually, it's good your name is used, because if smart would-be shoppers Google your name.... up comes the SCAM.

I would post on your main page the following: We are not in any way affiliatede with Consumer Connect LTD. (or any other sites brought to your attention.)

You could also say your name has been taken for fraudulent purposes and post your direct email for consumers to write to you on the main page. They will also see your REAL address and make sure to tell consumers that that is your ONLY email address.