神秘購物者的工作可能會騙走你成千上萬的錢
Psst, here's a secret. Some of those great opportunities to be a mystery shopper are nothing but a way to con you out of your cash.
噓,這里有個秘密。這些成為神秘購物者的好機會,只不過是一種騙走你現(xiàn)金的方式。
Willie Smith, a veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1975-79, went online looking for a way to make some extra money. He saw a site offering a job opportunity as a secret shopper so he filled out some information.
威利·史密斯(Willie Smith)是一名老兵,1975年至1979年在美國陸軍服役。他看到一個網站提供一個秘密購物者的工作機會,所以他填寫了一些信息。
But Smith, 63, became suspicious when a priority envelope was sent to his home in Saginaw, Michigan, back in March and included a check for $2,150. He was to deposit the check into his bank account, start buying gift cards and do some secret shopping at Walmart.
今年3月,63歲的史密斯收到了一個優(yōu)先級信封,里面有一張2150美元的支票。他要把支票存入銀行賬戶,開始買禮品卡,然后在沃爾瑪秘密購物。
Before he cashed that check, he did some more digging online, and among other things, he discovered that Walmart doesn't use mystery shoppers or hire anyone to perform such services for other retailers or companies.
在他兌現(xiàn)支票之前,他在網上做了更多的調查,他發(fā)現(xiàn)沃爾瑪不使用神秘顧客,也不雇傭任何人為其他零售商或公司提供此類服務。
Why they send $2K before you start work?
為什么他們在你開始工作前就給你2000美元?
His advice to others: "Don't do it. Don't put that check into your account. When that check doesn't clear, you've got to pay all that money back."
他給別人的建議是:“不要這樣做。不要把那張支票存入你的賬戶。當支票不清時,你必須把所有的錢都還回去。”
Other consumers haven't been as fortunate and they're losing hundreds or thousands of dollars to a similar sort of scam.
其他消費者就沒那么幸運了,他們正因為類似的騙局損失成百上千美元。
A consumer in Ohio reported receiving a package that included a $1,500 check, according to the Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker.
據Better Business Bureau欺詐追蹤機構稱,俄亥俄州的一名消費者報告說,他收到了一個包裹,里面有一張1,500美元的支票。
The consumer was told to buy $1,100 in iTunes gift cards and keep $400. "If an employee at Walmart asked if I was a mystery shopper, I was instructed to say no," the consumer said.
消費者被告知購買價值1100美元的iTunes禮品卡,并保留400美元。這位消費者說:“如果沃爾瑪的一名員工問我是不是神秘顧客,我被告知說不。”
The consumer then texted photos of the backside of gift cards, giving the scammers access to necessary numbers to use the money on the gift cards. The consumer discovered too late in the game that the initial $1,500 check was counterfeit.
然后,消費者將禮品卡背面的照片發(fā)短信,讓騙子獲得使用禮品卡上的錢的必要號碼。消費者在騙局中太晚發(fā)現(xiàn)最初的1500美元是偽造的。
Not surprisingly, fraudsters try to impersonate names that we trust. But instead of pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service, mystery shopping scams might drop names of big name retailers, such as Walmart, Target or Best Buy.
不出所料,騙子試圖假冒我們信任的名字。但是,神秘購物騙局可能會刪除一些知名零售商的名字,比如沃爾瑪(Walmart)、塔吉特(Target)或百思買(Best Buy),而不是假裝來自美國國稅局(Internal Revenue Service)。
A consumer in Southfield, Michigan, reported losing $2,780 in a mystery shopper scam last year involving a business called "Walmart All Star Retail Express." Again, the consumer received what turned out to be a fake check. The instructions included depositing the check, keeping $400 for the work and using the other $2,200 to buy gift cards and money orders.
密歇根州南菲爾德的一名消費者稱,去年他們在一起神秘的購物騙局中損失了2780美元,該騙局涉及一家名為“沃爾瑪全明星零售快遞”(Walmart All Star Retail Express)的公司。消費者再次收到了一張偽造的支票。這些指示包括存入支票,保留400美元用于這項工作,另外2200美元用于購買禮品卡和匯款單。
A Troy, Michigan, consumer replied to a mystery shopper ad on Indeed.com in February, according to local police. The consumer then received an overnight envelope containing a company check for $998 and instructions on how to be a mystery shopper.
據當地警方稱,今年2月,密歇根州特洛伊市的一名消費者在Indeed.com上回復了一則神秘購物廣告。然后,這位消費者收到了一個隔夜的信封,里面有一張998美元的公司支票,以及如何成為一名神秘購物者的說明。
The victim placed the check into his bank account and bought $650 in gift cards for Best Buy, Apple, CVS and Walgreens, according to the Troy police report.
據特洛伊警方的報告,受害者將支票存入自己的銀行賬戶,為百思買(Best Buy)、蘋果(Apple)、CVS和沃爾格林(Walgreens)購買了650美元的禮品卡。
The victim then photographed the serial numbers of the gift cards and sent them to the business in Florida. The consumer then questioned what just happened and called the business number provided only to find out it was disconnected.
受害者隨后拍下了禮品卡的序列號,并把它們寄給了佛羅里達州的商家。然后,消費者詢問剛剛發(fā)生了什么,并撥打了提供的業(yè)務號碼,結果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)該號碼已斷開。