Wall Township Police: Beware of Mystery/Secret Shopper Scam

Police have been alerted to an employment scheme pertaining to mystery/secret shopper positions, which involves the employee candidate making purchases with counterfeit checks. Police are warning residents to be aware of this scam, because the hopeful employee ultimately is made responsible to the banks and retailers for the amount of the fraudulent checks used in the scheme.

According to Wall Township Police Chief Robert L. Brice, a resident reported to the police department on September 22 regarding an e-mail and U.S.P.S. mail they had received an offer to apply to be a mystery shopper.

Many retail and service corporations hire evaluators to perform secret or random checks on themselves or their competitors, and fraudsters are capitalizing on this employment opportunity.

The resident applicant was asked to send a resume and authorize an extensive background check before being accepted as a mystery shopper. The employee is then sent a check with instructions to shop at a specified retailer for a specific length of time and spend a specific amount on merchandise from the store. The employee receives seemingly legitimate secret shopper instructions to take note of the store’s environment, color, payment procedures, gift items, and shopping/carrier bags to report back to the employer.

The second part of the scheme process is an “evaluation” of the ease and accuracy with which the employee candidate performs the wiring of money from the retail location. The money to be wired is also included in a check sent to the employee. The remaining balance is instructed to the candidate as being their employee payment for the completion of the assignment. After merchandise is purchased and money is wired, the employees are advised by the bank the check cashed was counterfeit, and they are responsible for the money lost, in addition to bank fees incurred.

In other versions of the scheme, applicants are requested to provide bank account information to have money directly deposited into their accounts. The fraudster then has acquired access to these victims’ accounts and can withdraw money, which makes the applicant a victim of identity theft.

The resident immediately identified the offer as a scheme and notified the police. It should be noted that no money was withdrawn from the victims’ accounts, Chief Brice said.

Tips

Here are some tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of employment schemes associated with mystery/secret shopping:

• Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
• Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
• Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders. Virus scan all attachments, if possible.
• Avoid filling out forms contained in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
• Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link you are actually directed to and determine if they match and will lead you to a legitimate site.
• There are legitimate mystery/secret shopper programs available. Research the legitimacy on companies hiring mystery shoppers. Legitimate companies will not charge an application fee and will accept applications on-line.
• No legitimate mystery/secret shopper program will send payment in advance and ask the employee to send a portion of it back.

Individuals who believe they have information pertaining to mystery/secret shopper schemes are encouraged to file a complaint at www.IC3.gov.