According to a news report by the Calgary Herald, three Canadians were recently arrested and charged with mail fraud. They had scammed 10 Americans out of over $20,000 dollars. The trio posed as a mystery shopping company, sending fake checks to the victims, who deposited the money into their banks, and wired most of it back. Unfortunately, when the checks were identified as fakes, the victims were left owing the full amount.
According to investigators, the scammers have been operating since 2011.
Unfortunately, this scam is likely to continue to be perpetrated by other scammers in the future. If you know what to look for, this scam is very easy to avoid.
- Never wire money as part of a mystery shopping assignment.
- Never deposit large checks as part of a mystery shopping assignment.
- If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.