I work at a Sheriff's Office and hear of many, many scams. This has got to be one of the worst. The letter and the check I received in the mail look absolutely legitimate, until you start noticing the small things. The "job offer" would pay me $300 a week and only required spending $200 at a store, and sending a money wire. The check for $3825 covered all those expenses.
Here's what's wrong: no legitimate company would pay you $300 a week just be me a mystery shopper. You get paid by the job and the reports you have to fill out are extremely detailed. I know this because my sister was a mystery shopper for a while and she spent several hours after each job just filling out the reports.
Second, there was no information on where to send the money wire. There was no email address, though the letter stated they had gotten my name based on a previous survey. I've never filled out a mailed one, only a few minor ones online. There was no web address.in this day and age, what company like this wouldn't have a web site?!
Third, when I did a web search for the company, I found "Market Insight Forum" a London based company. It's a regular tactic of scammers to use a legitimate company name, only changing it in some small way, like reversing the words.
Finally, with not having enough information to go on in the letter, the only conclusion I could come to was that if I deposited that check and the deposit information got back to the scammers, they would have my checking account information. I could expect my checking account to be wiped out after that.
This is clearly a scam and I will be turning the paperwork I received over to the investigators at my job to see what they have to say and what measures I can take against this company. Too many people would fall for this scam because they do look so legitimate.
Kellie
Pace, Florida
U.S.A.
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