'Mystery shopper' job scam defrauds Brantford woman of $6K

A Brantford, Ont. woman is out $6,000 after responding to a text message advertisement for a job inviting her to become a 'mystery shopper.'

Legitimate mystery shoppers are sometimes used in the retail industry to test customer service, compare prices and comment on store layout.

When she responded to the ad, a manidentified as Mr. Rogers told her tocash a cheque worth $3,000, keep $500 for herself, spend money at a retail outlet and evaluate theservice. She was to thentake the unspent money to a bank that was not her own and make a deposit.

That simple, and what appeared to be an honest, processwas repeated a second time. It wasn't until after the second deposit was made into a completely different bank account that the scam was revealed.

The woman received word from her financial institutionthe original cheques were fraudulent and she was responsible for the money.

It's not unusual

Linda Boutin, a team leader and manager with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, told CBC Newsit's not unusual that the bogus cheques sent to victims actually look legitimate.

"Sometimes the bank will say 'there's money to cover for that cheque'," said Boutin. "So the consumer feels it's safe to proceed with the instructions from the suspect."

Statistics collected by the Anti-Fraud Centre show 204 job scams with a cost tovictims of half a million dollars, in just the first two months of 2017.

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The BrantfordPolice Service issued reminders for people to protect themselves from fraudulent activity:

• Never respond to spam messages.
• Do not click on any links or open email or messaging attachments.
• Research the company name.
• Never cash a cheque for anyone you do not know.
• Ask for cheques to be certified before you deposit or release funds.
• Ask for funds to be deposited byemailed electonic transfers, as these transactions do not require the same type of hold on funds.
• Remember: a legitimate employer will never send funds and request a portion of those funds back.
• Be waryof unsolicited text messages or emails offering employment.