(MUNICIPALITY OF WEST PERTH, ON) – On Tuesday April 19, 2016, a Municipality of West Perth resident contacted the Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reporting what she believed was a scam.
The resident received a text message informing her that she was selected to become a mystery shopper. It was however confirmed that this was the old Secret Shopper Scam that appears to be making the rounds again. This scam has evolved from sending letters advising unsuspecting individuals that they have been selected to become mystery shoppers, to now sending text messages.
As a result of the text message the resident signed up to become a mystery shopper. She received a letter in the mail with an enclosed cheque for $2,480.58 The letter stated that as part of her assignment she was to keep $400 from this amount and use the rest to wire funds through a popular wire transfer service at a local location. The assignment explained that she was to evaluate this company. This would be done by rating the time it took for the cashier to conclude the transaction, cleanliness and convenience of the premises, mannerism of the cashier and general customer satisfaction. This assignment was as a result of complaints received from customers about poor service at the local location.
The resident completed the first task and sent a number of money transfers as instructed, to a third party in England. Within a half an hour of completing the task she spoke to a family member and explained what she had done, and how easy she was able to earn money. The family member recognized this to be a scam and told the resident to immediately contact the money transfer company about this suspected fraud. The money transfer company was able to stop the payment and return the funds to the resident.
The resident will be hearing back from her bank within the next few days that the cheque she deposited is counterfeit. Fortunately the resident is not out any money.
This is an old scam that is now using text messaging. The OPP is urging everyone to use common sense and think, “Is this too good to be true?” Remember, fraud is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that will continue as long as the scammers make money. There is no magic to preventing fraud; trust your instinct not the stranger that is promising something for nothing. Anyone interested in more information on fraud can contact the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or you can check online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca.