Victim Location 32433
Type of a scam Fake Check/Money Order
I received an email from Michele James in response to what I thought was an Indeed job offer for a secret shopper. She told me that they whould like to pay me to shop secretly at Walgreens and purchase $70 worth of products, for which they would pay me $300. I told her
I did not have $70 to pay for products, that I lived on a fixed income. She told me to put it on a credit card, and that they would send me a check for the $70 to cover my shopping expenses and $300 for doing the job. I told her I did not have any credit cards, and again, I lived on a very ixed income. She told me they would send me a package with the check in it to cover my shopping expenses, and $300 for doing the job, along with insturctions on what to buy and how to fill out my report and so forth. Several days later I received a text on my cell from Precision Solutions asking me if I had received the package. I replied No. The told me when I received it, if I carried out their instructions within 34 hours I would receive a $100 bonus. I received a Click-N-Ship envelope in the mail from Warren Sturm, 2623 Rosegate LN, Charlotte, NC 28270-3817 on a Saturday afternoon. In the envelope was a check for $1900 and instructions to text that I received the check, take the check to my bank, cash it and then go to Walgreens, Best Buy, Apple Store, CVS, Kroger, or any other store around me and purchase E-Bay gift cards in the amount of $1500 ($1600 if I did not complete the job within 24 hours). Once purchased, in multiples of $500, $200, or $100 denominations, I was to provide feedback as to whether the store limited the number of E-Bay gift cards I could buy; would I return to the store; how long did the transaction take; the cleanliness of the environment; how would I rate the overall experience; and my overall impression. Then I was to scratch off the back panel of each card to reveal the codes and send a clear picture of each card along with the receipt and my report to [email protected] It was signed Patrick Joe Sr. HR & Logistics Officer (323)570-4135. I took the check to my bank on Monday and deposited it in may account and had the bank put a hold on it until it cleared. I texted the company and let them know the check had a hold on it until it cleared, which might take up to 5 days. They were not happy and tried to pressure me into taking the $200 of the money the bank released and do a partial shop to "get my bonus". But I told them I would forego the bonus and wait until the check cleared. They texted me daily asking if the check had cleared, and I would tell them no. On Thursday I checked with the bank and the check had been returned. I called and was told the check was counterfeit. When the person texted me to ask if the check had cleared, I told them it had been returned. Later I received an email from Michelle James asking if I had received the package. I told her I had, and told her the story, and that the check had been returned. She wanted to know my account number and I told her NO that the check was a counterfeit and to not contact me again, I was not going to let her steal my money. So, I am reporting this to you. I had a feeling this was a fraud, that is why I did not cash the check like they wanted me to, or use a credit card. But someone else may not be so lucky.