Actual Mystery Shop Scam Example

I am sharing this mystery shop scam attempt with all my friends and family so that hopefully no one I care about will be victimized by this. It is amazing how convincing these messages can be. Below is an actual email being sent to hundreds of thousands of americans. Many are receiving these checks, and are told to cash them at their bank, and immediately take the cash to a Wal-Mart Western Union and wire the money to some address, keeping your "Fee" for doing so. Problem is the check bounces about four days after you wire the money, and you are on the hook to the bank.

THINK!! No mystery shopping company sends money first (Would they risk you just walking away with the entire amount?). Be very careful even when they place Wal-Mart or other retailers logos on the communication. They are just copying these from the company websites and pasting in the communication. These scammers have used my logo and are even counterfeiting/hijacking our website with the purpose of looking legit. They change one letter on my web address, and when a victim goes to www.mirshimer.com instead of www.mershimer.com, the website is almost an exact duplicate of the real site, however, they have entered their information to help convince the victims that they are legitimate.

Please share this with everyone you know !! Hope this helps save someone you care about from losing money, their time and aggravation, and a lot of embarrassment.
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From: online Hire <[email protected]>
To: Zebr Alice
Subject: RE: Email confirmation

Dear Shopper,

Thanks for the quick response,below you will find useful information regarding the secret shopper assignment from Wal-mart.

*Reminder: You will be carrying out an assessment at your closest "Wal-Mart & Western Union outlet" nearest to you and the compensation for this task is $400. You will also be offered an additional $100 to purchase any item(s) of choice from the Wal-Mart store.

In order to complete your task and also receive compensation,we are sending a check for $2450 via Fedex in the coming days and you will receive this check before commencing both task 1,2&3 below.

(Task 1)
You will be sending an amount of $1750 via (Wal-Mart western union outlet) to a yet to be disclosed receiver information using the western union money in minutes service which will also attract a sending fee usually in the amount of $180 or slightly below.

(Task 2)
You will make a purchase of any of choice at the Wal-Mart store maximum $100 and document the name/amount of the item(s) purchased.

(Task 3)
NB: After completing both task, you will write up a report highlighting the various points below which were observed during your secret shopping experience;

1) How much was charged for the named item(s) purchased at Wal-Mart and also how much was charged as sending fee for the transfer of $1750 using the western union money-in-minutes service.
2) How long it took you to get services from time of entry to time of exit.
3)Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet
4)Customer service professionalism
5)Your personal comment which we may find useful.

Requirement
* In order to send the $2450 check to you via Fedex,we will require the following information e-mailed to (scheduler) Brad Payne at [email protected]
Fullname:
Address:
Cellphone #:

NB: Please e-mail the requested information with the subject "Contact Information"

Upon receipt of this information,we will inform you of the date when the check will be delivered and also when you are required to complete the task.Hope to hear from you soon. Please note that you are to act Calm, Discrete and Confident through out the period of this task in order not to raise suspicion of the staff members who are been assessed.

Your Scheduler
Brad P