My wife received an unsolicited letter from Customer 1st Research Center, a Division of MysteryShopOnline.com. The letterhead states they are based in Tulsa Oklahoma and the area code for the phone seems correct. There is no physical address listed, just a PO box. The envelope however is postmarked from Canada, and the return address is from Etobicoke ON.
The letter states that my wife was chosen from a previous survey by an "affiliate Consumer survery specialist", to become a "MYSTERY SHOPPER".
Included in the letter is a check for $3998. The first assignment she was to complete was to spend $40 of the money at WalMart and keep whatever was purchased as part of her salary. She was to keep $400 for the rest of her salary, and MoneyGram the remaining amount to a "THOMAS BANKS, Human resources manager in the city of: TULSA, the state of: OK and the country of: USA."
Next she was to call her assignment coordinator at the head office phone number to confirm receipt of the enclosed check This seems strange, as there was no mention of doing so before cashing it. She was then supposed to fill out a Customer Service Evaluation Tool (CSET) and maintain a fair and unbiased opinion.
Finally, there was a note at the bottom instructing her to "Please fax ONLY your completed acceptance form before cashing/depositiong check for payment!"
As I studied the material enclosed, I discovered there were many grammatical and spelling errors throughout the letter, as though written by someone who didnt have a solid command of the English language.
The check that was enclosed was drawn on an account for something called Tactical Gear Now, Inc.in Richardson Tx. A google search showed this to be a (supposed) supplier of weapons, body armor, etc. With contracts to the military and law enforcement. The bank the check was drawn on was someting called "First Cmty Bank East Texas, NA" with no address listed. A google search listed a First Community Bank East Texas, National Association in Houston Tx, with a branch in Richardson Tx. Where Tactical Gear is located.
There was no Customer Service Evaluation Tool form enclosed with the letter, only an acceptance form to be filled out. Name, address, phone number, 2 business and 2 personal references and their phone numbers to be included. At the bottom was the small print to be read and signed, although I could find nothing ominous in it, just a description of what was to be done, a statement of being over 18 years of age and that the company would not be making any tax deductions as my wife would be an independent contractor.
As usual, the whole thing seems to good to be true so there must be a catch, but I havent been able to identify it. It makes no sense to me to be moving a large amount of cash around for the purpose of verifying customer service by MoneyGram.
Has anyone else been approached by this company, and what was your experience. For me, the whole thing is going in the circular file.
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