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Scammers need a good story to get to your wallet. Once they find one that works, they use it again and again. One of their old favorites brings together fake checks and secret shopping, and we’ve been hearing a lot about it lately.

Here’s how it starts. You get a check in the mail with a job offer as a secret shopper. You deposit the check and see the funds in your account a few days later, and the bank even tells you the check has cleared.

Now you’re off to the store you’ve been asked to shop at and report back on, often a Walmart. Your first assignment is to test the in-store money transfer service, like Western Union or MoneyGram, by sending some of the money you deposited. Or you might be told to use the money to buy reloadable cards or gift cards, such as iTunes cards. You’re instructed to send pictures of the cards or to give the numbers on the cards.

Fast forward days or weeks to the unhappy ending. The bank finds out the check you deposited is a fake, which means you’re on the hook for all that money. How does that even happen? Well, banks must make funds from deposited checks available within days, but uncovering a fake check can take weeks. By the time you try to get the money back from the money transfer service, the scammers are long gone, and they’ve taken all the money off the gift cards, too. (By the way, money orders and cashier’s checks can be faked, too.)

The moral of the story? If anyone ever asks you to deposit a check and then wire or send money in any way, you can bet it’s a scam. No matter what they tell you.

Want to avoid the latest rip-offs? Sign up for free scam alerts from the FTC at FTC.gov/Scams.

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Kick me when I…
January 19, 2020
What I don't understand, if the bank clears the funds, you take out and use the funds, have proof, ie: letter, bank has check they held for five days to verify(they told you), bank cleared the funds for you,(meaning you trusted the bank did what they said,(5 days to verify, ect ) then bank finds out this is a scam, and they are part to blame considering you trusted the bank and what they said, why then do they not take partial responsibility for the bank being scammed as well? They know you were scammed, they were scammed, but you are the only one responsible to pay the funds back? How does that sound fair, how does the bank get off the hook for their part in it? Really like to know? I would never have taken the funds out if the bank would have held the check longer or something to be sure. Consumers trust our banks are doing their diligence? Need real explanation? What does the law say and why are the banks not accountable for their negligence? Thank you!
Diane
January 19, 2020
Just received a $2450 check...to buy $2000 worth of gift cards ...keep $450....knew it had to be a scam...tore it up
Nikki1978
January 20, 2020
I have a check in my hand and a number has been texting me daily to go deposit the check and do the same thing with the Wal-Mart gift cards but I have had the check for a week. I assumed it was fraudulent so I hadn't cashed it thank goodness.. they also wanted me to donate money to the American heart association by buying two money orders and then they would give me instructions on who to fill them out to all I would get out of this was $350 That's gas included then 2 purchases of $40 of personal items for myself then the rest would be for gift cards and money orders sure glad I did not proceed to my bank
Frisco
January 21, 2020
January 2020..... I’ve received two texts thus far this year from D&M Researchers. I happen to be in investigations so don’t fall for this type of thing, but wanted to let it be known that the same thing is happening as described, money transfer scam. Beware. I’ll be contacting the actual company so they too are aware. The text with all the descriptions looks legit.
charlie
January 23, 2020
Jan 21,2020 Just got a priority mail through the ups containing a “customer service evaluation tool ( cset)”. A cashiers check for $2950 and a flyer with details of how to earn $450 . Deposit check and buy $2500 of Nike gift cards and send pictures of same with the exposed numbers . A bonus of $250 if done within 12 hours. The email to respond is info@ storesevaluation. name also appeared as the sender Mark Henderson. The check was from first horizon, remitted Chad Hunkapiller. Be careful out there.
tom
September 22, 2020

In reply to by charlie

I just received the same details as the above description. It seems like this scam has gone on for years. Why is there no accountability for the scammers?
Plapla2020
January 21, 2020
I just received a package with a cashier's check and an assignment to buy 8 gift cards and send pics of the scratched of grey area. The communication was threw text message from +16124057702 I'm not sure how they have my address and sent the info. Anyway thanks to all of your comments I have done nothing with the check. Thank you all! The number it said to contact and send pics of the gift cards was (858) 208-0482 said at the bottom of the survey I'm suppose to fill out Alex Jones, FUSION RESEARCHERS INC. Anyway long story short after reading all of these comments I'll throw this out. I text the one number back and said I want nothing to do with their "Secret Shoppers Company"
don’t fall for it!!
January 21, 2020
‭+1 (716) 534-6343‬ This is the number I got and knew it was a scam all along. Told them I deposited it even though I didn’t and I was contacted the next day saying they were notified by my bank that the funds were available and to “complete my assignment” it was so fun messing with them but feel horrible for the people that don’t know it’s a scam:( if anyone send you a check for any amount of money and you don’t know them it’s probably too good to be true.
Something seem…
January 21, 2020
I received an email about an application to be a secret shopper. I am a college student and it sounded interesting, but when I received an email saying I had been accepted to be part of their team, something did not seem right. I decided to wait to answer. Well, a few days later I received priority mail with a check for 2950.52. The check looks fairly real, but I have seen cashier's checks and they usually have more impressions, etc. for security. On top of that the paper with the instructions had a different amount than the check. It even pushed me to get the gift card buying assignment done faster in order to earn extra money. I'm glad I did some research, but is there somewhere I can send these things?
sophie
January 22, 2020
Received a text from D & M Research Group offering me a shopper job. $400 for 20 minutes of work to evaluate stores. Told me to click a link, which I did not. Text received from 620-482-0641. Area code is supposed to be for Hutchinson, Kansas, with a population of 50,000. Do not know how they got my phone number. I was not soliciting for a job. Their link was http:// bit. do/ then fpEh5 I did not click on it. When I googled the first segment, it did not go anywhere so certain it is a scan.
cap-one
January 22, 2020
yep I received a ck right before Christmas for $ 1950.00 and then another one yesterday for $ 2,560 well it smelled fishy to me so I did nothing then I get a txt from this guy "daniel lawerence " azsking me why i had not responded to the task. well i felt like it was not legit that's why
cyberchica
January 22, 2020
I had been receiving text messages about participating in a secret shopper gig, I just ignored the texts. I got a cashiers check for $2980.00 paid to me on a BankNewport, this also came with a letter telling me to deposit it into my checking account and then use the money to buy two Apple GC for $1300.00 each, leaving me with 330.00. First of all, WHO would send a stranger a check for that amount of money and depend on them to not keep it all. That is is the first red flag, then the letter says I will be sent further instructions once I buy the cards and call the number in the letter. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS!
Ruby
January 22, 2020
Is whole foods store market evaluator one of the most recent scams
Sandra T
October 06, 2020

In reply to by Ruby

I got a CSET from "Whole Foods". It had been so long since I had signed up that I had forgotten about it. The advertisement was for store evaluators. I recently received a text and they sent a kit. As soon as I opened it, I knew it was a scam! Asking me to deposit a check and buy gift cards! I've seen it over and over on tv. Looked the address up on Google, it was for a dumpy building in Chinatown in SF, CA!
notfalling
January 22, 2020
I have a check right now. I would like to send it to the proper authorities. I appreciate all of you providing this information.
Bbljrinusa
January 27, 2020
I just got one off those checks. I am tearing out up and throwing this scam in the garbage. SSG research evaluation Put in these people on jail!!!
well done...
January 22, 2020
I myself received a Secret Shoppers job. I received a check in the mail for $2950. I was to purchase 5 Nike gift cards totaling up to $2500. The balance ($450) was my commission. I took the check to my bank to verify the authenticity of it and they told me it seems to not be a legitimate check. RED FLAG...! It was suspicious from the get-go with that amount of money. BTW...it was in the form of a Cashiers Check! I also called the Credit Union the check was issued from. They too said it was fradulent, a bad check! MORAL of the story...GO WITH YOUR GUT INSTINCTS AND CHECK THINGS OUT PRIOR TO DOING ANYTHING!!!! Being a person who was scammed before., I DO NOT BELIEVE NOR TRUST ANYONE WHEN SOMETHING SEEMS TO BE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. WHAT DOES YOUR GUT SAY??? GO WITH IT! It will save your miseries these scammers put on you. Oh...I also went to the Police Station and all they say is to shred everything. How sad the system is...since there was no fraud, as she said, there's no way in finding out who started this scam. So in the shredder it went. I suppose I'll be hearing from this culprit soon since I didn't let them know i received the check.
well done...
January 22, 2020
I myself received a Secret Shoppers job. I received a check in the mail for $2950. I was to purchase 5 Nike gift cards totaling up to $2500. The balance ($450) was my commission. I took the check to my bank to verify the authenticity of it and they told me it seems to not be a legitimate check. RED FLAG...! It was suspicious from the get-go with that amount of money. BTW...it was in the form of a Cashiers Check! I also called the Credit Union the check was issued from. They too said it was fradulent, a bad check! MORAL of the story...GO WITH YOUR GUT INSTINCTS AND CHECK THINGS OUT PRIOR TO DOING ANYTHING!!!! Being a person who was scammed before., I DO NOT BELIEVE NOR TRUST ANYONE WHEN SOMETHING SEEMS TO BE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. WHAT DOES YOUR GUT SAY??? GO WITH IT! It will save your miseries these scammers put on you. Oh...I also went to the Police Station and all they say is to shred everything. How sad the system is...since there was no fraud, as she said, there's no way in finding out who started this scam. So in the shredder it went. I suppose I'll be hearing from this culprit soon since I didn't let them know i received the check.
H
January 22, 2020
I got a check from chase bank with a secret shopper assignment. I googled it and came up on this. I figured it was a scam.
Jenn PGH
January 22, 2020
Got one Today from a Mark Henderson at Stores Evaluation. A Cashiers Check for $2,950 from a Credit Union in Texas and they told me to get Nike Gift Cards from Whole Foods and a number of other Retailers. The # is 978-999-2150. It sounds too good to be true to keep the extra $450.
Mort 54
January 23, 2020
I received one for over_4000 call the bank that it was supposed to come from found to be fake. Sending all names and numbers to fraud control in Washington DC. Scammers texted and claimed how important it is for me to follow through after I texted that I was shredding the letter and check. Which I'm not I going to mail to Washington.
Tchalla Rose
January 23, 2020
I just wanted to let everyone know stay away from Kroger Survey Program. Steve Roland 631-252-4929 . They are sending out checks from Credit Union Of Texas. The check number always starts with 10068674. When I contacted the Credit Union of Texas they even said the check was a fraud. Although I did lose any money please be aware of these secret shoppers they are scammers. Always double check information especially if something seems off.
WV_ErinB
January 23, 2020
This happened to me TODAY. Rec'd a check for $2600 asking me to get 2 money orders ($1000 each) and Fed Ex to a "supervisor".
xgrana2
January 27, 2020
Thank you for informing me of this, I was looking for a job and someone on facebook posted this job thing. Which is basically this, going to walmart and buy the money gram etc. But it looked a little suspicious to me the last couple of emails because he misspelled some obvious words or used words that could be google translated. Today I'm supposed to pick up the check at fedex, but after reading this I don't think I will. thank you
BeSafe
January 23, 2020
I just received a UPS Urgent Delivery with a letter and check from Acute Consumer Metrics Inc. I was asked to deposit the check into my checking account and purchase gift cards from Walmart; buying them as a Secret Shopper, fill out a survey and return the gift cards and survey to them. I was told to keep $500 as payment for my work and an additional $100 if I completed the task within 24 hours. Honestly, they made it look very real! So many scams going around, I checked this site and found that it was indeed a big scam. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
eddy
January 24, 2020
I just received a mail with a cheque for $2,466 with a typed letter titled: Secret Surveyor Evaluation. I knew it was a scam at first sight because: 1. The envelope has a name and it is different from the name/signature on the cheque and even the person who wrote the letter. 2. I am a student and in no way, I am getting free money. I have seen two weeks ago my fellow school mates receiving a big envelop however inside is a small cheque and they reported that to the bank even the schools' public safety. I thank the cops and the banks for educating us on this matter so we can be aware of what is going on around us and not become a victim.
Shelly
January 24, 2020
My bf got scammed from one of these mystery shopper that was provided from his college .. Now he's -10gs in his bank account . How do we report this scammer ? Please help !!
FTC Staff
January 27, 2020

In reply to by Shelly

You can report to the FTC at www.FTC.gov/Complaint. The information you give goes into a secure database that the FTC and other law enforcement agencies use for investigations.

WarriusSpade
January 24, 2020
Wow, I should have looked this up way earlier!! I feel like an idiot, because the thought of it being "too good to be true" kept hitting me. So, I received a check, did what I was told.. however I just cashed the check instead of depositing it..then got the gift cards and sent them the photos! Now I wish I didn't send them the photos! What will the bank do now that I just cashed it and didn't do the deposit part? I'm freaking out now because like most of you, I did this to make money!! Ahhh help!! Any feedback from anyone who did it a similar way?! And what happens?! They totally tried to tell me to get a check making PRINTER today! And I almost freaking did!! Wth!
FTC Staff
January 27, 2020

In reply to by WarriusSpade

If the check is no good, you must repay the bank for the amount of the check. The bank could take money from your account to cover the bad check. The bank may charge you a fee for cashing a bad check.

Donjrine
February 05, 2020

In reply to by FTC Staff

Take everything you have as evidence, to your local post office and if they sent it by FedEx take that with you too. The post office has investigators, specifically for this crime. The banks are covered FDIC, right? I hope that helps.
Denise
January 24, 2020
Just received a check for 2,600 on Jan 2020 with instruction to deposit the check and buy 2,000 of money orders and text /send email to a James Wilson his phone # 470-980-2078 im pretty sure the James Wilson name is a fake. Becareful !!!! its a scam
Memo
May 19, 2020

In reply to by Denise

I just receive the same check today, thank you so much for share your story. I am not gonna deposit those checks.
Mcbob6767
January 25, 2020
The party who sent the check and directions have contacted me through text messages and continue to ask me to do my part and keep them informed. The name this perp is going by is Joseph Andrew.
wrongchick
January 25, 2020
Same thing happened to me. I actually got a message via linkin I thought it was interesting .. after that I got a text message letting me know I was going to get a package in the mail with my assignment.. to my surprise I saw a check for 1800.. of course they wasn’t me to deposit it in my account. Red flags went up everywhere.. my boyfriend was telling me to cash it but it didn’t seem right so me being me I did my research .. this information didn’t pop up the first time so I threw the check away.. I got another text message of the same and this times I got 4000 dollars and did my research again and finally got the answers that I needing that this is all a scam..FYI anything that’s too good to be true is not true.. be careful the scammer are watching..
Bells2020
January 25, 2020
I just got scammed I was ent a check I didnt know it was a scam I went and got the gift cards the bank said it was fake so Ithey tired to get the money back and they took my whole paycheck and no my account is at a negative and I can't get my money back any clue how to get my paycheck money back
Tony
January 25, 2020
I just got targeted by this scam! Check for $2800 to survey Walmarts and text picures of gift cards and receipts. Who should I reprt this scam to? The scammer needs to be apprehended!
FTC Staff
January 27, 2020

In reply to by Tony

You can report that to the FTC at www.FTC.gov/Complaint. The information you report goes into a secure database that the FTC and other law enforcement agencies use for investigations.

Corpus
January 29, 2020
Received e-mail on Whole Foods secret shopper as well followed by txt stating package to start to follow. Package came with photocopy if Whole Foods flyer and a check for $2950. Txts asking for confirmation of delivery followed asking when I would “start” my assignment. I replied that after checking with my lawyer I would not proceed. No further txts. Anyone contact Whole Foods with the package and check?
Not me
January 29, 2020
I received two checks from Educator’s Credit Union. Trying to extort a teacher really? ! Don’t we have enough being underpaid? TWO checks $925 each. Letterhead from eBay, with a phone number included. Evaluation @ survey reports llc. us How can we report them?
FTC Staff
January 27, 2020

In reply to by Not me

You can report that to the FTC at www.FTC.gov/Complaint. The information you give goes into a secure database that the FTC and other law enforcement agencies use for investigations.

Joan
January 27, 2020
I just received a check in the mail for 2800 to shop for gift cards at Walmart. I’m supposed to take pictures of the gift cards and receipt and text to a john simpson. I called the bank the check is supposedly drawn on and spoke to the fraud dept who confirmed the check is fake. Who else can this be reported too?
FTC Staff
January 29, 2020

In reply to by Joan

You can report to the FTC at www.FTC.gov/Complaint. The information you give goes into a secure database that the FTC and other law enforcement agencies use for investigations. Thank you.

Lina
January 29, 2020
I received a message in my cellphone. It says: " Secret Shopper Application Accepted & Approved. First packet will arrive soon in postal box. Confirm you received sms, EMAIL donna@ storecerts 24. & SMS 9142065494 I do not like that kind of thing. I do not feel safe.
Dsillyon't use…
January 27, 2020
I just received a check made out to me drawn off First American Trust Bank in Santa Ana California, I was contacted via email and asked if I wanted to be a secret shopper for Interlink co. Being curious I wrote back and agreed to there offer one week later I received a check and instructions to either cash or deposit the $2625.00 check but here is what I am going to do to find out if this is a scam I will deposit this check but before i do any thing with it i will leave it in my bank and wait till it either clears or comes back NSF that way i won't owe the money because it will be in my bank until I found out through my bank if it in fact cleared or not let's wait and see and i will report back after i find out the out come of this check, that is if my bank will even accept the check.I will let everyone know the news after I find out my self what my bank tells me !
K4KUTE
January 28, 2020
Same thing happened to me as most of you guys.:..but the weird thing is, the fake check is in the name of a very large local oilfield company where I live. They have locations in Louisiana and Texas. My question is, I wonder if they know someone is using their company name and even one of their employee’s name to fake the check.???
robin
January 29, 2020
Check didn't have a bank name. Company name was Mil Way in Texarcana, Arkansas 71854 2000 Arkansas Boulevard. www. mil- way. Check was for 2340.00
Dee
January 28, 2020
I received a check through USPS for $2800 from Comerica Bank and a letter from John Simpson HR Manager. The letter offers a job as a Survey Agent. I must purchase 6 Wal-Mart gift cards from two different stores. After making the purchase, text list of items, receipt to 585-714-2921... My bank placed a hold on this check. I'm unemployed at the moment, so I jumped at this opportunity... Looking back on everything, I feel like a complete fool... Called bank to have check canceled... Will not be participating...
Vehming
January 29, 2020
I was almost a victim of this scam. But what I did, was call the bank that the check was made out too, and found out it was fraud. the person who tried to scam me according to the email is Ian Bergon. email address ianbergon8 @
Fitness Girl
January 29, 2020
I got a check for $1850 from ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE DELIVERY through a Linked In message. I had to go to Best Buy and buy $1400 in gift cards within 48 hrs to make $450. I’m glad I saw this because I was ready to buy them before I went into my real job.
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