Secret shopper scam

[patwoman1]

Frankly I'm surprised that these banks are accepting these checks.  Poor teller training? The banks should all be aware of this ongoing scam and be more vigilant when accepting checks from their account holders.

When I got the check I noticed that there wasn't a company name on the check; I was expecting something to indicate it was truly from Kroger.  Where a company name or account holder's name and address was supposed to be, it was another bank name which was of course bogus.

I'm sorry so many people accepted these checks and made the purchases.  Buyer beware!  Check the Internet for postings about scams before following any directions from unknown parties.  I wish I could do more to find these despicable people!  The thing that has me most concerned is the fact they had my phone number and mailing address without asking for that infomation.  I guard myself better than the average person online but they still managed to get that information.  All I can do is try to flood the Internet with information.  I even talked with our Sheriff's department and asked that they the public of the scam.  Haven't seen a thing....;>(

[maeella9]

Hi, Cynthia.

I am so very sorry that you fell victim to this scam. 

My suggestion would be for you to immediately contact your state attorney general and report the incident. Exolain to them your dilemma and ask for their help in working with your bank to reverse the overdraft fees. Next, ask to speak to the bank manager, not a teller, and take all of the documentation with you related to this. Honestly explain whst happened, that you did not know it was a scam, etc. If your bank refuses to work with you, then perhaps try contacting your local TV station's investigative reporter and see if they will intervene on your behalf.  It's going to take a lot of work and perseverance on your part if you are to get anyplace with this. Please keep us posted. Best of luck.

Yvonne

[CynthiaB200846]

What was the end result? Did you get your money back? I fell for it. Cashed a check, bought the cards and sent them. Next day, the check bounced.im in it 3500 and counting with overdraft fees. I’m a sitting duck waiting for a word from police report. Just wondering if I’ll ever get relief.. “sadness” 

[JohnP807304]

**update**

Haven't contacted States attorney's office yet but contacted my bank...asked the teller and manager...their opinions...unfortunately, once it's in their possession AND it turns out to be a fake check...they confiscate it...they made copise for me but I was unable to keep the (fake) check.

They determined it was fake by comparing it to other checks from that same bank that they have on file and there were many many small differences, so many that even if I had just deposited without asking, it would have gotten flagged.

[miasealey]

Thank you SO much for posting. I almost deposited the check and was going to do my secret shopping the next day. I decided to Google "Kroger secret shopper" after my email to my contact bounced. I also noticed some pretty poor English in my instructions. That set off a red flag. I'll see how to report this in my state.

[maeella9]

Hello, Yocelin,

I'm sorry that you have been scammed.  First of all, contact your bank immediately.  Don't do any more bank transactions.  Close your account and open another.  To help you prove that this was a scam, contact your state attorney general's office and file a complaint.  They will send you a letter informing you that you have been a victim of a scam.  Hopefully this will be enough for your bank to not hold you responsible for charges resulting from this.  Best of luck!

Yvonne

[JohnP807304]

Because they say to email them as soon as you receive the check, then you must make your purchases within 48 hrs of cashing your check. When the bank checks the funds in the account (you just gave them a 2 day window to keep x amount of dollars in that account to clear the check, then out it comes and it bounces) but you JUST emailed them pics of the front and back of the gift card! When the check eventually bounces, the gift cards are empty as well as that bank account and you owe the bank x amount of dollars

[YocelinR994580]

Hey I's going throught the same thing right now and I have made the first purshace and something is just not adding up with this "company' Krogers. What did you end up doing? Could you give any adivse on how to get out of this scam? 

[SamoneS627902]

Thanks for posting this!

I received a txt from 4246250565 telling me a packaged was confirmed delivered to my address with my first assignment. 

Inside the USPS package was instructions and a check for 1900. 

Right away, I knew something just doesn’t seem right. I researched online on scams and sure enough, I was right!! 

[patwoman1]

Yes the Kroger Mystery/Secret Shopper scam is back.  Since I shop at a Kroger store exclusively I didn't think much about the fact that I was asked by text message to do a secret shop. 

A couple of things made me pause and question the ligitamacy of the "job" after they sent a check and instructions for the shop; 1: The guy, Brian Bock, had a Gmail email address.  2: Couldn't get any answer on the phone number, got a Gmail voice mail(?). 3: Instructions said to go buy EBay gift cards as many as I could from ANY store that had them for sale.  I texted Brian and asked how this related to Kroger shopping.  His reply was "This is 100% legit" and they were doing this because of all the complaints they were getting from shoppers. !?! 

I was born in the morning BUT not this morning!  The whole thing just kept smelling more and more like a scam.  found a forum on the FTC website and verified my spidey senses were correct  Now I know they have my mailing address and my cell phone number and I didn't give them any of that information.  Scarier and scarier....