Here’s one more reason to avoid mystery shopping scams: you could be the one who ends up in jail. A woman in Minnesota answered a “mystery shopper” email (that she found in her spam folder, sigh) and signed up. It turned out to be the old check fraud scam—they sent her a $2700 check and told her to deposit it and keep $300 a payment, then use the rest to make mystery shopper purchases. She took the check to her bank, and her bank called the police.

McGhee went to the bank to cash the check. Then the police showed up and she couldn’t understand why she was under arrest.

Bremer Bank said that if they suspect a check is fraudulent, they will contact the police.

McGhee spent a night in jail before she could return home to her three kids.

Although there are legitimate mystery shopping gigs, you should be cautious of anything that requires you to pay money before you earn any, and run in the opposite direction from any person/company that sends you a check to cash and return funds from. Here are some handy posts to help you find out more:

“12 Signs Of A Mystery Shopping Scam”
“Mystery Shopper Scam Now Comes Bundled With Check Fraud Scam!”
“Here’s What A Mystery Shopper Scam Looks Like”
“Mystery Shopping Company Wants Me To Test A Wire Service By Sending Them Money”

And if you want more info on how to find a legitimate mystery shopper job, start here:

“FTC – The Secrets of Mystery Shopping Revealed”

“‘Mystery Shopper’ Scam Victim Spends Night In Jail” [WCCO]

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