Hi- I think I may have received a scam - applied for Mystery Shopper with IntouchInsight. They replied and sent me a ck for $2,300.00 and said to deposit it and that $320 of it is my salary. The accompanied letter was signed by Brian Anthony with a contact phone number. The check is signed by Wallace Williams and was drawn on the Navy Fereral Credit Union. Has anyone else received a similar letter/ck? I feel like this may be a scam, but it seems like a pretty elaborate scam. Sound familiar to anyone?

Yup, it's a scam. And a well-known one. Call your bank manager, he will confirm it. DO NOT deposit the check, it is fake and the bank won't know it initially until it is sent on to the bank it was drawn from and then you will be in trouble both financially and legally.

Definitely a SCAM !!! No one pays in advance for this sort of work. AND, no one sends a check "out of the blue," except scammers.

There is no question that this is a scam. If you deposit the check, it will bounce and you will be assessed a fee for depositing a bad check. However, if you withdraw money and send it to the scammer, you will be out that money, too. (The bank will make the funds available to you before they realize the check is bad.) If you have already deposited the check, call your bank NOW.

It is common for scammers to use the names of legitimate companies so as to "appear" legit themselves. Don't fall for it. NOBODY sends money out of the blue. NOBODY.

Send it back to them asking that they instead make a charitable donation on your behalf to your state's attorney general's fraud department. Oh, and let them know that the state only accepts U.S. currency, no checks, but that they can send it directly to them via registered mail if they are afraid of postal workers.

Why is it that people post this question about the fake check scam time and time again, we give helpful answers, and then we never hear back from them again?

It could be that they're embarrassed that they already cashed the check and fell for the scam. just guessing. I'll bet that for every check cashing scam we heard here on the forum for 10 cents, we would be all millionaires.

This is indeed a scam and I would urge you to contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and report the incident. The scammers may try to contact you via text message urging you to deposit the check in your bank account and notify them when the funds are available so they can have you purchase money orders at Walmart for them. Do not communicate with them and save all documentation and phone numbers they have texted you from until you have reported to the FTC. You can report by visiting their website at www.ftc.gov or contacting their headquarters directly at 202-326-2222. Always remember that no legitimate mystery shopping company will ever send you money for a job before it is completed. There is zero accountability and it is not a standard practice for any MSC. You can feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any more questions or concerns.

Hi Florence, could you please add which MSC you represent to your tagline so that forum members know how to reach out to you? Thanks!

JASFLALMT, I'm not sure how it happened that way, but you have to put your cursor on her name and you can then view the rest of her signature: I
ntouch Insight
fmitchell@intouchinsight.com
1-800-734-5213 ext 232

Ahhh, thanks for clearing that up, roflwofl.

Thank you for this question and the replies. They're really helpful. I thought I'd just piggyback here rather than create another scam topic. I'm pretty sure I got my first scam email today:
"We are hiring Secret Shoppers to perform survey for $325.00 per assignment
and send reports to our Customer Satisfaction Department for reviews. Send a
reply if you are interested.
Full Name:
Mailing Address:
Apt/Suite #:
Zip Code
Phone number:
Are you currently employed;
Do you have WalMart Stores around:

You will be earning $325.00 plus compensation per assignment by shopping at
the closest selected Stores around you and carrying out Survey on the store(s)
to submit evaluation reports on-line. Our partners will sponsor your shopping, dinning etc
by paying through a Certified Check, which will be mailed to your address
provided above.
We will be waiting for your response and interest soon
Sincerely,

Amicka Hunt
Recruiting Department
Mystery Shopper®"

As much as I like "dinning," I'll report it. (The poor grammar and spelling were a red flag, too.)

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2018 03:14AM by crazyauntie.

SCAM for sure! Thank you.

Add Shoppers View. to scams. Brian Anthony is a scam alert!! Don't cash
enclosd check!

Shoppers View is a legitimate company. However, it is very common for scammers to use legitimate MSC names. Never cash checks sent by mail for services not yet rendered.

Hi, Marlaine. As MFJohnston stated, Shoppers' View is a legitimate company.

However, we’ve been alerted that there is a fraudulent check/money wiring scam that is circulating right now in the United States that is targeting mystery shop program providers as well as unsuspecting individuals.

Reports have come to us of a Brian Anthony who claims to be an employee of Shoppers’ View. He contacts individuals via email/letters and offers “mystery shop” projects at MoneyGram or Western Union locations. The victim is mailed a cashier’s check – usually for over $2500 – and is told to cash it and keep a small portion of the total as his/her “shop fee”. The victim is then instructed to proceed to a MoneyGram or Western Union location and wire the remainder to a named individual while conducting an evaluation of the customer service s/he receives in doing so. The bank that cashed the cashier’s check will eventually determine the check was fraudulent after which they will hold the victim responsible for the entire amount of the check.

Brian Anthony does not work for Shoppers’ View; he is probably a criminal operating from another country. He or she may be using other names, and there are likely many other individuals involved. Authorities have been alerted, but because of the geographic origin of the scammers, the US has little to no jurisdiction to prosecute them.

Please warn friends and family members that legitimate mystery shopping companies do not, except for very specific types of shops, forward funds to shoppers ahead of time. Emails from any person at Shoppers’ View will always use the @shoppersview.com email address.

These scams are unfortunately very common and take many other forms besides that of mystery shopping opportunities. You can educate yourself more about these scams at www.fakechecks.org.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2018 10:47AM by ShoppersViewChristine.

Nope I just started this.

You just started what.

I received a check via 2 day priority mail for $2450...it says drawer: security service federal credit union, a cashiers check...with the name Ann Gomez in the re:. My instructions are to cash it, then send one thousand at one walmart, store to store cash transaction, and another thousand at another walmart, same directions but to a different party. Im assuming this is also a scam? I researched (somewhat) the company...gfk research...and idt does business in the UK and Ireland, but nothing about the US.

@Jillbragg
It is a scam. Nobody sends large sums of money unsolicited for work not yet performed. The worst thing you can do is deposit the check.

GFK is a legitimate company, but scammers frequently use legitimate company names to make themselves appear more trustworthy.

Yes Jillbragg, this is indeed a scam. There are many of these going around like this with different names and in different states. The scammers utilize legitimate Mystery Shopping Company names and get shoppers contact information from job boards by getting them to apply for opportunities and confirm their mailing address. You can report this latest scam to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or you can contact their headquarters directly at 202-326-2222. Remember, no legitimate mystery shopping company will ever send you money prior to a job being done. There is no accountability in that process and it is not a standard practice. These people want you to put fake checks in your account and remove the funds to purchase money orders and gifts cards and send them the information. You can always reach out to me directly if you would like more assistance or have any questions regarding this matter.
Take care ,

Florence M.

Thank you Florence!