Consumer Advisory: Harrisburg, PA, Attorney General Corbett cautions consumers about “mystery shopper” counterfeit check scam

HARRISBURG, PA — Attorney General Tom Corbett cautioned consumers to be wary of counterfeit check scams which are disguised as offers seeking “mystery shoppers” for major retail stores.

Corbett said the scam mailing typically includes an official-looking notice informing consumers that they have been selected to participate in a “secret shopper” or “mystery shopper” program, where consumers are paid to make purchases at stores and then evaluate the service they received. Consumers are told that they can earn several hundred dollars for each shopping assignment they complete, and the scam mailings imply that the secret shopper program is affiliated with retail outlets such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears, Home Depot, JC Penney and other major chains.

“This scam draws consumers in with an offer of ‘easy money’ – getting paid to shop,” Corbett said. “In reality, consumers are being ‘paid’ with counterfeit checks, and are being asked to electronically transfer money to scam artists, often operating outside the country.”

Corbett said the mystery shopping scam typically asks consumers to evaluate a money transfer using a MoneyGram or Western Union wire transfer as part of their first “training assignment.” A check is normally included with the mystery shopper mailing, which consumers are instructed to deposit in their bank account to cover the cost of their first shopping assignment.

Corbett explained that consumers are often promised earnings of $500 to $800 per week for future shopping assignments, if they successfully complete their training. Consumers are also told that they must keep the nature of their work completely confidential, in order to avoid alerting businesses that they are being evaluated and to preserve the “integrity” of the mystery shopper program.

Corbett said the typical scam instructs consumers to wire-transfer $3,000 to $4,000, often to an address in Canada. Consumers are told that they are sending the money to a training supervisor or account manager, who will evaluate the consumer’s potential as a full-time mystery shopper. After completing the electronic transfer, consumers are asked to immediately send a copy of the MoneyGram or Western Union receipt to a fax number provided in the initial mailing.

Corbett noted that the scam artists are attempting to take advantage of a time-delay between when you deposit their check, and when your bank discovers that the check is actually counterfeit. In some cases, this could take several days, allowing unsuspecting consumers to transfer money long before they discover that the original check was counterfeit – and that consumers are responsible for repaying missing money to the bank.

Corbett said that modern computer and printer technology allows scam artists to generate extremely realistic checks, forms and letters. He urged consumers to look beyond the authentic appearance of any documents, or the attraction of quick money, to identify the basic framework of all these scams.

“Alarm bells should go off in your head any time someone sends you a check, along with a request that you deposit the check in your bank and wire-transfer a certain amount of that money to another person,” Corbett said. “Whether it’s a mystery shopper offer, payment for an online auction, a classified ad, or some other transaction – scam artists are hoping that you send them money quickly, without thinking about the offer, and fall for a deal that’s too good to be true.”

Shield yourself from marketers

There is absolutely nothing wrong with companies trying to market their products to consumers—that’s business, and it’s what keeps our economy going.

But I like to control—as much as I can, anyway—the amount of marketing messages I receive. You’ll find some great tips for how to do this in Leslie Halpern’s article,“Six Tips for Maintaining Privacy: Marketers Will Invade Your Life If You Let Them.”

Jacquelyn Lynn

Is that really your grandchild calling?

I have a four-year-old grandson I adore and would do anything for. Right now, “anything” consists of trips to the playground, running around the backyard, and playing with his toys. I imagine things will change when he’s a teenager.

Con artists have sunk to a new low, preying on doting grandparents by posing as a grandchild in trouble and needing help.

The scammer calls on the phone and says something like, “This is your favorite grandson,” or even, “Do you know who this is?” When the unwitting grandparent responds with a name, the scammer has the information he needs. Typically, the scammers spin a story of needing cash but not wanting other family members to know, and they convince the grandparents to wire money.

The easiest way to avoid being a victim is to not offer any information the scammer doesn’t have. If the caller says, “This is your favorite grandson,” ask which one. If the caller asks you to guess who it is, refuse—answer “Do you know who this is?” with “No, I don’t. Who is it?”

And if a grandchild says he or she needs money but doesn’t want his or her parents to know, step back and think. If it was your child, wouldn’t you want to know? Don’t you have a responsibility to your own adult children to tell them when their children are in trouble?

If you get drawn far enough into the scam that you’ve agreed to send money, stop and confirm the need through a known contact number—not the one the scammer has provided—before you come up with any cash.

Finally, if you’ve been the target of a scam of any kind, notify the police.

For more on the fake grandchild scam, check out http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/11/grandparents_scam.html

Jacquelyn Lynn

Warning: Company says it is not responsible for criminal acts of its employees

Orlando Sentinel columnist Greg Dawson’s Aug. 9, 2007 consumer column told a frightening tale of a woman who called a company to repair a piece of equipment in her home. The company’s technician said he was taking the equipment for repair, and then stole it. That’s bad enough, but then the company admitted that it did not run a background check on the employee, who had a criminal record and no driver’s license (but was driving to jobs), and said they were not responsible for their employee’s criminal conduct.

Before you let anyone into your home for any reason, be sure you are dealing with a reputable company that screens employees and accepts responsibility for what their employees do.

Jacquelyn Lynn

Exploiting tragedy – don’t get scammed

A new scam e-mail campaign is attempting to exploit the recent plane crash in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The e-mail claims to be from the airline TAM and attempts to lure recipients into logging onto a special site for more information. But if users click on the link in the e-mail and follow the instructions, they will download and install an information-stealing Trojan Horse on their computers.

All of the people affected by this horrible tragedy are in my thoughts and prayers, and they shouldn’t be further traumatized by becoming crime victims in the aftermath. If you are seeking information about this crash, do not click on links in any incoming e-mails and don’t give out any information unless you initiated the contact and are absolutely certain you are speaking to a legitimate source.

Sadly, this is something that should be kept in mind whenever a tragedy occurs. Some criminals have no problem with taking advantage of people who are vulnerable—don’t become one of their victims.

Jackie

Hit-man threat – a new e-mail scam

From the FBI: A new scam cropping up in e-mail boxes across the country is preying not on recipients’ greed or good intentions, but on their fears. The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay thousands of dollars to the sender, who purports to be a hired assassin. Click here to read the FBI’s news release.

Your best defense is simply to delete unsolicited spam e-mails without opening them. If you receive e-mail threats, you can also report them to the Internet Crime Complaint Center or to the local field office of the FBI.

Jacquelyn Lynn

A new phishing scam masquerading as an e-mail from eBay

I get the standard “update your account information now” scam e-mails pretending to be from eBay or PayPal on a daily basis. Some creative scammers have come up with a new angle: an invitation to become an eBay PowerSeller.

I just received this scam. I knew immediately it was a scam because I am a very low-volume eBay seller. Also, when I hovered my cursor over the links, I could tell that they weren’t going to a real eBay site.

If you are an eBay seller working on achieving PowerSeller status, be careful not to fall for this. It’s a fairly well-done fraud with only a few typos, so it’s possible that an otherwise careful person could fall for it.

If you have any questions about your PowerSeller status, send an e-mail to: powersellersinfo@ebay.com.

Jacquelyn Lynn

Two Hot Scams: “Free” Credit Reports and Iraqi Dinar Investment

I’ve written about this before, but it’s worth repeating. Most of the “free” credit report offers out there are either identity theft scams or companies wanting to sell you credit monitoring services. The only site you can get a truly free credit report is www.annualcreditreport.com. Read more about this in Scambusters newsletter.

Another excellent article in that issue of Scambusters warns about an investment scheme involving buying Iraqi currency. Don’t do it. There’s a slim possibility you could make money, but your chances are probably better if you buy lottery tickets—and you know those chances aren’t great, right?

Protect your identity and your money with some common sense.

Jacquelyn Lynn

Secret Shopper Fraud: A new twist on an old scam

I recently received the following e-mail from the Economic Crimes Unit of the Seminole County (FL) Sheriff’s Office:

The Altamonte Springs (FL) Police Department received a complaint from a resident who received a letter and counterfeit check in the mail from a company called “Paid Surveys” out of Baltimore, MD. The letter advised he had been selected to be a secret shopper and gave him a list of tasks with places to go to shop. They were warned to keep the shopping confidential. The check was to be used to make specific purchases at the locations which included a Western Union and Money Gram office. The letter advised that when he went to Western Union and Money gram he was “To pose as a potential customer sending a payment to Carol Hernandez, a relative of yours in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada”. It asked that all receipts and a customer service evaluation tool be sent back to them to verify they spent the funds properly. Of course some of the money, $881.00 was to be kept by the secret shopper as their fee. It even had an “honest and ethical conduct” section to be filled out and returned.

If you receive solicitations similar to this, contact your local law enforcement agency.

Jackie

Social Security e-mail scam alert

Social Security has issued a warning about a new email scam message that is being circulated with the subject "Cost-of-Living for 2007 update." The message redirects the reader to a website designed to look like Social Security's Internet website. Once directed to the phony website, the individual is asked register by giving personal information such as the individual's Social Security number, bank account information and credit card information.

No government agency will ever initiate a request for personal information by e-mail. They won't ask for bank or credit card information, either. Social Security will communicate with you via regular U.S. mail.

To report receipt of this email message or other suspicious activity to Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG), call the OIG Hotline at 1-800-269-0271. A Public Fraud Reporting form is also available online at OIG's website http://www.socialsecurity.gov/oig

Jackie

Fraudulent Spam E-Mail Claiming to be From FBI Director Mueller

A bogus e-mail claiming to be from FBI Director Robert Mueller III is circulating around the internet. The attempt to defraud victims comes in two separate e-mails and includes threats from the FBI for those who fail to comply.

This e-mail is a scam; just delete it.

Click here for the full details from the FBI.

Jackie

Credit card fraud prevention

An e-mail has been floating around the internet for years with advice from someone claiming to be an attorney on how to avoid credit card fraud.

Some of the advice is very good, some simply repeats urban legends, some is useless, and some is downright silly. Click here to read the Scambusters newsletter that evaluates this e-mail—and if you happen to get this e-mail, please don’t pass it on.

Jackie