Frequently Asked Question
Don’t be Fooled by Work-at-Home & Mystery Shopper Scams
Last Updated 5 years ago
Please be aware of fraudulent work-at-home, and especially Mystery Shopper employment ads posted in the classifieds. While we will remove these as soon as our moderators discover them, some times they we may overlook one. If you suspect such an ad, please view the detailed ad page and click on the Alert Admin link to bring it to our attention.
Following is a fraudulent Mystery Shopper ad we removed to give you an idea what to lookout for:
and another one:
The following alert from the FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is reprinted to give you additional information about these types of scams:
WASHINGTON (Feb. 3, 2009) -- The FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) continue to receive numerous complaints from individuals who have fallen victim to work-at-home scams and remind consumers to be vigilant when seeking employment online.
These work-at-home schemes are designed by criminals to gain the trust of job seekers in order to take advantage of working relationships to further illegal activity. Most victims do not even realize they are engaging in criminal behavior until it is too late.
In many of the reported scams, victims are often hired to “process payments,” “transfer funds,” or “reship products.” However, these scams exploit unwitting employees by having them cash fraudulent checks, transfer illegally obtained funds for the criminals, or receive stolen merchandise and ship it to the criminals.
Other scams entice victims to sign up to be a “mystery shopper,” receiving fraudulent checks with instructions to cash the checks and wire the funds to “test” a company’s services. Victims are told they will be compensated with a portion of the merchandise or funds.
Job scams also often provide criminals the opportunity to commit identity theft when victims provide their personal information, sometimes even bank account information, to their potential “employer.” The criminal/employer can then use the victim’s information to open credit cards, post on-line auctions, register websites, etc., in the victim’s name to commit additional crimes.
“Don’t get duped by these criminals offering easy money. Remain skeptical of unsolicited job offers that sound too good to be true and report any scams you might encounter,” said Richard Kolko, FBI National Press Office.
To receive the latest information about cyber scams, please go to the FBI website and sign up for e-mail alerts by clicking on one of the red envelopes. If you have received a scam e-mail, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at http://www.ic3.gov. For more information on e-scams, please visit the FBI's New E-Scams and Warnings webpage at www.fbi.gov or www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com.
Following is a fraudulent Mystery Shopper ad we removed to give you an idea what to lookout for:
| Customer services |
| A vast amount of companies are interested in knowing what their customers and clients think of their services or products in order to right what may be wrong and help them to improve customer service and productivity. To obtain this crucial data from a non-biased view point they hire Mystery Shopping agencies/recruiters like us, who are trained market researchers, to gather the information on their behalf. We get hired to go to other peoples companies and act like customers in order to know how their staffs are handling their services in relation to their customers which is where you come in. If you are interested in knowing more about mystery shopping Earn yourself some extra cash! As a shopper for GfK Mystery Shopping you will be contributing to improving customer service across the United State, making shopping a better experience. You will visit a whole range of 'shopping' outlets, make telephone calls and even conduct mystery shopping online at home. then i suggest you get back to me via email |
and another one:
| Secret Shoppers Needed |
| A vast amount of companies are interested in knowing what their customers and clients think of their services or products in order to right what may be wrong and help them to improve customer service and productivity. To obtain this crucial data from a non-biased view point they hire Mystery Shopping agencies/recruiters like us, who are trained market researchers, to gather the information on their behalf. We get hired to go to other peoples companies and act like customers in order to know how their staffs are handling their services in relation to their customers which is where you come in. If you are interested in knowing more about mystery shopping Earn yourself some extra cash! As a shopper for GfK Mystery Shopping you will be contributing to improving customer service across the United State, making shopping a better experience. You will visit a whole range of shopping outlets, make telephone calls and even conduct mystery shopping online at home. then i suggest you get back to me via email |
The following alert from the FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is reprinted to give you additional information about these types of scams:
WASHINGTON (Feb. 3, 2009) -- The FBI and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) continue to receive numerous complaints from individuals who have fallen victim to work-at-home scams and remind consumers to be vigilant when seeking employment online.
These work-at-home schemes are designed by criminals to gain the trust of job seekers in order to take advantage of working relationships to further illegal activity. Most victims do not even realize they are engaging in criminal behavior until it is too late.
In many of the reported scams, victims are often hired to “process payments,” “transfer funds,” or “reship products.” However, these scams exploit unwitting employees by having them cash fraudulent checks, transfer illegally obtained funds for the criminals, or receive stolen merchandise and ship it to the criminals.
Other scams entice victims to sign up to be a “mystery shopper,” receiving fraudulent checks with instructions to cash the checks and wire the funds to “test” a company’s services. Victims are told they will be compensated with a portion of the merchandise or funds.
Job scams also often provide criminals the opportunity to commit identity theft when victims provide their personal information, sometimes even bank account information, to their potential “employer.” The criminal/employer can then use the victim’s information to open credit cards, post on-line auctions, register websites, etc., in the victim’s name to commit additional crimes.
“Don’t get duped by these criminals offering easy money. Remain skeptical of unsolicited job offers that sound too good to be true and report any scams you might encounter,” said Richard Kolko, FBI National Press Office.
To receive the latest information about cyber scams, please go to the FBI website and sign up for e-mail alerts by clicking on one of the red envelopes. If you have received a scam e-mail, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at http://www.ic3.gov. For more information on e-scams, please visit the FBI's New E-Scams and Warnings webpage at www.fbi.gov or www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com.