I received a letter with a check for $2,850.00 asking me to call Diane Stratton for instructions on becoming a secret shopper.
The letter had Excellence Shoppers on the heading with an address in Arbutus, MD. The check was from Romac Industries with an address of Bothell, WA. The envelope did not have a return address and it had a post mark from Canada.
The check appeared to be valid; however, I decided to investigate both companies on the internet. My findings were shocking:
I did not find any company with the name of "excellence shopper" although I did find some mystery shopping companies with similar names of "service excellence group" and "excellence mystery shopping" but these companies did not appear to be the same company as listed on the letter.
I googled Romac Industries (the company on the check) and discovered that Romac Industries is in fact a legitimate business but they are a water works pipe company. Www.romac.com They have a "Check Fraud Alert" on their home page warning people, who have received this letter and check, not to cash the check as it is "a forged check".
This is definately a scam and can cost people $2,850.00 if they choose to act on it. I pray that the people responsible for this scam are caught and punished to the full extent of the law.
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