FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MYSTERY SHOPPING PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION WARNS CONSUMERS:
BEWARE OF ADS PROMISING QUICK RETURNS FOR CASHING A
CHECK
Consumers Around Country Caught By Fake Check Scam
KANSAS CITY , May 6th, 2008 – A check-cashing scam
continues to pop up all across the United States,
offering consumers the opportunity to make “easy money”
by cashing a large-sum cashier’s check and evaluating
the service they receive.
Already, a number of consumers across the country have
reported being caught by this scam – everywhere from
Tucson, Ariz. and Berkeley, Calif. to Fargo, N.D. and
Philadelphia.
The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), the
largest professional trade association dedicated to
improving service quality through the use of mystery
shoppers, advises the public to disregard letters or
classified ads that promise large sums of cash and
expensive gifts by performing simple service
evaluations.
The most recent scam asks the consumer to cash a
cashier’s check and wire the money back to a specified
address, typically outside the country. Then the
consumer conducts a brief evaluation of the service
received. The “reward” to consumers – they keep a
percentage of the original cashier’s check as payment.
In these scams, the cashier’s check bounces several days
later and the consumer is held liable for the entire
amount of the money they wired to the international
address – typically between $1,000 and $5,000. MSPA
advises the public to be especially leery of unsolicited
offers to cash checks and wire funds elsewhere.
“Mystery shopping is a valuable tool that is being used
by some of the largest retailers, restaurants and banks
to understand and enhance the experience they provide
their customers.
However, it is not a quick and easy way to make a large
sum of money and receive numerous freebies,” said John
Swinburn, Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA)
Executive Director.
“It is unfortunate there are scammers out there preying
on individuals looking for legitimate mystery shopping
opportunities,” Swinburn said. “We currently are working
with local, state and federal officials to catch these
offenders. I would advise the consumer who receives a
large cashier's check in the mail to report it to their
local police department.”
Many of the scammers are using names that mirror
legitimate mystery shopping companies. These bogus
companies even list legitimate Web sites on the
materials they send the consumer.
The MSPA advises consumers to visit the MSPA Web site to
locate legitimate companies and to be leery of offers
that sound to good to be true.
“Mystery shoppers typically are paid modest amounts and
on some occasions may receive reimbursement for required
purchases,” Swinburn said. “Legitimate mystery shopping
companies will never promise large sums of fast cash or
require consumers to pay an up-front fee to become a
mystery shopper.”
Prospective shoppers looking for legitimate mystery
shopping companies can simply visit the MSPA Web site at
http://www.mysteryshop.org. There, they can find
information on how to register to be a shopper with an
MSPA company, what jobs are available in their region,
and additional information on the mystery shopping
industry.
The MSPA has developed the following tips for those
interested in becoming a mystery shopper:
• Visit the MSPA Web site (
www.mysteryshop.org)
for a list of reputable mystery shopping companies.
Contact these companies directly for information on how
to become a shopper.
• Be patient. It takes time, sometimes months or even
longer, to be contacted with an offer to conduct a
shopping assignment.
• Prospective shoppers should
not need to pay a
fee to become a mystery shopper. If a shopper receives
an email or visits a Web site that requests a fee,
simply avoid that opportunity.
• If an assignment sounds too good to be true, it
probably is. Beware of opportunities to make large sums
of money for doing simple tasks, like cashing a check or
money order.
About ACE Mystery Shopping
ACE Mystery Shopping was founded in 2001, with a handful
of mystery shoppers servicing the Kansas City metro
area. ACE Mystery Shopping has rapidly grown to include
a database of over 100,000 shoppers now servicing the
entire United States and Canada.
About the MSPA
With more than 200 member companies worldwide, the MSPA
has a diverse membership, including marketing research
and merchandising companies, private investigation
firms, training organizations and companies that
specialize in providing mystery shopping services. Its
goals are to establish professional standards and ethics
for the industry, educate providers, clients and
shoppers to improve quality of service, improve the
image of the industry and promote the membership to
other industry associations and prospective clients.
