Mystery Shopper Scam Alert

CARSON CITY, NV: The Nevada Attorney Generals Office is warning that some Nevadans have received letters or e-mails offering employment as a Mystery Shopper. Each of these proposals involves wiring money from either Western Union or Moneygram as part of the investigation against these companies. However, the mailer fails to notify the intended victim that persons performing mystery shopper services in Nevada must first obtain a private investigators license. The scam will send a check which looks official with instructions that the mystery shopper cash the check and then use most of the proceeds to wire money to a different location. Alternately, the consumer will be instructed to buy one or two small items and then wire the remainder of the money back to the company. Wiring money back to the company who originally provided the cashiers check is a reoccurring theme in this scam. The consumer is instructed to act immediately. This is because the cashiers check is either stolen or a forgery and will bounce. The scammers want the victim to wire money back to them before the bank and the victim discovers the check is a forgery. If the check is cashed, the victim will be required to pay the bank for the money paid on the forged check and any money wired to the company. The company is invariably located in another country and funds cannot be retrieved from it. The Nevada Attorney General warns Nevada citizens to never wire money to anyone who is not personally known to the sender. Scammers use wire transfers, usually via Western Union or MoneyGram, because those transfers are difficult to trace. The person receiving the money for the scam often is hired to pick up the money and transfer it to someone else. In almost all of the cases referred to the Attorney Generals Bureau of Consumer Protection, the payee listed on the check does not match the name of the so-called lottery, sweepstakes or mystery shopping service. This is a quick indication that the checks are probably stolen. Before cashing a lottery, sweepstakes or mystery shopper check, call the Attorney Generals Bureau of Consumer Protection at 775.684.1169 for information on a possible scam in progress. Being alert can prevent consumers from becoming victims.