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Mystery shopper scam proves costly to victims by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff 15 | Thursday, September 15, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Halton police are issuing a warning after several residents recently lost thousands of dollars after falling victim to a fraud known as the mystery shopper scam. Det. Derek DiFelice said that while this particular con is not new, it has been making a comeback in the Halton area. Late last month three Oakville residents, one Milton resident and one Burlington resident were tricked by ads promising them cash to serve as mystery shoppers. DiFelice said the scam usually starts with someone receiving an unsolicited text message on their phone containing these mystery shopper ads. If the recipient of this message follows up, they are sent a survey detailing what to look for to evaluate the store they will be sent to as a mystery shopper. They are also sent a cheque, in one of the recent cases for $3,000. Victim told to deposit cheque The victim is told to deposit the cheque into their account, keep a certain amount for their salary and withdraw a certain amount to purchase items at the store they will be sent to. They are also directed to withdraw the bulk of the money and send it back through a money transfer. In some cases the victims are told they are doing this to test a company's money transfer services. It is only after this money is sent away that the victim discovers the cheque they were originally sent was bogus. "The bank is going to come back at you and say, `That cheque you cashed wasn't real,'" said DiFelice. "So you took money out from the bank that you didn't have and spent it and sent it away to someone." While some of these mystery shopper scams originate overseas some are carried out locally. In some instances the scammers get people who may be unaware of what they are doing to help them carry out their crimes. Police said the fraudster befriends these people and tells them they are about to receive some money, but have no bank account and need to use their newfound friend's account. If that person agrees, the scammer arranges for the victims of their mystery shopper scam to send their money to that account. Scammer disappears with money The scammer then has the person withdraw the money for them and they disappear. "We recently charged a woman in Halton who did that because she wasn't willing to provide who she turned over the money to," said DiFelice. "She was adamant she wasn't involved, but my thing is -- if you have a history with this person, then you should know who this person is. If you are not willing to provide information about who they are, then obviously you are working with them or you got a cut of the money." DiFelice said people who get tied up in this sort of scam and don't really understand where the money being directed into their account is coming from have a responsibility to contact police. When it comes to avoiding these scams DiFelice is reminding residents that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. "Money doesn't come for free. Someone is not going to send you a whole whack of cash and then have you send it back to them at some point. That doesn't happen," he said. "Unfortunately people of various ages got taken in by this. There was an 18-year-old who thought this was a good way of making some extra money. He ended up losing all of his hard-earned summer cash." Experience premium winemaking at the best prices. Y O U R W I N E M A K I N G E S TA B L I S H M E N T Make Your Own Wine from SEE WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT $ 69 a batch! * Hours: Tuesday-Wednesday: 10:30am-6pm Thursday-Friday: 10:30am-8pm Saturday: 9am-5pm Sunday-Monday Closed Call for appointment. Every batch makes 30 bottles. *First time clients only, with coupon. 1144 Speers Rd. Oakville · 905-842-7507 · www.thirty750s.com A D I N N E R I N GA I R LO C H GA R D E N S A N E V E N T I N S U P P O R T O F OA K V I L L E G A L L E R I E S With the generous support of our partners and guests, the event was a tremendous success, raising funds for accessible, high-quality educational and artistic programming for Oakvillians of all ages. canada Best Choice Imaging Solutions S PEC I A L TH A N KS TO C H E F JA M I E K E N N E DY & TH E T E A M FR O M JA M I E K E N N E DY K ITC H E N S