For signing up, Shirley received a UPS shipment containing two MoneyGrams. Each was in the amount of around $865 which she was to deposit into her bank account. Then she was to shop at WalMart, spending no more than $100. As well, she was to retain $100 as payment for her shopping excursion, wiring the balance of the monies to an individual in Kentucky.
Doing all of this quickly would get her a $100 bonus on the next shopping assignment. There was never a survey form to fill out that referenced her shopping experience at WalMart.
After having gone to Western Union and wired the $1,530 to the individual in Kentucky did my wife explain the mystery shopper arrangement. As Shirley described it there were bells (and red flags) going off in my head.
I immediately called the FBI. An agent explained this was a known scam and the two MoneyGrams would come back to Shirley's bank as being fraudulent. Oh no! Now what to do?
Proactively, Shirley notified her bank about the MoneyGrams that would be bouncing.
Shirley had not paid additional fee to have the Western Union money delivered immediately, opting for "next day" delivery. This allowed sufficient time last night to cancel the transaction with Western Union. She got back the $1,530 from Western Union this morning.
Next, we went to her bank and deposited the refunded cash. As well, I put in $300 of my money to make her bank account good again. When the MoneyGrams do come back Shirley will call the agent who helped us and be forgiven any bank fees for the returned checks.
How did Shirley get hooked into this? She is overly trusting in many situations. This is a prime example. I wish she had run this by me when she initially received the mystery shopper offer. I wonder how many others have been caught up in this scam.
I am a misanthrope. Loosely defined, a misanthrope is one who is distrustful of humankind. My question is, have you ever been scammed? It is embarrassing to admit, but there are tons of victims who have fallen for similar financial offers.
