Could this be a scam?

[DrFaroohk]

My wife got this letter in the mail today, it was from a company offering her a job as a mystery shopper. Along with the letter was a check for almost 4,000 dollars. The letter said she had to spend different amounts of it at different businesses, and was allowed to keep 400 dollars for herself.

It seems on the level, it looks all business like, and I can't figure out how someone could scam us by just giving us money. At the same time, it seems really fishy that they just give out checks for thousands of dollars to people and hope that they'll make good on it - even if they had legal recourse to recover the money should you just decide to keep it, it seems like it would cost more time and money than its actually worth.

[Bandit]

SCAM! 100% SCAM!

That cheque is fake, and your wife would be on the hook for the full amount even if the bank says it clears in a couple of days.

Run away! Run away!

B

[wagegoth]

I'd say yes. Here's a link to a mystery shopper site. The post contains further links. http://www.mysteryshoppersmanual.com...per-check-scam

[Kiwi]

mystery shopper scam

This seems similar, people just dont go handing out money to stranger.

I would hand it over to the fraud section of your local police station.

here is another one

[Andara Bledin]

Absolutely turn it, and everything that you got, over to the local police department, or whoever in your town handles fraud.

But if you want to check, first, then run the name trough the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org).

What I can't figure out is how the scammers get anything out of it...

^-.-^

[NorthernZel]

What I can't figure out is how the scammers get anything out of it...

^-.-^

What happens is that the scammer asks you to cash the check and send some of the amount via Western Union, and keep some (20-40%) of it as "commission".

The problem is that the check most probably is forged or obtained via illegal means, but not verified úntil the check has been cashed, thus the receiver is liable.

For further information about Mystery Shopper Scams, please visit www.scamwarners.com .

[DrFaroohk]

This place is accredited by the better business bureau since 2007.



It's called "Research Now Plc.". The envelope had no return address, but was postmarked from Canada.

Is the BBB fairly reliable? This seems fishier the more and more I look at it.

Even if it is a scam, I really don't want to get involved in FBI and police and stuff...is it a crime to just throw it away and ignore it?


Edit: I suppose it'd be relatively easy for some scammers to just pose as another business, wouldn't it?

[Kiwi]

They wont bother you much about it, just hand it over and say this arrived in the letter box.

It helps them get the creeps to stop trying to scam people, but its not like they would drag you in for a 3 hour interrigation or anything.

[Bright_Star]

Feed that thing to your shredder & don't look back.

[BlaqueKatt]

Even if it is a scam, I really don't want to get involved in FBI and police and stuff...is it a crime to just throw it away and ignore it?

since it was through the mail it falls under "mail fraud" just give it to your local postmaster and let them deal with it-they'll do what they need to without "getting you involved"

as far as it being a crime to ignore it-I am not a lawyer-look at it this way-what if in 6 months or a year one of your close friends/family members gets scammed by this company-a scam that could have been avoided by reporting it....."all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"


sigh off to fratching-to finish this post....

[Andara Bledin]

Out of curiosity, did it specify which businesses you were supposed to spend it at?

And was there a form or something that you would fill out and return?

As for the BBB, they are an organization that keeps track of customer complaints and resolutions. For example, check out how often people complain about H&R Block and scroll down to see what sort of complaints the BBB tracks and the different types of responses they measure.

^-.-^

[Dreamstalker]

FTC is where you would report scams like this, IIRC.