ROSEVILLE – The old adage — if it’s too good to be true, it probably is — applies once again.
The Roseville Police Department is warning against a “mystery shopping” scam that recently harmed a local resident. According to the departement, in early January a resident fell victim to a mystery shopper scam.
Here’s the story:
“The resident got an email from a stranger, saying that he’d been employed as a mystery shopper. The resident indicated he was interested in the job. Shortly afterwards, the resident received a series of large cashier’s checks in the mail, telling him to spend a certain amount ‘mystery shopping’ at local stores, keep a certain amount as his payment, and wire the balance to addresses on the east coast and international locations. A couple of weeks later, the resident was notified by his bank that the cashier’s checks he’d deposited were fake, and that the money he had spent on Moneypak cards and wire transactions had been taken from his personal funds. Because the resident had followed the scammer’s instructions and used Moneypak cards and wire transactions, his money was gone and could not be recovered.”
This was an offer that was too good to be true. The Roseville Police say the red flags included:
– An unsolicited offer of a job from someone the resident didn’t know.
– Strangers sending large checks, with instructions to cash them, keep a small amount and send the balance via Moneypak account numbers or wire transactions somewhere else. .
“Anytime someone sends you a large check, bear in mind that it can take up to two weeks for banks to process it and determine if it’s good or not,” the police department said. “Just because it shows up as a credit on your bank statement doesn’t mean it’s “good” and that the bank will ultimately honor it. Also, always remember that once you’ve given someone a gift card account number or wired money, your money is gone–it can’t be refunded.”
Beware — and avoid becoming the next victim.