Shadow Shopper checks
By sherrylwatts
@sherrylwatts (326)
United States
April 15, 2008 8:20pm CST
Ok, I've been making extra money online for a while now, and have gotten pretty good at telling a scam from something thats for real, but the hubby & I have a disagreement.
Lately I've been receiving these HUGE checks - like $2000+ from companies that want me to be a "secret/shadow shopper". I keep telling my hubby their scams, cause in the paperwork theres always a "buy X amount from Home Depot - Send X amount through Western Union", etc. He says the checks are real checks (they are) and I should deposit them, wait for them to clear, then do the "tasks assigned". I think these are all scams & even if the Checks do clear (for some ungodly known reason) its gonna come back & we're going to be out the "western union" money.
So - anyone that has done this - who's right?
3 people like this
5 responses
@mnflower (1299)
• United States
16 Apr 08
to me it is for sure a scam because only scammers are using western union.I had several of those I called the bank that they come from and the company that they are suppose to be sent to etc. and they are all scams./..old saying if it looks that good it probably is a scam noone is going to send 2000 dollars to anyone..i would for sure not venture into this at all you will be sorry.
2 people like this
@sherrylwatts (326)
• United States
16 Apr 08
Thanks for your response - I agree it has to be a scam - even if the checks did clear (which I doubt), I'm sure there would be someway for it to come back on me, then I'd be out the money - I wonder how many people fall for this???
@frostbitten (92)
• United States
17 Apr 08
It's totally a scam. Real mystery shopping doesn't pay nearly that much, and a reputable company won't insist on using Western Union, over pay and ask for the difference back, or give you huge checks like that. You're absolutely right that they'll bounce and you'll be out the money.
@sherrylwatts (326)
• United States
17 Apr 08
Yeah, I knew this had to be a scam, it was just the checks do look like real checks - the snopes article mentioned above says they are really good counterfits and can pass back in forth between banks for WEEKS before being discovered. In that case, you would think the check had cleared and a month later you would be hit with a chargeback! I wonder how many people fall for this.
1 person likes this
@desertdarlene (8910)
• United States
16 Apr 08
Yeah, anytime you get a check and told to spend what you need and send the rest back through a wire company, it's a scam. The checks are probably no good and by the time they've been rejected by the bank, you are in big trouble and out of whatever money they told you to wire. I wouldn't even try to deposit them because I've heard of people getting into legal trouble just by doing that.
I'm afraid to even tell you to take them to the bank and have them check them out before depositing them because I've heard so many bad things about anything to do with checks like that. Perhaps you can ask your local police, I'm sure they have a department set up for exactly this type of thing.
@sherrylwatts (326)
• United States
16 Apr 08
Thats what I was thinking! I recently read a story about a guy that did deposit a check, that cleared his bank, and had to go through a year of legal trouble for "committing fraud". I believe it eventually got worked out, but still...
@Metallion (2227)
• United States
16 Apr 08
There are legit shadow shopper or mystery shopper programs out there. Those legit ones though usually require you to fill out a survey about your experience, send them the receipt of what you purchased. Then they will reimburse you for your purchase and sometimes pay a small amount on top of that. I wouldn't trust any that ask you to cash checks for them and shop with the money and send the rest back. Sounds like check scams.
@sherrylwatts (326)
• United States
16 Apr 08
I agree this does sound like a check scam - I'm a "freebie" member of one of the secret shoppers and I still get real jobs here because they need people in my zip code, but it's usually just a reimbursement or a merchandising job - never any huge amount of money. And those are usually very specific on what they want me to buy (sunglasses, hair products, etc). I wonder how many people deposit these checks, withdraw the money and send it only to have the check bounce. These are things like:
$240 for your fee
$200 at Home Depot
$50 at Best Buy
$500 Money order from post office sent to above address
$2,700 Wired from Western Union
Etc. Hubby says deposit it and wait for it to clear, then do these, but as I posted above, I just read a story about a guy that did that and had to go through horrible legal trouble for fraud.
@RedFeather (427)
• United States
24 Apr 08
i was reading in another thread - you can take this check to the bank, they check it out, and report the scammers - you would be out nothing, and these people may get stopped before they hit someone else...
