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Running a background check on Capital Retail Services

December 03, 2016 11:40AM
Alright guys, here is the run down, someone from Capital Retail Services contacted me. They want me to run the project entirely. I.E I hire the team, I pay the team, and they in turn pay me. The person sent me the details from an AOL account, and everything seems on the up and up, but you know how it is. If it's new/unknown it raises red flags, so I am wondering if anyone has anyone heard of these guys/worked with them.

I will note the person said he got my info from the NARM/World Wide, and that is on the up and up.
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December 03, 2016 01:09PM
Wait--you pay the team and they pay you back afterwards? Huh?
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December 03, 2016 01:49PM
Sounds just like the check scams to me. Why would you be so special that they would contact you for this opportunity directly.

Shopping up and down the Colorado Rocky Mountain front range.
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December 03, 2016 03:11PM
Sniff, sniff. Smells very fishy to me. Not sure how this related to merchandising or mystery shopping.
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December 03, 2016 09:26PM
I don't do merchandising but let me just say from a common sense point of view, you are taking all the risk and not receiving all of the reward. You have to hire and pay the team, then do the work and then wait and see if the client accepts the reports/work done. I would run, not walk away from this proposal.
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December 03, 2016 11:05PM
Why wouldn't the email come with the Capital Resources extension? I would ask them to send it from their business rather than personal email, and then I would follow up by calling CRS and talk to the person with that email.

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.
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December 03, 2016 11:17PM
What if this just an elaborate scheme to get your SS# and other personal info, as well as the info of the potential "team"? They could get enough info to do some serious identity theft and there very well could be no jobs at all. I can't imagine a company not already having experienced team leads in place. Why take the risk of hiring an outsider who has never done work for them and is unproven, including the assumption you have the resources to hire and train a team? And the aol email...yes, it's all very suspicious.
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December 03, 2016 11:38PM
Okay, I found their website, and it does look legit. The weirdest thing is that on their contact page, the CEO and the Director both have email addresses that come from the capitalretailservices domain and the two recruiters both have aol email addresses. Very odd, though.
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December 04, 2016 01:53PM
Alright I am going to cover a few questions here, and hope people can respect the fact I am working this weekend for any delays in my response.

I agree it smells fishy, so I am doing a background check (plan to hit LinkIn later today). I brought it here since they list Merchandising as one of the tasks they perform. One reason I came here is since people tend to hear about different companies and can bring up pros and cons of working for them.

Usually with MS scams it comes down to they send the person a check (money order, or something else ect). The person does the shop, sends the scammer the money, and the original means of moving money bounces.

If this turns south, I figure I'll be out $300-$500 to local people. Not to the scammers which is why I find it hard to see their pros. I agree the concern that I do the job, the client isn't happy, and I don't get a plugged nickel is a very real concern which is why I came here as part of the back ground check.
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December 04, 2016 02:33PM
If that email hit my inbox, it would have been reporting as phishing. It's very easy to set up a professional looking website. Even the executives' names sound fictitious. There is no reason why a legitimate company would give 2 employees a business email address and the not other 2, especially when the other 2 are the ones contacting the public. Email isn't paid for by the account.

I wouldn't rely on other types of social media to confirm the website's content. It's just too easy to set up fake accounts, and it only takes a few minutes to do so. (so i hear).

If you think this is a true opportunity, then I would suggest contacting the CEO and asking what state they are registered in. Then check with that state's Attorney General's office to make sure they are registered as a merchandising business.

Good luck. Let us know what happens.
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December 04, 2016 04:08PM
Yes, I also noticed some misspellings, though only a few. Also, their management and recruiting team only consists of 4 people? I am an experienced merchandiser who regularly performs grocery store and other retail resets and remodels with teams that are comprised of many different company reps. I work for Advantage. I work with people from Acosta, Crossmark, Atlantic, SPAR, and many others but have never heard of Capital Retail. Its highly possible they copied and pasted info from websites of other merchandising companies. Let us know what you find out.
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December 04, 2016 06:57PM
The scammers get paid for a completed reset that didn't cost them a dime. It could be crooked merchandisers who accepted the work and will be paid for work you did for free and paid others to do.

Former mystery shopper, current merchandiser.
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December 04, 2016 09:52PM
I have my suspicions that there is no work and it's just a way to get peoples SS# and other info for identity theft.
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December 06, 2016 01:55PM
It sounds ridiculous to me!! NO way...
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December 08, 2016 01:59AM
If you purchased a Domain name for ten bucks lets say. The website, you can purchase one already built or use a free one from the Domain host. It would only include two email accounts. This could be why the other two employees use aol. i did not know AOL still had email accounts! I vote its a Scam!
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December 08, 2016 06:50PM
I did the polite thing, cited that I am too swamped, and that if it can be rescheduled or another project pops up in the area to give me a call.
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