The Mystery Shopper Scam

You may have seen these incentives. A “company” offers you the opportunity to be hired as a paid mystery shopper. They tell you they will send you money to purchase merchandise from a store and evaluate the service you receive. When you get the check, you’ll discover it’s for more money than it should be. The scammer will then ask you to send, or wire, back a portion of the money to them – before you cash the check. The check will almost certainly turn out to be a fake, and once you have sent the money, there is no way to recover the funds sent to them.