Question: I responded to an employment ad on Craigslist for a "secret shopper" job posting.
A girlfriend of mine told me she had a friend who is actually employed to do this and loves it.
So I answered the ad and gave them my resume and basic information about me. I got an e-mail back that is in broken English in places, unlike the original ad, and says they are going to send me two checks in the amount of $875 each. I am to shop at Wal-Mart
and another store and then we are also going to secret shop Western Union, sending $1,000 to Cambodia.
When I got that response, I wrote back and told them I was going to turn them in to Craigslist for fraud and the FBI for prosecution.
I thought that was the end of it.
I checked Craiglist and their posting was gone.
The next morning I got a UPS delivery with two Safeway money orders for $875 each.
I knew these were fraudulent, so I called the San Jose nonemergency number and the lady told me to just destroy them. I said I wanted someone to go after them so they don't hurt someone that would fall for this. She told me to call a phone number for the national fraud unit, but the number she gave me isn't a working number.
Since then this lister has posted more ads for a secret shopper on Craigslist, which I flag and send to Craigslist offices. But then they just repost a few days later. Why is it no one seems to care about this? I have the checks and the UPS envelope and their Craigslist posting printed out.
Should I just throw them in the trash or is there anyone out there who does care and would like this information to go after these people?
M.O.
Los Gatos
Answer: This is a common fraud and victims typically lose between $500 and $6,000, M.O.
See a report at www.snopes.com/fraud/employment/shopper.asp.
To file a complaint, do a Web search for "Internet Crime Complaint Center."
Here is how to reach Action Line:
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