Press Release

Case 07-57862
November 28, 2007

Abington Police have noticed a new twist on an old crime which is being referred to as the Mystery Shopper Scam. The unsuspecting victim receives a check for several thousand dollars along with a letter and other material explaining that they have been selected to be a Mystery Shopper. They are instructed to deposit the check, retain part of it for their services and expenses, and then as their first assignment to forward the bulk of the proceeds via Money Gram to some location which is usually in Canada. The check will be counterfeit which will only be discovered after the victim has already forwarded thousands of dollars of their own money.

This scam is very similar to one that has been around for quite some time and is referred to as the Foreign Lottery Scam. In those cases the victim is told that they have won a lottery but must first forward several thousand dollars to pay the taxes and handling charges. Many of those cases also included a counterfeit check which the victim is told to deposit so that they could send the required cash to pay the taxes and charges.

The mailings victims receive in these cases are usually done on good quality counterfeit documents. This will include the check and letterhead which may bear the trademark or banner of well known and legitimate companies. DON'T BE FOOLED!

Below is a more detailed outline of how the Mystery Shopper Scam works. If you think you may have been victimized, please contact Abington Police immediately! If you would like more information on how these scams work or how to avoid being victimized contact Detective Jack Parks, Abington Police Department's white collar crime specialist at 267-536-1109. You can also receive more information from Abington Police Department's Crime Prevention Officer, Joe Conover at 267-536-1075.

"Mystery Shopper/Secret Shopper" scams

This month we have received several reports from our residents who received notification by mail that they have been selected to do paid consumer research as a "mystery shopper" or "shadow shopper". The notifications reported so far have come under the name "Shadow Shopper" and "Mystery Shopper". Included in each mailing are the following four items:

1) An introductory letter from the company telling them they have been selected as a mystery shopper or secret shopper and the first job is to pose as a secret shopper to evaluate the Money Gram. The introductory letters have the logos for Wal-Mart, FedEx, Target, McDonalds, Money Gram International, GAP, Pepsi, and K-Mart along the bottom of the letter to lend authenticity.

2) Separate sheet titled "Code of Business Conduct and Ethics"

3) "Customer Service Evaluation Tool (CSET)" (This will be used to do the secret shopper evaluation of the product, in this case, the Money Gram.)

4) A check will be enclosed. In one case, it was for $4,985.00. Of that, $850.00 is for probational training pay, $3,985.00 funds to be forwarded by money gram, and $150.00 service charge.

The check will turn out to be counterfeit. You are required to deposit it in your account and then, "within one (1) week of your acceptance", complete the paid training assignment. The idea of the scammers is for you to deposit the check and quickly draw on it before it is discovered that it is counterfeit.

People who receive these letters should ask themselves the following:

1) Why have I been selected? Did I apply for this position? How many other people have received similar letters?

2) The sum they're offering to pay you is very high for mystery shoppers, who, in reality, get paid slightly more than minimum wage for their work.

3) What should also set off alarm bells is that you are asked to wire money out of the country.

If an Abington resident receives one of these, they should not respond to it. They should notify Abington Police Department at 267-536-1100 and not try to negotiate the check.

The Abington Police are investigating these cases along with the United States Postal Inspection Service. The Postal Inspectors report they have interdicted over one billion dollars worth of these counterfeit checks and have established a prevention campaign along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A web site, has been established to provide the public with information about these scams.

Approved for Release by: Deputy Chief John A. Livingood