Scam Job Offers

[ForumUser]

I have received an offer from a company called Hillcrest Outsourcing LLC to be a mystery shopper.

I believe this may be a scam, but I am not sure.

They’ve asked me to deposit a check into my bank account and to withdraw cash to proceed with my mystery shopping assignment.

I will proceed, but will not withdraw cash until the cheque is cleared by the bank.

Only if the cheque is cleared will I continue with this organization.

In case it is a scam, and if there is anything I can do or information I can provide to help other consumers please let me know.

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

It is great that you are sharing this so as to warn others.

We can appreciate that you would be concerned about this situation.

You can find some helpful information regarding these type of scams on the Federal Trade Commission website in the Mystery Shopper Scams section.

Here is an excerpt,

Don’t Pay to Be a Mystery Shopper

Dishonest promoters use newspaper ads and emails to create the impression that mystery shopping jobs are a gateway to a high-paying job with reputable companies. They often create websites where you can “register” to become a mystery shopper, but first you have to pay a fee — for information about a certification program, a directory of mystery shopping companies, or a guarantee of a mystery shopping job.

It’s unnecessary to pay anyone to get into the mystery shopper business. The certification offered is almost always worthless. A list of companies that hire mystery shoppers is available for free, and legitimate mystery shopper jobs are listed on the internet for free. If you try to get a refund from the promoters, you will be out of luck. Either the business won’t return your phone calls, or if it does, it’s to try another pitch.

Don’t Wire Money

You may have heard about people who are “hired” to be mystery shoppers, and told that their first assignment is to evaluate a money transfer service, like Western Union or MoneyGram. The shopper receives a check with instructions to deposit it in a personal bank account, withdraw the amount in cash, and wire it to a third party. The check is a fake.

By law, banks must make the funds from deposited checks available within days, but uncovering a fake check can take weeks. It may seem that the check has cleared and that the money has posted to the account, but when the check turns out to be a fake, the person who deposited the check and wired the money will be responsible for paying back the bank.

It’s never a good idea to deposit a check from someone you don’t know and then wire money back.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org