If you see a classified ad from an employer offering a job as a "secret shopper," beware.
That's the message from Debbie Hooey, a Prince George woman who narrowly avoided becoming the victim of the scam that, if not for some skepticism, could have left her on the hook for more than $2,500.
Hooey answered such an ad with the thought that she would work as an undercover shopper, assessing service and scouting prices on various assignments.
But the ad only had an e-mail as the contact. And then she was sent a cheque that she was told to deposit at her bank and then notify the "employer."
But when she took the cheque to her bank, the teller refused her request, "which is good," Hooey said.
Hooey did some research and discovered that she was being drawn into a common scam that bubbles up from time to time.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, once the money is deposited, the victim is then asked to use a money transfer company to wire a large portion of the amount to a name provided, "in order to test the company's procedure and customer service skills."
"The victim will find out later that the cheque is counterfeit, thus making the victim accountable to pay for the funds he/she wired," the centre says on its website.
Hooey reported the incident to the Prince George RCMP and also went to The Citizen to give others the heads up.
"People need to be aware of this kind of thing and not get trapped into it," Hooey said.
