This is not about Petula Clark’s great 1966 hit record, but rather an item on the 11Alive evening news broadcast last night which caught my attention…
A lady in Coweta County received a letter in the mail soliciting her participation as a “Mystery Shopper.” All 
she had to do was cash the enclosed check and complete a paid shopping and evaluation assignment within a week of her acceptance.
Now, this ain’t rocket science, people. I know a couple of real “mystery shoppers,” and it’s an easy, legal way to pick up some extra pocket change… especially if you love shopping. But the rub for the lady in Coweta County was that her letter… and check… were totally bogus. She realized that a few days later when the bank contacted her and wanted their money back. Cashing a bogus check for such a large amount was a felony, and she could go directly to jail without passing “GO!”
What caught my attention, however, was that I got an identical letter at my office address last week.
Sandra Stoke, Marketing Director of QuickFact Consumer Research in Calgary, Canada, offered me the opportunity to earn additional income as a “Customer Services Evaluator” in her company’s “fully paid program.” And if I became “one of the select few to distinguish myself in the course of this program,” my job would become a “permanent part time position” paying me up to $150 per hour. Heck, I can be pretty damned distinguished for that kind of money! Here’s all Sandra wanted me to do:
- Cash the $2500 check
- Buy $50-worth of stuff at Wal-Mart (which I could keep), and evaluate their service
- Buy $50-worth of stuff at Gap (which I could keep), and evaluate their service
- Pocket my $300 training pay, and
- Evaluate the “effectiveness and efficiency” of Western Union’s Money Gram service by wiring the remaining money to my (unnamed) “assignment coordinator.”
So, let’s see…. I get $300 cash, $100-worth of Wal-Mart and Gap crap, and a permanent part time position paying me 150 bucks an hour! (No doubt in my mind that I could “distinguish myself.”) Wow! What have I got to loose? …. $2,500 hard-earned dollars, court costs, and 2 to 5 in the Newton County Detention Center!
Beware people! If you hear from Sandra, don’t sign up, and don’t cash that check. I don’t want to wave to you - mowing grass on the Covington Square in your orange jumpsuit - as I drive by. It’s just another scam, and in today’s economy, an unfortunate sign of the times.
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Your comments and questions are always welcome
Scams and cons are on the rise. Desperate times for desperate folks!
You got that right, Jim! Thanks for the comment!
That's mighty tempting to those that love shopping.......
I get all kinds of email scam stuff, but haven't gotten my letter from Sandra yet.
Isn't it awful? That same exact thing has happened around here too.
Ann... Hate to admit it, but I had to read the letter through twice. The first time, I actually considered it... then thought "Nah!" "Something's funky about this!"
Debra... It's awful, indeed. But, no telling how many of these kinds of things are going around. Guess we beeter keep our eyes open!
This scam has whiskers on it. That is just like the Nigerian scams that tell you to send in $1000 to get $10 million. Too bad some people still fall for it. Just another piece of common sense schools don't teach us.
Brian... You got that right! Have to stay vigilant. This one I had to think about a bit more than the Nigerian ones though. These people really seemed to have their act together... real looking check, well-written intro letter, application/acceptance form, and shopper's evaluation forms all enclosed!
Bill, all I can say is WOW! but what I don't understand is what's in it for them?
Connie... If I'd have fell for it, found a bank to cash the phoney check, and wired the $2100 back to them, then thsy'd have MY $2100 dollars, I'd still owe the bank back the $2500 from cashing the fraudulent check, or face some time in the pokey! If they can find a few suckers to send them $2100 apiece, it'll mount up. And, like P.T. Barnum used to say... "There's a sucker born every minute!" We just can't be one of those statistics.