You may have heard about people who are “hired” to be “mystery (or) secret shoppers”. The shopper receives a check with instructions to deposit it in a personal bank account, withdraw the amount in cash, and wire (or send) it to a third party. The scam is that the check is a fake…It may seem that the check has cleared and that the money has posted to the account, but when the check turns out to be a fake, the person who deposited the check and wired the money will be responsible for paying back the bank. It is never a good idea to deposit a check from someone you don’t know.
TIPS to keep yourself safe:
1) Scammers like using names of well-known companies to gain your trust, so do your research;
2) You do not have to pay to get into the “mystery shopper” business;
3) NEVER deposit a check from someone you do not know;
4) NEVER give personal financial information online.