Why your mystery shopper email is probably fake

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Gentle Giant

Giant Admin for a Day
Staff member
If you see it posted here it IS a scam.

Are all mystery shopper mails a scam? There may be some legitimate ones out there but if you didn't ask for it to be sent to you and if you didn't sign up at some database to receive such emails then extreme caution is always urged.

Assuming that you actually get here to this part, here's some reasons that the mystery shopper emails you see here are fake.

What's the scam?
In this subforum you are going to run into the fake check fraud. In the fake check scam you are asked to be a mystery shopper for some company. The fake check scam is just that-- all you are ever going to get is a fake check or money order. You can read elsewhere (like here) about why you don't want to have a fake check for any reason.

If you have read about how to identify a scam email (which is here) then in addition to things like bad grammar, poor spelling, even poorer punctuation, the use of free email servers, etc. these are some other things that make these mystery shopper emails completely bogus.

1. "Your first assignment will be to mystery shop at Western Union"

This is a clear indication that you are dealing with a scammer/criminal who wants to send you a fake check. If you have read elsewhere here about Western Union, the fact that W.U. is mentioned at all always indicates a probable scam. And mystery shopping W.U.???? No one needs to do that. You mystery shop a restaurant, a store, or a bank. If the email says they want you to mystery shop at Western Union just delete the email and don't answer it.

2. "Your first assignment will be to mystery shop at Money Gram"
Ditto number 1.

3. "My name is Brain..."

No, it isn't. This person lacks the higher faculties which would indicate the possession thereof. Delete it. It's a fake check scam. (Ref: http://antifraudintl.org/showthread.php?t=50440)

4. "We are eBay secret shopper...."
Seriously? Are you kidding me? NO One secret shops eBay, Amazon, or any other online merchant like that. Just delete it.


Staff member
For Americans, scammers (reshipper scams) are now sending and requesting I9 and W2 forms to enhance their scams. Some do this in addition to telephone interviews. Obviously, this makes theft of your identity much easier. Please be careful which email you respond to and what kind of information you provide to people you don't know.
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