I am writing this because I hate when people are taken advantage of. And especially at the age I am, it seems there are more people coming at me for crap I don't want or asked for. Calls, letters, and emails all hold the potential for us to be taken. I see it with my 88 year old friend who gets calls all the time even though she is on the do-not-call list and now this...
On Doylestown Patch there was an ad that allowed for you to search for jobs, full time or part time. You can plug in your zip code and career choices and it sends you a daily email with listings showing up in your area. I had talked to a few people here in my community that use this to find part time jobs.
Thinking I would like a part time job, I signed up. I posted the work criteria I was looking for. Except for my name, address and email there was not any personal information, only the skills I offered up for consideration.
Three weeks after signing up I got an email from a Dr. Larry Lawton, telling me I am one of the finalists be considered for a position with their company. A part time position that I can do on my schedule and it was part time. If I am selected as a finalist I would be contacted.
About two weeks later I got the following email:
“Attention: Evaluation Officer
Kindly be informed that evaluation assignment has been provided to you to execute the consumer evaluation job.
These evaluation Payments with instructions sheet will be delivered to your address via postal mail service,
Monitor your Usps mailbox frequently. once package is received It is imperative you confirm the receipt of the package and follow the instructions sheet enclosed.
You are required to adhere to the instructions as stated on the Instructions sheet enclosed to complete your first task with the payment provided.
We do hope that you will be able to carry out your evaluation assignment immediately you receive it.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this email
Best Regards,
Dr Larry Lawton
Recruitment Manager
Mystery Shoppers, Inc”
I checked out the Mystery Shopper, Inc website: http://www.mystery-shoppers.com. It contained a section warning of scams and fraud. I was not alarmed but I also believed there was no commitment or worry. So I went about my business thinking if it comes okay if not…okay too.
Yesterday, in the mail I received an 8x11 brown envelope. Inside was a letter and a US postal money order for $960.00 made out to me.
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| A FAKE MONEY ORDER I blanked out my name and address. The security strip on the money order does not show well here...but trust me it is there. |
I glanced over the letter, and looked at the money order. Red flags began to rise within me immediately. First, who sends out $960.00 to someone they have never talked with, have no personal information other than name, address and email? No signed contract, no promise, no guarantee that I was even trustworthy.
My second pause came when I saw the company is from Tennessee but the money order was from a Jim Scott in Florida. I began to search on the internet to see if you can verify a money order is real. I googled the company with the word scam behind it. There was the information I was looking for. it was a scam. I was right to be alarmed.
Then I did a google search on Jim Scott’s name and address in Florida and up popped a You Tube video from back in 2011 showing a fake money order, a letter that looked very similar to the one I received, a label, similar to the one I received and a warning to people of the scam his wife had received. Like me, they caught it but decided to help warn others. In the comments were a number of new people who, like me went searching before assuming, and were warned. I’ve posted a picture of the money order so you can see how good of a fake it is. I am planning on visiting the police department today to ask what if anything I should do with this, but I decided to share this with others so they too can be warned.
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