Wednesday I opened our mailbox to discover a flat rate envelope addressed to me. Now, as a blogger, it isn’t uncommon to receive stuff in the mail. Tickets/comps to shows and events, samples, products to review, and even checks when I get paid for writing. Most of the time, these days, PR firms pay via Venmo, Paypal or EFT/Wire Transfer. I wasn’t expecting anything.
Something about this was… weird. Different. I didn’t recognize the name on the return address. The Envelope was light. I opened it and found this letter and check:
Oh, so many things went through my head as I read this letter.
- OMG- So many fonts! That by itself SCREAMS SCAM! Also- That’s not what the USPS Logo looks like. The one on the letter is all stretched out and pixelated.
- I never signed up to audit/secret shop the US Postal Service. That’s not even something that is done by an outside party/company (I called the local post office at talked to someone- They straight up told me it was a scam.).
- When a letter is not on company letterhead with an office address, phone number, email address, and website- It’s a scam.
- When you are given a task to do and you are told to DEPOSIT A CHECK INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT- It’s a scam. Real, honest, legit secret shopping companies do not tell you to do that. They don’t front you the money. They reimburse you. And also- $2000 in untraceable money orders? IT’S A SCAM.
- When I called the “text only numbers” there was no answer at either one.
- Speaking of the phone numbers… Area codes 646 and 914 are both in New York state, but the return address on the priority envelope I received was from Pahrump, NV. SCAM.
- The RE: line on my “check” says Cherie Miller, but I have no idea who that is. She’s not the person who sent me the check, and that name doesn’t appear on any of the paperwork. SCAM
After I read the letter and looked over the check, I went into full investigation mode. Back when I worked in property management, one of my favorite parts of the job was to search for people who owed various clients (HOA’s) money. Finding people to get them to pay delinquent accounts involves a high degree of “google-Fu”, which I pride myself on.
VyStar Credit Union is a for really real Credit Union in Florida. I called their customer service number and talked to a cool rep. I explained what I had, gave her the routing number and account number. Now, the routing number on this check does not match the routing number on their website. Some banks and financial institutions list their routing numbers on their websites to assist customers. The Customer Service confirmed: THE CHECK WAS NOT REA, NOR WAS IT DRAWN ONA REAL ACCOUNT. Meaning, if I had deposited it, the check would bounce like a rubber ball. I would be hit with fees, and be responsible for paying my bank back the amount the check was written for.
At this point, I wasn’t really sure what to do. Call the DA? Call the FBI (It is mail fraud and came from out of state)? Call the local Post office (which I later did and they didn’t care)? I asked my mom, and she suggested I call Consumer Bob (he’s a local media figure, I messaged him on Facebook but never heard back). I called the DA and spoke to a Legal Secretary. She said to mail it to them and they’d put it in their fraud file. She said not to bother the FBI.
So why am I writing about this today? Because if I get one of these letters, many other people will too. People who need money, people who want to do secret shops/audits to make a little extra money. Not everyone will think with a clear or level head. They’ll take the check to the bank and deposit it ASAP without doing any research.
So I’m going to repeat myself: Real, honest, legit secret shopping companies do not tell you to do that. They don’t front you the money. They reimburse you after you turn your report and receipts in.
If you want to learn a little more about other types of scams that I’ve come across, here is a good article. And if you are looking for a way to make a little extra money doing secret shops or audits, check out my post here about Field Agent. Field Agent is legit. I earn money with them every week doing small audits and shops. We got free pizza last week at Little Caesar’s and earned a little extra money too!
What did I end up doing with the letter, check, and envelope? It’s going to the DA next week.
Please share this post with your friends and family, especially if you have older family members who may not have great internet searching skills, or may need to earn some money. This scam can devastate an individual or family’s financial situation.
Hewes Family Fun 
I had same thing happen but it was secret shopper for Walmart. The check was drawn on a true bank but first caught my eye no number for the bank. I goggled it and called the bank talked to customer service and gave her all the info on check names and the letter. They have been getting lots of calls about it and have lots of information and papers people sent in. They have been investigation going on it.
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Wow, I’ve never seen this before. Scammers will try anything it seems!
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Thank you for posting this fake check scam. I think exposing scams, can change bring a lot of awareness and prevent a lot of grief for others. I can’t wait to hear what the outcome from the DA is. Cheers to you and your savvy googling ninja skills!
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Fake Check Scam. Wow, this is new. Is this the world we live in now? Like whats going on? Thanks for the heads up.
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One time I received a check for ¢27. I am happy that you discovered this scam and are able to write this post informing people about it. No one should have to go through the trouble of dealing with this bs. Good on you!
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Great investigating! I bet a lot of people fall for this. Im shocked by all the scams! I got a call today from the “Social Security” office. I wrote it off as a scam. How likely would someone call. They are so short staffed. Thanks for shedding light on this one.
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Wow!! This is such an eye-opening read! I never knew that these existed until reading this!!! So much good info, Thanks for sharing.
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Wow, this is very informative. Thanks! I read the whole thing thoroughly! And I am a member of Vystar so I would have thought it was real. However, I tend to throw away anything I know that I am not a part of. It’s crazy what people will do to other people. Awful!
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With the world moving as fast it is, the scamsters are making progress in leaps and bounds. We really need to be very careful.
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Wow, that’s scary. So glad you thought to go into investigative mode and not just deposit it! Thanks for sharing, I think it will help a lot of newer bloggers think twice about depositing money in the bank!
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Thank you for informing us about this type of scam! This was new to me! I have received some scam phone calls but never a check! That’s so frightening! We really need to be careful.
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My job at work is to make sure my boss doesn’t fall for scams like these. So sad that sometimes these things work on people who don’t know better or are trusting.
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awful scam! thank you so much for telling and explaining things about it, it is of great importance!
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I didn’t think these check scams still happened! Because most people know about them and how to avoid it. The biggest problem is that a couple thousand dollars can be life-changing for some, and they ignore the red flags. Which ends up costing them money, as you said with the bank fees and trouble. It is easy to ignore those red flags when a person really can use that money to pay off a bill or buy groceries, or whatever they need. I’m glad you wrote about this because it is so important.
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It is crazy seeing all the new scams people try to pull off. I am always wary about odd packages and letters myself, you can never be too careful!
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