CHARLOTTE, N.C.--When a friend first forwarded an e-mail request for candidates to be "mystery shoppers," Judy Lindsay was psyched. She's been out of work for a while--laid off from teaching--and she knew a little about "mystery shopping" from the time her husband Greg had done it years ago.
"If you can shop, you are qualified," she read in the e-mail. It promises flexible hours and good pay for the easy task of shopping or dining out and rating your experience so the store or restaurant could evaluate the customer experience.
"They hired me and they said that I would be receiving funds in the mail," Lindsay said. The e-mails even featured a stamp that read "Better Business Bureau Program" at the top.
That's when she and her husband got an e-mail from a stranger who told them he'd accidentally seem their e-mail address on a communicaton he got from "MarketForce," the company that was organizing the mystery shopping. He warned them that the job was a con, and told them they'd soon get a fake check in the mail.
"Three days ago, I received this check for $1,875 dollars," Lindsay showed Newschannel 36. The company asked her to rate her Western Union customer experience by cashing the check and sending about $1,500 of it back, by wire. By then, the warning bells were deafening. That is the trademark of the classic "Nigerian e-mail" con--sticking the victim with the balance of the check once the bank realizes the check is fake.
Here's the twist. The Better Business Bureau and local agencies have warned about a "mystery shopper" scam in the past, and everyone the Lindsays contacted told them not to cash the check, and to forget about it. The problem is, whoever sent the check, apparently didn't forget about her.
"He called the home line 3 times, called her cell phone two times, and there was an immediate message when I logged onto AOL," Greg Lindsay says. She also got text messages and several e-mails, each escalating in tone. The most recent e-mail warns Judy she's committed fraud by absconding with the company's money, and promises to report her to federal authorities, threatening 25 years in prison.
"It scared me. I mean, I don't want to go to jail for 25 years for nothing. I didn't do anything," she told us.
She worries because they have all of her personal information: address, phone number, cell number, name.
"Emotionally, they're beating us up a little, and it's got to stop," her husband Greg said.
Though they aren't sure what to do about the harrassment, the Lindsays felt strongly they had to warn others about the "mystery shopper" con.
"If we can stop it, then look what we've done. We've accomplished something because I'll tell you we're not the only ones getting this email."
There are legitimate mystery shopper programs. Do your research before you sign up.
