Mystery shopper scam

The mystery-shopper scam is a structured variant of the fake-check scam dressed as a market-research job. You're "hired" to evaluate retail stores, restaurants, or — critically — a money-transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram. A check arrives. You're told to deposit it, keep a small portion as your wage, and "test" the money-transfer service by wiring the rest to a specified recipient.

The check is fake. The wire is real. When the check reverses days later, you owe the bank everything you wired.

Real mystery-shopping jobs exist — they pay modestly ($10–$30 per shop) and never require you to forward money. Anyone who sends you a check and asks you to wire funds is running the scam.

"Congratulations on being selected as a Mystery Shopper! Your first assignment evaluates three local services: a grocery store ($50 budget), a restaurant ($80 budget), and a money-transfer service. We are sending you a check for $2,400 — your $200 wage and $2,200 to test the wire-transfer experience. Please wire the $2,200 to our auditor and fill out the evaluation form. Time-sensitive: complete within 48 hours."

Recruitment may come via job-board reply, Indeed message, email, or a glossy postcard.

• A check arrives in the mail for a job you barely applied to.
• You're asked to wire most of the funds elsewhere as part of the "evaluation."
• The "company" name closely mirrors a real research firm but the email is from a free domain.
• The check is from an unrelated company you've never heard of.
• The pay rate is unusually high ($200+ per shop is unrealistic).
• The recruiter resists video calls or in-person verification.

• Wire-transfer evaluation — most common; wire to a stranger.
• Gift-card evaluation — buy gift cards, send code photos.
• Bank-deposit evaluation — deposit at an ATM and "evaluate the experience."
• Cryptocurrency-purchase evaluation — buy crypto at a kiosk and send.
• Hybrid with reshipping — also asks you to receive and forward packages.

1. Real mystery shopping is paid after the shop, not before. Companies don't send you money to test by sending it away.
2. Verify the company. Real firms are listed at the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association (MSPA). Search there before accepting any "shop."
3. Don't deposit unsolicited checks. Bring it to your bank, ask them to verify; if it's fake, the bank handles disposal.
4. Apply the rule: wiring money is never a legitimate part of a mystery-shopping evaluation.

• Contact your bank immediately. Some wires can be recalled within hours.
• Contact the wire service (Western Union, MoneyGram). File a fraud report.
• Report to the FTC and IC3.
• Watch for the account reversal. When the check bounces, the bank will pull the deposit back from your account. Be prepared.
• Talk to the bank about overdraft protection if you can't cover the reversal — some have hardship arrangements.

• Do not wire money as part of a "mystery shopping" evaluation, ever.
• Do not assume the bank's "funds available" status means the check is real.
• Do not deposit checks from a job offer you barely applied for.
• Do not pay for a "mystery shopper certification" or "shopper directory" — those are also scams.

• FTC: reportfraud.ftc.gov — the broadest US fraud intake; reports flow to thousands of law-enforcement agencies.
• FBI IC3: ic3.gov — the right destination when the scam is internet-enabled (phishing, BEC, romance, crypto).
• CFPB: consumerfinance.gov/complaint — for complaints about banks, money transmitters, payment apps, credit cards, debt collection.
• IdentityTheft.gov — if any identity information (SSN, driver's license, account credentials) was shared.
• Your bank or payment platform. Call the number on the back of your card or use the app's in-product help. Time matters — wires can sometimes be recalled within hours; ACH and Zelle are harder but worth trying.

Are there any real mystery-shopper jobs? Yes — but they're modest gigs. Pay typically runs $5–$25 per shop, payment comes after submission, and there's never a check sent to you upfront. Find legitimate gigs through the MSPA directory.

The recruiter sent a contract with my name on it. Doesn't that legitimize it? No. Fake contracts are trivial to produce. The mechanic (deposit and wire most of it) is the only thing that matters.

The bank cleared the check days ago. Wasn't it real? Funds availability is required by law within a few days. Actual check clearance can take 14+ days. The bank's reversal is coming.