If you have not spent or withdrawn any money, you will survive. You *might* get charged a fee for depositing a bad check - $35, give or take. However, if you bring it to the bank's attention before they discover the issue, there is a strong chance the bank will forgive the fee. Banks hate scammers, too.

Thanks. I don't understand why people do such things

Please don't take too much offense, but I don't understand why people seem to fall for such things either. I've been on the Internet for 18 years and have seen these type of things since day one. Not to mention there are articles everywhere and most news outlets have cautionary segments every few months. While I understand it tends to be people in need, I don't understand why people don't ask themselves why they qualify for work promised as paying close to $100 an hour when there are people with advanced degrees making minimum wage.

@LisaSTL
I can understand... I didn't fall for it, but a few years ago, some medical bills were really piling up, I was approached with a scam based around an ad I put up for personal tutoring. The check came and it was tempting.. I did not know that the bank would make the funds available before the check was confirmed, so I did not understand how it could be a scam. After all, if I got to put the money in the bank first and wait until it cleared, where was the danger? Plus, it was in response to my ad. Plus, I needed the the money. I totally felt the temptation.

My thinking was, "What if this is real? If I report it as a scam and it's real, I would ruin the opportunity. Good things can happen to good people, yes?" I called the bank upon which the check was drawn and was able to learn that it was fraudulent. It's not a stretch to think that somebody might fall for it. If we look at folks who are getting into mystery shopping, we are talking about a group with a large percentage of folks who *need* to earn money and are stressed. This makes new and prospective shoppers especially vulnerable.

You'll need to sign up with as many companies on the list as possible to stay busy. Most of us are signed up with 100 or more. As an IC, you can turn down whatever work you don't have time to do. I always recommend Marketforce as a good starting company.

So I can actually call the bank that it's from Monday to verify if it's real?

Ok I'm going to contact market force thanks

Take it from all of us, the check is not real. You are calling the bank ahead of them getting notified it is a fake in the hope they will take pity on you and waive the returned item charge.

I understand that it's not real I'm trying to make sure that it didn't effect my account in any way and try to get the fee waived

I think I got lucky calling the bank to verify - they likely should not have told me anything..... In retrospect, I did not need to do that. NOBODY sends money to somebody they don't know for services not yet rendered - especially for large sums of money.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2018 01:13AM by MFJohnston.

No, you will be calling the bank to try and persuade them from not putting a freeze on your account and eventually closing your account for depositing a fake check. What I would do if I were you is call and ask to speak with the branch manager or whatever manager is on duty and explain what happened. I can positively assure you that it is fake.

@Smokecool187 wrote:

So I can actually call the bank that it's from Monday to verify if it's real?

To me a phone call is a good idea only if they have a customer service line staffed over the weekends. Otherwise, unless it is a real hardship having a face to face with manager first thing Monday morning may be more effective. It is awfully easy for a telephone rep to blow off a customer. It is much harder to ignore someone in distress standing right in front of you.

That's a good point.

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

I was digging through the forum archives and found a few threads about this from a long time ago.

Larger banks will have such a line..... The sooner that you get a notice into their system, the better. Even a customer service rep who blows you off will put a note on file. ... Yes, even if you make a call, a trip into the bank Monday morning would be a good move.

New to Mystery Shopping. I have read many of the posts here so I 'think' this is a scam, but want to confirm that this happened to someone else.
I applied for a part-time mystery shopper job and heard from Patrick Dawkins, who says he is with Helion Research. His email is info@job-helionresearch.com. I received a check for almost $ 3,000 with some instructions on how to do my mystery shopping assignment. Most of the $ 3,000 was to be used to purchase some gift cards with me keeping about $ 300 for myself. I did not deposit it. I was suspicious since I doubted a legitimate company would send me a check in advance of me doing the work. That is what led me to this forum.

Has anyone else communicated with Patrick Dawkins at info@job-helionresearch.com ?
If so, what happened?

And how can I determine if this check they sent me is fake? What is their scam? Do they obtain my banking information when I deposit the check? Or is the scam that I spend money and send them the gift cards BEFORE my bank realizes the check is fake and bounces it? Or another way? I'd appreciate replies from anyone who knows how this scam works.

The last one. The fake check is not discovered to be fake by your bank until after about 10 days. And no one pays for work in advance. Turn it over to the post office as it is mail fraud.

Oh, and Patrick Dawkins is not a real person and that email address is incorrect, as people who work for helion would not have the "job-" part added on to the email domain.

Oh, and just so you know, the way you get work with a mystery shopping company is by going to their website and filling out an application. If you are approved you will have a username and password for their website which is where you will get your guidelines and report form, and after the assignment is complete you submit the report on the website as well. You get paid 2-6 weeks later with most companies, a few are faster or take longer to pay.

The comments on this forum helped confirm my suspicions, so thank you to those who are engaged on this topic and putting up warning messages.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2018 05:27PM by wouldbemysteryshopper.

Smokecool187--Please be careful! I get at least one scam a day on my phone. The IRS will not call you, Microsoft will not call you, shoppers do not get checks up front of any shop that I know of. The latest internet scam is going around now, Your screen will say! "ALERT" your computer will shut down if you don't call Microsoft at their 800 number. DO NOT CALL IT. You need to get help with your family right now, what state are you in?

My 90-year-old aunt got a call from Microsoft (lol). Her caller ID showed it was from them, anyway. She picked up the phone and they told her that there was something wrong with her computer. She said, "Oh dear, there is?" They told her she had a virus and they needed her to allow them remote access to her computer so that they could help her fix it. She let them go on about it and led them along for several minutes before she laughed at them, told them she didn't have a computer and never owned one in her life, then hung up on them.

Pretty weird that they can spoof a caller ID like that, huh? They fooled her caller ID but they didn't fool that little old lady.

@wouldbemysteryshopper wrote:

I received a check for almost $ 3,000 with some instructions on how to do my mystery shopping assignment. Most of the $ 3,000 was to be used to purchase some gift cards with me keeping about $ 300 for myself.

And how can I determine if this check they sent me is fake? .

A $3,000 check sent to a stranger before any work is performed is definitely a scam. In addition, without collecting your SS# or EIN, how could they report your income? They don't want your SS or EIN because they are not paying you, they are scamming you.

Helion Research is a legitimate company but they do NOT send checks in the mail to someone who has not already performed work. SCAM. After the victim buys gift cards and sends them the numbers, they immediately empty the gift card balances. Then the check bounces and your bank wants the whole $3K back - from you. To add insult to injury, I've heard most times the bank closes the victim's account.

Why would you need to determine if the check they sent you is fake? Common sense tells you that it's a definite scam. Besides all the other red flags, simply the amount of money they are paying should be a tip-off. Why would anyone pay a stranger $300 for a job like buying a few gift cards which requires no skill, training, or expertise - how much pay per hour would that be? And what is the minimum wage? "Oh, my! I can work at Walmart for $11 an hour or I can spend half an hour buying gift cards and make $300!"

HI All! found this post as I have also fallen victim to "Patrick Dawkins" and his "Helion Research". He hacked old co workers LinkedIn and when i replied to him asking "what this link" my old coworker replied saying it was legit and that i should sign up and explained its mystery shopping and you get paid for your time....i did some research on Helion Research group and it looked legit, plus i had trusted old coworker saying it was legit, so i clicked link and signed up...i then received an email asking for name and address etc (link and email looked weird, but again was trusting that old coworker wouldn't have sent me down a fake path)...ffwd to today, i just received the check, letter with instructions, and survey. The package came from some RV site which was my first clue "this is weird, what the heck is this" and then i opened to find the $3k cashiers check, instruction letter, and survey (all of which just didn't look real-photo copied images on letter very fraudulent looking "confidential" across the front but in back and white...I am an ex-external auditor so all this sent red flags and warning bells off bc this whole process again wasn't adding up...i then found a way to get old co worker phone number and texted him. He obviously didn't know of Helion Research and proceed to let me know his LinkedIn was hacked...so now i'm sitting her googling trying to figure out what to do with said fake documents and wondering how concerned i should be that this person has my phone number and home address...Suggestions? Thoughts? Is there anyone to contact/report this?

Also side note-i'm not in a crunch for money like someone stated most people that get scammed are...and I'm also highly educated, but fell victim to trusting that what i was seeing as replies from a old co worker was actually a scammer..I know several friends who do legit focus groups/mystery shops and had told them to send me info next time they get a call for one bc love the idea of some extra easy cash for shopping or spending on myself, so when i saw old coworker was sending me a referral link i thought coincidence i was actually just talking to my friend about this and that i want to do it!

You didn't get scammed because you didn't deposit the check. People who got scammed deposited the check.

Call the FTC about it, or take the check to the postmaster general at the post office as it is mail fraud.

If you are interested in legitimate mystery shopping, look at the links below (new mystery shoppers and official list of mystery shopping companies). Those are good places to get started.

Awesome thank you for the quick response! Said "Patrick" just texted me and said something along the lines "my first assignment is coming through the mail and to confirm the delivery" ...do i reply and let him know I've picked up on his scam and will be reporting him? And should i be concerned he has my phone number and home address? (i can block the number but the address i can't really change)

No, play along and make him suffer. I am betting he will want you to send gift cards or wire money, let him think you are doing that. I am betting he is out of the country so I wouldn't worry too much about him having your contact info. I don't think he can do anything with it.

And meanwhile contact the FTC and ask what you should do.

[www.consumer.ftc.gov]