Hello,

I got an acceptance letter from TD Best Stats Corp from Ashland OR, that I am accepted to participate in this mystery shopper assignment. They have sent me a check and asking me to go to the website www.beststatscorp.com and activate the check. They have given me the number to call 503 388 9062, and when I call them, there is an answering machine saying "due to high number of callers..." and tells you go to the website and activate the check.

I am not able to locate this company on Google or on BBB. Has any one heard of this company and whether they are legit?

Thanks

Up until now, when was the last time you were paid in advance for working and by a company that doesn't even know you? Let me guess, they are also paying you the equivalent of $200 plus an hour. Not many professions command that kind of pay. Of course it is a scam.

Sounds like a SCAM! Do not cash or deposit the check!

Run as fast as you can -- after ripping up that check of course!

Some time ago, I received three USP money orders shipped from overseas along with a letter telling me that I should deposit them in my bank account as part of a mystery shopping project. They were offering me $200 to do this. I knew that although the money orders looked legit, the whole thing had to be hinky as hell. I called the Post Office to alert them about this. Their representative said that fraudsters are using this scheme to get access to our accounts. She wasn't sure exactly how the scammers obtained our bank information, but depositing/cashing the checks somehow allowed them to get into accounts and drain them dry. The Post Office said this is happening more and more, and that mystery shoppers are one of their targets. Be careful out there, people...if it's too good to be true, it is!

The information on the scam that came my way is as follows: Tom Hodgson, WA Surveys, 410 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105. This same outfit goes by other names as well, and seem to be haunting the Pacific Northwest.

Here is the rest of the info on the scheme itself:

Hello Evaluator,
This is your first mystery shopper's assignment package which contains the evaluation instructions and three money order which covers your allowance for your evaluation service worth $200 for this first survey. Carefully follow the instructions below:

YOU ARE TO CASH THE MONEY ORDER AT YOUR BANK or deposit if necessary to cash next day morning. I want you to send the funds to the next secret shopper in LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM via western union money transfer. The western union transfer charges should be deducted from the balance after you deduct your $200.Kindly ensure that money is sent using the (Money Available in Minutes) procedure. Here is the information of the next shopper you'll wire the funds to:

RECEIVER/EVALUATOR IN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
FIRST NAME: JAMES
LAST NAME: BOWELL
Address: 43 Princess Park Manor, Royal Drive
state:London
Post code: N11 3FN

YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT:
During this assignment which requires you to have the MONEY ORDER cashed at your bank before proceeding to wire the remaining funds at any local western union money transfer location in your area, (which is provided below), the name and address of the western union location where the evaluation is carried out must be stated in your report. You are expected to secretly perform the following shopping operation:

1. How fast and Efficient is the Western Union Money Transfer Service?
2. How long does it take you to have the funds wired?
3. How Close is the Western Union Money Transfer Location to your area?
4. Is the Senders Request Form too short or Long?
5. Is the neighboring environment safe for handling Western Union Money Transfer Service.
6. What is the name of the Local Western Union Money Transfer Agent where you have the funds wired?

You are expected to complete your assignment today and Upon completion of your evaluation, you are to send us the following western union money transfer information used during the wire:
(1). Sender Name:
(2). Address of Sender:
(3). 10 Digit Money Transfer Control Number {M.T.C.N}
(4). Amount Wired:

SCAM. RUN!!

scam, scam, scam. DO NOT deposit the check.

Not only should you NOT cash or deposit the check, you should alert the Postmaster General, especially if the scam involves US Postal money orders.

All non-solicited communications received from anyone claiming to be a mystery shopping company should initially be viewed with suspicion.This is why it is smart to keep track of what companies to which you have applied to be a mystery shopper.

Take a look at how the communication is phrased. If the grammar is awkward or the phrasing seems peculiar, it is very likely being generated by a foreign source.

shopgal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not only should you NOT cash or deposit the check,
> you should alert the Postmaster General,
> especially if the scam involves US Postal money
> orders.
>
> All non-solicited communications received from
> anyone claiming to be a mystery shopping company
> should initially be viewed with suspicion.This is
> why it is smart to keep track of what companies to
> which you have applied to be a mystery shopper.
>
> Take a look at how the communication is phrased.
> If the grammar is awkward or the phrasing seems
> peculiar, it is very likely being generated by a
> foreign source.

In addition to the USPS, you should also contact your local FBI office and tell them that you were a potential victim in an attempted wire fraud situation. Mail and wire fraud are separate federal crimes that carry a potential 20 year sentence per count. Absolutely no joke.

Has anyone tried to cash this somewhere other than your bank? I just got one of these in the mail today. Envelope: no return address, postage from Correos CTA Madrid. Yet the letter is from Best Stats Corp. in Ashland, OR? I activated the check as they stated. I can't imagine they can gain access to your bank info just by you depositing the check. But to be safe, maybe try cashing it somewhere else? The name of the bank on my check is Wells Fargo Bank Oregon, N.A.

You are missing the point regarding the check. The check is not good. It is fraudulent and cashing it could actually result in you going to jail. and being liable for the full amount of that check, including what you send away. The scam artists can be quite talented and always use the name of a real bank and often it is even a real account number. Doesn't change the fact it is a ripoff and a scam.

Forgive me, as I've never had to deal with something like this before. I am guessing I should take it to Wells Fargo and tell them about it, so they can go through the correct procedure to deal with this. Thoughts?

There is no reason for you to ask anyone to forgive you. These scams are all too common and we do everything to convince people not to go forward with those checks before they get totally screwed. There are some other posters who have good ideas regarding where to take the check, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to let the bank in on it.

Let's put it this way: Would YOU send someone a check for $3,000, (that you never met the person) expect them to CASH it and send most of it back to YOU or someone else?

Stop and THINK. They are preying on shoppers who just don't know.

Look, I cannot say it more plainly: Do NOT cash or deposit the check. There is no safe "work-around" to scam the scammers. There are a number of bloody awful things that can result from doing this, and all have been clearly listed in this thread. Ignore at your own peril.

They didn't ask me to send it back to them! They said I keep $350, and the rest I am supposed to spend at certain stores they had listed. One being Walmart. I'm planning on taking it to Wells Fargo (the bank on the check) and tell them what is going on. They can tell me if the check is real or fraudulent. Thanks for all the great input. It's saving me from making a mistake I wouldn't have otherwise known about.

The tipoff here is that this is someone sending a check to someone they don't even know (you). How do they know you would only keep $350 and not the whole thing? THAT is your tipoff. NOBODY would do such a thing. You know you are honest, but they don't know you from Adam. And anyone who tells you to wire anything through Western Union is a scammer. Western Union is meant for transfers between people who actually know each other, not for transacting any kind of business with a stranger.

So anytime you see Western Union and "send money" it is absolutely a scam. Go directly to the police and give them the check. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200 (or $350 or whatever they used to make your eyes light up).

You don't need the bank to tell you IF it is fraudulent, I guarantee it is. I'm sure part of your instructions are to "evaluate" one of the money transfer companies by sending a large portion of those funds to another "shopper." Getting your bank account information is not their game, getting you to wire away a bunch of your hard earned money is. The checks look so good so a bank will take them. The catch comes when the bank is required by law to release the funds to you much sooner than they get the notification that the check is bogus. That leaves you holding the bag for the entire amount of the check and it will not matter at all if you are a victim. In fact, that is the best case scenario. At worst, you will be accused of knowingly committing fraud and will be prosecuted.

Please remember, mystery shopping jobs normally pay anywhere from $5 to $20, not $350. Reimbursements vary, but for retail they are as little as $1 up to maybe $14. Despite some advertisements to the contrary, mystery shopping companies do not heap loads of money on us to shop away and keep all the merchandise.

Fairbanksmommy, that check is worthless. If you deposit it to your account and use the money, you will have to pay back the bank the full amount of the check. The check is going to bounce, and the bank will come after you for the money. It will be your responsibility and you will have to pay it back or go to jail for fraud.

PLEASE Don't cash this check. My sister was just hit today. though she didn't put it in her account, she opened another account and put it in there. Now, she owes the bank $1,700. Regardless of the fact that she didn't spend any of it. They took the money out before she had the chase to send them the money order. Don't cash it, don't deposit it, don't do anything but report it to the Feds.


fairbanksmommyof5 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They didn't ask me to send it back to them! They
> said I keep $350, and the rest I am supposed to
> spend at certain stores they had listed. One being
> Walmart. I'm planning on taking it to Wells Fargo
> (the bank on the check) and tell them what is
> going on. They can tell me if the check is real or
> fraudulent. Thanks for all the great input. It's
> saving me from making a mistake I wouldn't have
> otherwise known about.

Like I said before, the US Postal rep couldn't/wouldn't explain to me how the scamsters are able to access your account, but they can once that check is deposited.

Additionally, as Lisa had stated, victims are held legally liable for being involved once that check is cashed or deposited. Not only are the victims financially responsible for repayment to the bank, but they can be and have been arrested for money laundering or fraud, depending upon the scheme.

Trying to outwit the fraudsters is not a smart idea, as well as unnecessarily risky to yourself. As tempting as it is, get rid of that piece of trash by turning it over to the appropriate authorities, breathe a sigh of relief that your life wasn't turned into a hellish nightmare, and give yourself some kudos by being wise enough to run while the goin' was good.

I don't think that it really that they get this to you it's just that, the bank takes the money back of your account. For example they send you a check for $2500 the instructions that you keep 200 of it and like the rest to another person. Being honest to do exactly as directed in two weeks later they come back and $2500 out of your account. So many people that would be the bulk, if not all of their account balance. If you clean the scammers are the ones that had account access when in actuality you are a co-conspirator allowing it to happen.

I finally got one of those stupid scam letters & checks in the mail.

Mine comes from the UK, at least going by the blue "Air Mail, par avion, Royal Mail" sticker on the lower left-hand corner of the envelope. (Kinda like this: [www.agefotostock.com]). Or at least somewhere in Europe. There is a stamp, but no postmark. The envelope does have that series of vertical lines, something like this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POSTNET ~OR~ [en.wikipedia.org]) except it's in orange ink. Also, as part of my address, they added "USA". There is no return address, and *my* address is hand-written.

Across the top of the letter, it says, underlined, "Mystery Shopping Inquiry". The return address under that, says New York, NY; and even lists an '888' telephone number. The first paragraph says, "Following your online application, we are pleased to inform you that you have been endorsed to participate in the fantastic opportunity as a Mystery Shopper on behalf of Mystery Shopping Inquiry." It goes on with the usual scam letter prattle, and gives a name (Duncan Bennett) of my "Task Coordinator", even.

Besides all of this, the whole thing gets even more obvious as a scam. It lays out, first in a bullet-point style list, and later in a little chart, that I am to go to Wal-Mart and purchase items of my choice up to $50; then to Home Depot to purchase items of my choice up to $55. My "Salary" for this is $210.45, plus I get to keep the merchandise I selected. Then, the final item in the bullet list says to go to Western Union and transfer the "allocated amount", IN CASH, to a Chloe Ramsey in London, United Kingdom. In the little chart, it says the "allocated amount" is $1040. It just says "my nearest locations" for the stores.

Later, it says it's "imperative" I contact this Duncan a-hole and confirm receipt, then make immediate deposit of the check, which normally "clears in 24 hours". Yeah, sure. It give a fax number to fax my completed evaluation forms -- the "Customer Service Evaluation Tool", which is given the acronym "CSET" in one place, and "QAET" in another -- and all receipts. It reminds me in all bold that "due to the confidentiality agreement we have with our clients in addition with you as a representative of our firm, you are expected to act in accordance with the Employee Code of Business and Ethics, furthermore all task (sic) should be performed in a professional and diligent manner in order for this to be a (underlined) weekly employment opportunity."

And, to top it all off, the enclosed "CSET" (or "QAET"?) is SOOOOO simplistic it's ridiculous. Even CORI & MF reports look complex next to this thing. First a few demographic questions -- gender, age, have you shopped this location ever, or in the last three months. Then, a chart with a total of eight statements to rate the store -- stuff like: "You were greeted as you entered location", "There where [sic] enough cashier lanes attending to customers", "Aisles where [sic] numbered and had descriptions of what they contained", "Sales Reps easily identifiable and well-groomed". You're to put an "X" in the appropriate box for "Excellent, Good, Neutral, Poor". Then a second chart of seven statements to rate the Sales Rep in the same fashion -- stuff like: "Knowledge and Competence", "Willingness to Help", and "Managing your needs/requests". Then a space for how long you had to wait for the "customer service representative/teller", and finally a big narrative box "What could we do to improve our customer service?"

I worry people like my 80 year old aunt would fall for this. She's CONSTANTLY printing off the scam emails she gets and giving them to me as "job leads", and says she's thinking of responding herself. I have to explain, over and over and over, why it's a scam. She can't figure out how the email ones are scams, since they're not asking for any money to be sent. I'm afraid she'd think something like this *had* to be legit, since they're paying you up front. (SIGH!)

I've set the letter aside and was going to forward it to the state attorney general's office. I hadn't thought of the USPS or FBI.

Oddly, even though I've lived in the Pacific NW all my life, I've never gotten one originating from here!

It's sad to see this happening to unsuspecting victims over and over as indicated on this thread. There was a time that I was so desperate for money I might have fallen in to this type of scam on the off chance it *might* be real. That was many many years ago, and thank goodness that never happened to me.

But it leads me to the question - where are the scammers getting the information that we are mystery shoppers? I mean, they seem to be specifically targeting MSers, but where would they get our contact information?

Good question!

As long as people continue to see getting a huge check from a stranger as a good fortune windfall rather than questioning why a total stranger would send them big bucks, these scammers will continue to successfully fleece these folks.

Many people who are NOT mystery shoppers are also getting these checks! We just happen to have a forum on which to discuss the issue. Remember, some of the folks who have come here to ask about the checks that they got, had not heard abot MS, but found us when they Googled to learn more because of the check.

Also, there are Internet sites that are set up just to harvest email addresses from people who do a search on anything like mystery shopping, which we sometimes do.

To add to wales accurate observations. We are hyper-sensitive because we are mystery shoppers and because we get all the visitors asking questions. I actually received e-mails like this almost back to the time of my first e-mail accounts. This scam is not just limited to mystery shopping. A friend selling items on Craig's List had numerous contacts from "buyers" who wanted to send her checks for more than the cost of the item and have her wire the balance. Mystery shopping is also an easy target because of all the misinformation about this business. There are too many ads screaming fun and easy, make a lot of money, get paid to shop, get loads of great merchandise, and on and on. Let's face facts, the biggest mystery in mystery shopping is that the business requires real work and not just fun and games.

Hello,

I too recieved a check in the mail for 1795.78, and was asked to activate the check online; which I did. Then deposited the check and withdrawl amount so that cash could be on hand to complete the assignments. There were two, one was a moneygram and the second was to shop at certain stores then to evaluate the service of the stores. Which I did. Got online completed the assignments and have been waiting for the coorinator to call within two days. Today is the second day and I just received a call from my bank saying that the signature in not a resender, what ever that means. It is a Wells Fargo Check.
I am trying to work from home and I keep getting scammed! This just cost me.

Advice for everyone. Burn the check!
You would think with a reputable Bank and some of the top leading stores involved that it wouldn't be a scam.
Does anyone have any advice about how to handle a situation like this?

You cannot blame the bank. They operate within certain regulations and are not at fault because someone else created a counterfeit check. People have to start being realistic when offered obscene amounts of money.