Gloucester Residents, Please Watch Out For New Scams

Hey everyone. Just want to send out a reminder that the scams are coming in fast and furious these days as the economy is down so the scams are up. The latest big scam which is rather old but on the grow as it is a good one, Secret Shopping. There are variations on this scam but they always play out the same way. If you are prospected for one of these positions via email, this is the first giveaway you are being scammed. These companies are not looking for people to join them. People are looking to join those companies instead. Strike one.

The folks on the other end have email addresses such as Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, or one of the other free service providers, strike two. You are sent an email to provide your information and it is not a legal application form, strike three. Yet people are still falling for these with these three strikes already in play. Here is the hook, $100.00 to $200.00 per assignment, plus $30.00 to $50.00 to spend as you want at your assignment. You also get to keep what you buy with the 30 to 50 bucks. In one particular case, the victim was promised at least $400.00 per week for super easy and fun work.

The inning is almost over yet the majority of victims are fully hooked in to believing the scams are real offers and that they have just been very fortunate. Well you are not. Here is the rest of the deal. Your first assignment is usually going to your nearest Wal Mart or Old Navy store and buying some items and then either going to Money Gram in Wal Mart and sending the money on to another secret shopper or go to a Western Union to do the same. The sinker for you. Once you cash the check(s) you get, which are usually Money gram checks or Western Union checks, these are fraudulent and even though you already got the money from the bank, the bank will be calling you or sending you a letter in a few days letting you know they either froze your bank account or are demanding payment from you on the bad checks.

If you have the money to cover these checks, consider it gone. It now belongs to the bank. If you didn't have the money to cover the check(s), you will have to come up with it somehow or have charges pressed against you for passing fraudulent products. So instead of you making money, you just lost a fortune if you fell for this. It's really a good scam that hooks a lot of people very quickly. Take these things into consideration. There is a certain degree of legal matters that must be accomplished before you ever even get a job offer, such as filling out a full employment application, supplying your SS number and and drivers license. These must also be presented as copies verifed by someone as part of the hiring process.

There is always a professional web site where you receive training before starting your first assignment. You will also have a manager that you report to that has decent grammar. Scammer's are notorious for bad grammar. Always question why you are sent such large amounts and are paid on the spot before performing any work. Another strike is your Money Orders being sent to you via an overnight service. Why do the scammer's use this method? Many times there is a loop hole where checks can't be detected as frauds for anywhere between 24 through 96 hours. So getting you these checks as fast as possible is very important to the scam.

I have seen some of these checks recently. They are incredibly good. They will easily pass through many banks. The bottom line here really is that you can be legally charged for forgery if you have already cashed any of these checks and you can not cover them. I'm not saying this is fair. It isn't, but the fault is also not the bank's, nor the money order issuing companies.

So please keep your best senses about you whenever looking at any offer out here. Stop and ask yourself if what you are being asked for or to do is normal. Have all the proper steps been taken? These are the warning signs that if they have not been properly adhered to, should cause you to run the other way no matter how attractive the offer. Remember this, attractive offers are the hooks. Hooks can tear you apart.