Titled "Purchase order" with nothing but a link and a sentence stating, "Here's a page that Marguerite Turner wants you to see."

At the bottom it says, "This email is generated through Elite CX Solutions"

What the???! I sure did not click the link. Does anybody know what this non-paying "MSC" is up to now? Using the shopper email database for nefarious purposes? Trying to trick us in a bigger way? This is nuts! I hope nobody clicked on it, could be ransomware!

It could also be an inept scheduler at an inept MSC made a mistake.

The way my body cringes with disgust just reading that name.

@Okie wrote:

Momtreal, would you happen to be from Montreal? Sorry for getting off topic, I always thought Marguerite to be a lovely name. That was the given name of someone I used to be quite smitten with.

Oh it's not the actual name I have issue with haha. I just don't enjoy interacting with that email/person. She gave me such a runaround for months and eventually just stopped responding.

I'm not from Montreal but hope to visit one day!

Did it come from her business email address or a personal email (like a gmail)? She may have been hacked.

Business. @elitecxs

Hi all. Marguerite has been made aware that the email account was hacked. She would ask that anyone receiving any communications from that address simply delete it. Do not follow the link that it contains, and do not reply to the email. That address is no longer being used.

Thank you, Scott. You are appreciated! Odd that no one from the MSC acknowledged it publicly.

when will they pay up? I'm missing 4+ shop payments from them. What should I do?

Kouichi, Here is one of the 2 other threads. Good luck:

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

Scott, I gotta ask, although it's none of my business, what connection do you have with a notoriously crooked MSC and scheduler? I mean, to know about their hacked account and act as their messenger? I'm truly not trying to be mean or accusatory. Servimer has always been a stand-up company to my knowledge. Do we need to be scared due to this association with bad actors? Call me paranoid and PLEASE don't take offense! It just worries me. Thank you.

@ServimerScott wrote:

Hi all. Marguerite has been made aware that the email account was hacked. She would ask that anyone receiving any communications from that address simply delete it. Do not follow the link that it contains, and do not reply to the email. That address is no longer being used.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2024 02:35PM by sestrahelena.

@sestrahelena
I received the same email, and contacted her right away. Posted here just to let everyone know that the email was not legit, hopefully for the protection of all.

Thank you, Scott!

Sounds fishy to me

Thank you for the heads up! I am missing payments for two shops and have sent numerous emails/voicemails to Elite with no responses. This morning I received an email from Kelvin Smith "Payment Coordinator of Mystery Shopping Operations" and it reads as follows.

The email header tells me it is from elitecx-payment@accountant.com which seems suspicious (not from EliteCXS.com??)). Also, it tells me the email was sent from IP address 45.151.99.213 which resolves to somewhere in Germany. Last, there are some grammar mistakes in the text of the message. This email header has many differences from a known EliteCXS email. Like a fool, I replied with my name/address and my two payment invoices. Guess I was just excited I actually received something from them!! LOL I doubt I'll get a return email or if I do, I suspect the check may be fraudulent. But the larger question is, how did someone get my information from EliteCXS (email address and the fact that I was was owed money for shops there)??

Anyone receive something similar?

Email reads:

"Apologies for delayed payment. Due to problems with our payment system, we have encountered problems with making payment on time. We ought to have sorted but this has taken longer than expected.

Hence we have decided to start a new payment processor via check. To enable you begin to receive your payment, please provide details below.

Full Name:
Contact Address:
Current mobile number:
Amount owed for last assignment:

Upon receipt of the above information, a check will be mailed to you.

Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving."

I got this too. too many typos (e.g. elitecx) and accountant.com is not even a real website.

Oh, no! That ploy is different from the scam mail I got. Looks like the scammers are using Elite in various ways. How bad was their security? Or what were they doing to get so easily targeted by hackers? Are shoppers' SSNs or EIN/TINs safe?

Not sure about the email, but Marguerite is a real person. I remember her from her A Closer Look days. It would not hurt to contact her directly, given her name could have been used without her knowledge.

I also received this email as well shortly after I received an email from the CEO regarding payment. I do think that they were hacked because the language in the email is weird. In a follow up email I received today, they said that I would be paid for the jobs I completed and "future jobs in my area". It's giving scam written all over it.

I have been chasing payments from Elite as well and will not work for them again. I got the same dodgy email. Around the same time I wrote to her email address and received a reply from someone else that that email is no longer in use and she is no longer with the company.
Still no pay.
There was a delay in payment earlier in the year but once I signed up for Tipalti, I got paid. This time nothing despite writing to everyone for whom I had an email. I will check the other posts linked above

write an email to david. he did respond to me saying he'll look into the missing payments although I haven't gotten them yet.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2024 10:11PM by kouichi.

I also received an email from David stating that he would look into it but now I'm wondering if it was legit since it came right before the spam emails.

Just a heads up. I feel a bit of a bonehead but I actually responded to the fake German ip email not seeing this thread and after a number of emails to what I thought was Elite. In a week or 2, I received a UPS shipment that included a much larger check than the payment I was owed from outstanding assignments. EVERYTHING about it was shady including the sender of the check and the maker of the check was an insurance company. Of course I’m not going to cash the check…I don’t even know what the scam element is. But just thought I would share my Elite story.

I also boneheadedly responded to that email but the check was nailed by FedEx as Fraud and never delivered. I figured it wasn’t legit but was curious what the check would look like!

I did receive a legit email from David though and he said he would forward me the registration link for Tipalti as I never received it in the first place. Curious to see if I ever get it!

Oh David Hartley has promised me the Tipalti link several times, he has told me back in October I would be paid 'by next week' and last week he told me he would 'check my status' and get back to me by the end of the working day.

Well his working day must be a very long one since I have never heard from him. What a surprise.

Spurious unprofessional company. I would like to prevent anyone working for them, or any companies from giving them work. By bot paying his shoppers, he is giving his clients a bad name, isn't he?

David Hartley is a scammer. He emailed me back saying he would make the payment a few weeks back. Been crickets since then. I suggest everyone missing payments complaint to BBB, other agencies mentioned previously, as well as to the clients that you did the shops on. This SOB needs some pressure and needs to learn a lesson.

So, they are not paying again?! I am missing a small payment too. This is it!