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Discussion Boards => Off-Topic => Debate & Discuss => Topic started by: minervaspirit on April 19, 2014, 01:36:44 pm
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This is too bizarre for words. I think I've inadvertantly become involved in some kind of money laundering scheme. I signed up for what I thought was a secret shopper, was "hired" and today received a check for almost $3000 that I'm supposed to deposit then send money to someone in the Philippines. I am reporting the whole thing to the Office of the Attorney General. Probably can't reach anyone until Monday.
This is totally weird.
Has anyone else ever encountered anything like this? (this is NOT one of the "oh I need help" from a Nigerian prince kind of things.")
I have a REAL check in my hand. EVIDENCE!!! lol
:-\ :o
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This is an old scam. If you deposit the check, and send them money, what happens is that somewhere down the line, the check will bounce. You're out the money, and the scammers have moved on with no way to recover your cash.
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I concur with "paints." I had a check like that once and it looked like a very good check but after I deposited it I never received the money. I didn't send money to anyone else but just waited to see what happened with the check. It's a scam!!
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Oh yes, I've received this so called invitation a fews years ago. The scammers make it look so legit but it reeks crime. A family member of my husband actually tried to follow through with it. The check was cashed and soon all of the embarrassing problems began.
Good for you to report this. I should have done that sooner myself. The fact that it's still going on is testimony that many people are still falling victim to this junk. :bad:
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Oh yes, I've received this so called invitation a fews years ago. The scammers make it look so legit but it reeks crime. A family member of my husband actually tried to follow through with it. The check was cashed and soon all of the embarrassing problems began.
Good for you to report this. I should have done that sooner myself. The fact that it's still going on is testimony that many people are still falling victim to this junk. :bad:
By the way, I did not cash the check.
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This a big scam! I received a check, but it was for an international lottery. This is a different story, but the same result if you deposit the check and send them the money.
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I had that to happen to me too. I was excited when I received a check for $3,500 and called the phone number. I was told to cash it and send the money to someone in Nigeria. I did nothing to earn it and was suspicious, so I never responded again. That was in 2009. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: ??? :rainbow:
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This is too bizarre for words. I think I've inadvertantly become involved in some kind of money laundering scheme. I signed up for what I thought was a secret shopper, was "hired" and today received a check for almost $3000 that I'm supposed to deposit then send money to someone in the Philippines. I am reporting the whole thing to the Office of the Attorney General. Probably can't reach anyone until Monday.
This is totally weird.
Has anyone else ever encountered anything like this? (this is NOT one of the "oh I need help" from a Nigerian prince kind of things.")
I have a REAL check in my hand. EVIDENCE!!! lol
:-\ :o
DO NOT even TRY to CASH THAT CHECK!!! It IS a SCAM! Your bank will give you the money but you will be LIABLE when that check BOUNCES, WHICH IT WILL!!!
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Wow! That is bizarre, but you are handling it very intelligently. Report it. Since it crosses international borders, your case may take a while, but you are doing EXACTLY right. These slug people are exactly the slime bags that like to get our e-mail and do their dastardly deeds and need people like you to do exactly what you are doing.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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I've received such checks before. I never went as far as cashing them. I had intuition telling me otherwise. Later I found out they were scams. I don't know how this little project has continued all these years. I think the first time I received a check like this was 17 or 18 years ago.
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There are so many scams and dishonest people out there; always beware of an offer that sounds too good to be true as it nearly always is. Look up the business or individual making the offer on a Better Business Bureau website and also do an internet search on the entity and any names involved. If that reveals nothing either positive or negative, search the offer type and add "scam" to the search. The results can be very eye-opening.
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paints is correct, scammers make a killing off this
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my dad was selling a guitar and wanted 110 for it but got a check for 1500, the police said what is done is you take what you need and send the rest back, the check is fake and by the time you realize the money you sent back is the only real money in the transaction. we realized it the second the check came in.
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If it seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true.
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This happened to me two seperate times. One for something I was selling and another for a supposed job. Such crap. How do people actually fall for these things?
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yes and warn your bank that those criminals are contacting people in your area
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There are so many scams out there. Just remember, if it is an offer you did not initiate and requires you to send any amount of money somewhere, it is a scam. Also beware of cash "awards" or "prizes" that ask for your bank account number or social security number.
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Do not cash the check. Throw it out or take it to the police.
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Don't cash it. Your bank may be able to advise you to. Definitely a scam and probably some way that they are able to get information about your account too. Who knows these days.
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big scam run. secret shoppers are legitimate but there are a lot of fake companies online that run a scam. typically how secret shoppers work is that you will go and purchase the item in question then you are reimbursed for the money you spent as well as for the time it took you to purchase the item.
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big scam run. secret shoppers are legitimate but there are a lot of fake companies online that run a scam. typically how secret shoppers work is that you will go and purchase the item in question then you are reimbursed for the money you spent as well as for the time it took you to purchase the item.
Yes, you are correct. Secret Shopping is a very legit business. I've done it a couple of times some years ago. In addition to your comment, which is true, Secret Shopping makes modest reimbursements, which in time add up. No one will ever earn hundreds or thousands of dollars from one or two shops like these crooks are advertising.
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Stuff like this scam you need to do some research. If it is to good to be true it is.
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Yeah that one is a scam. One of the ones that I use is shadowshopper. They have a free level and then they have gold member level. They do pay.
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Remember words to live by: If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't!
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I agree...you are handling it intelligently and it is good that you were suspicious. I had something similar happen just about a month ago. I was contacted in my email by someone calling themself "Selena" and wanted to send me a check for about $2500 to shop at WalMart. I didn't get all the details, but it started to smell like fish and I always go by the saying, "If it seems too good to be true..."
I had registered with 2 mystery shopping sites and somehow Selena and her group "hijacked" that I was a member sometimes searching their database. It is a prominent, large mystery shopping site so I reported it to them and their response was they was going to "flag her and no longer do business with this person!!!!!"
BEWARE everyone. If it seems too easy money, there's a catch.
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I received on delivered by FedEx on a Saturday. I knew better than to try to cash it. It helped start a bonfire.
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I will put a list n here for the ones that pay. One of them that does pay is shadowshopper. You can join a gold level I think its called but I never did. It is supposed to give you higher jobs. I will have to locate my list to add more.
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something similar happend to me recently. i filed a report with the post office and fraud they were very nice got back to me and are currently having me hold onto the check incase they need it to prosecute.
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something similar happend to me recently. i filed a report with the post office and fraud they were very nice got back to me and are currently having me hold onto the check incase they need it to prosecute.
That is great advice. Thank you for sharing this. I will keep your suggestion in mind if I ever run into this kind of thing again.
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yes this classic scam, they always try to get me with it, not budging. Note if it is too good to be true, it probably isn't true.
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I heard similar story in 2008, and my daughter encountered the same thing, I told her not to do it...
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just a quick follow up -
First of all, the bid to "sign up for secret shopper" was similar to the legit ones - so that wasn't a red flag that this one was a scam.
But, the first follow up emai was clearly a huge scarlet flag.
AND - to this day, several months later, I have never received any followup on my attempts to report this to official agencies. NONE.
No wonder it goes on and on and on for years.