Contact 13
Valley man warns others about mystery shopper program
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- There are so many of you looking for work in the valley and we keep hearing from many of you contacting Action News with questions about work-from-home opportunities. Tonight we have a Contact 13 Consumer Alert with another example of some of the red flags to watch out for.
"It just, it didn't make any sense," says Javier Cabrera.
He says he was suspicious when he got this letter in the mail. It says: "You are hereby selected to participate in a paid Consumer Research Program in your area of residence as a Mystery Shopper." Along with the letter, Javier got this check for more than $3,700.
"When I kept reading, they said that I had to do certain things. I was going to keep part of the check and was suppose to wire some of the money," says Javier.
According to the letter, Javier's job was to evaluate customer service at a Western Union, by wiring money to a couple different locations.
"$1,400 to Spain and $1,450 to United Kingdom," says Javier.
He was instructed to keep $500 as his pay. But he says, something didn't feel right.
"I knew, nobody gives you a check for nothing," says Javier.
So after he emailed Contact 13, we reached out to SunTrust, the bank whose name appears on this check. And it turns out, this check is fake. SunTrust says this account doesn't exist. It turns out Javier's suspicions were right and he wants you to know, there's no such thing as easy money.
"I want to make sure the community knows and doesn't fall for it. If it's too good to be true, it's not true," says Javier.
So here's the Contact 13 bottom line. The Better Business Bureau says if you get a check in the mail, ask your bank to verify if it's legit. Also, pay attention to the postage. The BBB says many of these scams are coming from outside the U.S. In Javier's case, his letter was mailed from Canada.
And if you're interested in legitimate secret shopping work, check out the Mystery Shopping Provider's Network.
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