Secret shopper scam

[maeella9]

Hi, nuria5,

That's the whole point of the scam.  They send you a check in a ridiculous amount of money, then tell you to deposit it into your account and then keep a certain amount for yourself, after you buy gift cards to send to them.  The check is deposited...by the time it goes through all of the kit and kaboodle it takes to clear a deposited check, you have purchased the gift cards, sent them back, kept your portion of the money and all is done.  NO!  The check is bogus yet you have spent some of the money to get gift cards, then the bank comes after YOU to satisfy the bank charges AND the amount that THEY lost.  They cannot trace the check nor can they trace the address, etc. where the check came from.  That is how they scam you.  It is best to go through the store's actual website rather than rely on an email from nowhere telling you that you have been selected as a secret shopper!  Hope this answers your question.  Have a good day! 

[Nuria5]

If they sent you a check, then how could they have scammed you?  Is it because they check wouldn't have cleared but you were to buy the gift cards and send them to them before you would have known the check wouldn't clear?

[ASTRAEA]

@maeella9 - Had they sent a check for a much more reasonable amount, it wouldn't have been such a red flag, but asking you to buy anything to "qualify" is always a red flag!

[WebWiseWoman]

Good for you! Great catch!

I "secret" "mystery" shopped for years and state-by-state is important.

For example, I shopped in Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and California with "gold" ratings (MSRP standards).

Then in NV found there were licensing requirements including working for licensed PI...

Fully investigate; great opportunity but be careful.

[maeella9]

I was recently sent an email invitation to become a secret shopper for Kroger Food Stores. I had known a little about these scams so I applied and later received a text message with a "contact" person's name and email address and a cell phone number with a local area code. A few days lateral I received a FedEx package with instructions on what to do and a check for $2500. I was instructed to deposit the money, then purchase "x" amount of gift cards from different Kroger stores; the rest of the money I was to keep for myself.

I grew more and more suspicious and eventually sentbeverything to the Attorney General of the State of Pennsylvania (where I reside) and was told that it was, indeed, a scam and was thanked for contacting them. Beware of the secret shopper emails.