Mystery Marketing. Insurance Premium Financing, Inc. Scamming people with fake mystery shopper jobs and no-good checks Ottawa Ontario Canada
I got a letter with a check in the amount of $3,594.00 from "mystery Marketing. The check was drawn on Eastern Bank on Lynn, MA and the company name on the check is Insurance Premium Financing, Inc.
The letter states that I should keep $150. as pay for shopping; spend $300 at Walmart, Macy's, Target, etc.; use $144 for Western Union fees; wire them $3000 to test the employees at Western Union. The letter promised future assignments if I successfully complete the assignment.
The letter was mailed from Canada. The address on the letterhead is in Sioux Falls, SD. The check is drawn on an account in Lynn, MA. The phone numbers are Canadian area codes.
They claim in the letterhead to be a member of American Survey Research Organizations. I emailed this group and they said it is a scam; they are not members.
I called Eastern Bank. They said Insurance Premium Financing is thier customer but that there was not sufficient funds to cover the check. I told the bank of my concern of a scam and that they may be sued if they didn't look into it after they were made aware of the probability that people could lose thousands. They asked me to fax them copies of the letter and check. I did.
I called the Canadian phone number and it sounded like a boiler room operation with a lot of voices in the background, The man on the phone had an answer for every one of the 30 or so questions I asked him, though few of his answers made any sense.
People need to be warned.
Flo
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Dave
Jacksonville,Florida,
U.S.A.
This is indeed a SCAM
#2Consumer Comment
Thu, January 24, 2008
Think about it... Why would a company send you thousands of dollars to 'go shopping'? They don't know you, they never met you, you could be a serial killer for all they know.
The answer is simple. Because the check is STOLEN, and the operation is a total scam. They get you to cash the check at your bank, then wire them the lion's share of the money. By the time the check comes back as fraudelent, they have their money and you never hear from them again.
NEVER trust anyone that requires you to use Western Union or Money Gram. And NEVER send someone money to get a job, like 'work from home' for instance.