Mystery Shopping Check Cashing Scam Alert!

A new scam has come to our attention. This scam involves a letter sent with our company logo on the letterhead and at the top of a Customer Satisfaction and Evaluation Tool. Our company name also appears in the body of a fictitious Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The receiver of the letter receives a large “advance” in the form of a cashier’s check. The person is then told to send a MoneyGram to a person in the US or Canada, keeping part of the check for himself or herself. The cashiers check, however, is not legitimate and bounces, leaving the person without any money to cover the MoneyGram. For more information, please go online to http://www.fakechecks.org/

Please be assured that this practice has nothing to do with Shop’n Chek and is a fraudulent use of our name and logo. We have been in business for over 35 years and are a charter member in good standing with the Mystery Shopping Provider's Association, which adheres to the highest code of ethics and integrity in all aspects of our business. You may check up on us with your local Better Business Bureau. No matter what, please call before you send any money to anyone. If you are suspicious, contact the Better Business Bureau, AARP, or your local Attorney General. This scam is continually changing, but so far we are aware of requests for the money to be sent to locations in the US and Canada. For Canadian issues, you may also call PhoneBusters toll-free at 1-888-495-8501 -- a joint effort of U.S. and Canadian law enforcement to fight fraud.

Please protect yourself from such scams by remembering that you should NEVER have to pay to be a mystery shopper. You can find more details and other stories by searching Google or other search engines for the terms ‘Canadian Shopper Scam’.

We are very concerned that Shop’n Chek’s mark and name are being used fraudulently in this scam and we have been in contact with authorities at the Federal Trade Commission, the United States Postal Service, and police in various jurisdictions, as well as authorities in Canada.

We ask for your assistance is passing this alert on to your friends and family members so that no one will be victimized by this scam. Thank you.