Mystery shopper

Hello am new to all this ive been reading that you guys have been having problems with them paying you a recieved a check with instructions they want me to deposit the check in my bank accout and buy walmart gift cards and american express gift cards but they are 500 each card and send them pictures of them with my pay of 450 do you guys think this is real? Or what should i do

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Most legitimate mystery shopping assignments pay $5-$25. Doesn't getting $450 pay offered by a stranger for buying gift cards sound like a lot of money? Too good to be true? It is. This is a well-known, very common SCAM. After you buy the gift cards and send photos, the scammer will empty the gift cards immediately. Then the check you deposited will be returned to your bank and your bank will charge it back to your account, leaving you with no pay. And you will be out the cost of the gift cards that you no longer have. Your bank may also close your account for depositing a SCAM check.

SCAM< SCAM< SCAM. That is NOT how the legitimate MS business operates at all !

Be glad that you asked and DO NOT deposit that check. If you have done so, call your bank IMMEDIATELY and tell them that you think that it will turn out, in about 10-14 days, to be worthless ! You do not want the bank coming after you to recover the $$$ when that happens, do you?

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Yes i did deposit because they kept on sending messages i already called my bank they said there was nothing i could do and that if it was scam the bank will notice before they deposit but am not sure ill just leave the money there

When the check is bad, it will most certainly be reversed and you will be out the money. Do not buy any gift cards! Report this to the FCC and the anti-fraud line for your bank. This is a well-known scam.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2020 11:42PM by foodluvr.

Why are all the "New participant" scam inquiries exactly like this one? Am I the only one who sees the improbability of these being real? The bad grammar/spelling, the gullibility, the new member status, the lack of them having read any other posts regarding scams. I am not sure what "Bots" are but pretty sure these are them. If people really want to know if something is a scam, maybe they should read up on it (listen) rather than run to a strange arena to post (talk). Just sayin'

I do not share your skepticism, I am afraid. They are all similar, I think, because they represent a widespread misunderstanding of how MS actually works. To add a serious complication, most folks, and many who might answer a question at a bank, do not understand that there is a long wait between when "deposited funds" become available to the account holder and when a bank actually knows that a check is fraudulent. So, some bank employees actually reassure the account holder that a check deposited was not a fraud.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

@sestrahelena and walesmaven:

We do see a lot of similar posts in this forum. I have begun to wonder if someone's good deed for the year is to create online names and post the same message in various ways. This is not the worst thing in the world...

The principal of the thing matters most. People need to know what to look for and how to respond. Otherwise, they might do what hubby did and fall hard and obstinately for the endless demands of an obviously loony scam. No one else should have to live with this directly or indirectly. Trust me.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Well i dont know if the other post are fake but it really happened to me if i could i would send pictures i just dont know how if you dont like seeing this kind of post just ignore it and thats it you dont have to be writing negative comments and if i have wrong grammar is my problem

She is obviously not a mystery shopper, hence the bad grammar and run on sentences. She searched for mystery shopping scams and was led here. She is a new participant.

I don't think she is a bot...just...something!

@sestrahelena wrote:

Why are all the "New participant" scam inquiries exactly like this one? Am I the only one who sees the improbability of these being real? The bad grammar/spelling, the gullibility, the new member status, the lack of them having read any other posts regarding scams. I am not sure what "Bots" are but pretty sure these are them. If people really want to know if something is a scam, maybe they should read up on it (listen) rather than run to a strange arena to post (talk). Just sayin'

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Thank you for reminding us to be careful with information and with how we express ourselves.

@Bianca96 wrote:

Well i dont know if the other post are fake but it really happened to me if i could i would send pictures i just dont know how if you dont like seeing this kind of post just ignore it and thats it you dont have to be writing negative comments and if i have wrong grammar is my problem

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

Do NOT do that. That is a SCAM. See if you can somehow report them... I have just been a victim of this exact same thing. I wish I saw your post earlier. The name that was contacting me is: Jimmie Berg.

Hey. Same thing happening to me. However , in my case they are requesting I buy and send them blank money orders with the check that was sent to me. Obviously, thats a huge red flag. In addition to the several mini red flags I chose to overlook. Needles to say, I did NOT deposit this check. I recieved it just yesterday to my door by fedex. Immediately and from then on, my phone has been singing nonstop. The funny thing is, these texts im recieving, non of them are mentioning on of the names, numbers, or company name that is stated on the instruction letter. Yes, im researching. And, TAH-DAH! HERE I END UP. HERE I AM.

The check was sent by FedEx so they would not be guilty of mail fraud, a Federal offense if caught.

It seems logical that someone targeted by a mystery shopper scam might do a search, find this forum, and make a post. And a lot of people get targeted.

I commend the posters for asking the question. No need to get nasty about grammar, etc. They were smart enough to realize something smelled off.

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