The Guelph Police Service has received numerous complaints regarding a secret shopper scam, and Wellington County OPP is also issuing an alert about the latest fraud scheme.
Guelph Sergeant Douglas Pflug reported that citizens are being recruited by ads listed online looking for people to work as a secret shopper. Once recruits enter their name and address information online, they receive a package in the mail a few days later.
Pflug said the package asks the recruit to become a secret shopper and rate the quality of service provided by money transfer businesses such as Money-Gram and Western Union.
Along with the package, targets of the scam receive cheques for several thousands of dollars and are advised to deposit them into their bank accounts.
They are then told to wire 80 to 90% of the amount of the cheques immediately to a recipient and provide the wire reference number used.
Their “job” is to then fill out a survey on the quality of the services provided by the money transfer service employees and fax it off to the “company.”
OPP Constable Mark Cloes said the package could contain cheques worth up to $3,000.
Pflug said the remaining 10 to 20% of the cheque is for the recruit to keep as a commission for doing that work. However, days later, the targets of the scam receive word from their bank that the cheques are fake.
Cloes said the idea of a secret shopper job is appealing to many, but he said, people need to beware, too.
“Getting a job as a secret shopper may sound like an ideal thing for you, but in a lot of cases the only secret is, the scammers have their hands on your wallet,” he said.
Cloes said citizens should be extra careful.
“Please use extreme caution if a company provides you with a cheque to cover the costs of any administration fees, taxes, etc. and asks you to cash the cheque and wire the money to their representative.
“While your bank may initially find the cheque appears legitimate, experience shows that days or weeks later, after the funds have been transferred to the scammers, the cheque is found to be fraudulent or written on a stolen account, and the victim is left owing the money back to the bank.
He added, “If you have been contacted for something similar, please contact police in your area and also contact PhoneBusters in Canada at (888) 495-8501.
Pflug said citizens need to remember that wiring money to someone they do not really know can end up costing them their hard earned cash.
He said if anyone has lost money in this type of scam, they should immediately contact the police and file a report with the details.
