The Chattanooga Police Department alerts the community about a Mystery Shopper Scam which may be occurring in the area. The scam sends out fraudulent checks along with a letter to potential victims, wanting them to deposit the fraudulent checks into their bank accounts. They then request the victim to buy iTunes gift cards and send the information from the cards to them via email.
They claim the mystery shopper will receive $300 out of the $2,750 check. The check of course will be fake and the victim would have spent money and not be reimbursed.
The CPD currently has no reports from citizens who have been a victim of this particular scam. However, they do suspect they may be sent to those in the community.
If anyone receives a letter like this, they should call the Chattanooga Police Department to report it and give all documentation to the officer for further investigation.
Here is the letter:
CUSTOMER SERVICE EVALUATION TOOL (CSET)
Dear customer,
Congratulations for your achievement!
The present package contains the checklist with the further required steps and the payment sent out for your highly-appreciated contribution. The check attached to this latter represents $2750 that covers the assignment bills, evaluation costs and your secret service evaluation payment of $300.
Please read carefully and make sure that you understand correctly and perform all the tasks stated below:
Confirm the receipt of the present package at James.connel ly02(a),aol.com and Evalnatiou. hoppers@net shopping.com
Deposit the present Check through any of the options offered by your bank: Bank deposit, ATM or Phone Application.
TUNES GIFT CARDS CUSTOMER EVALUATION
You are to evaluate any of these stores that sell iTunes Gift cards. You are to purchase iTunes Gift card worth
$2450 of any of these denominations $100 and $50 only. Upon purchase of the iTunes Gift cards you are to carefully scratch the cards and send the PINs, pictures of the scratch page of the card along with your evaluation. It can be purchased at thousands of stores nationwide, including major retailers such as Kroger, Target, Walgreen, Costco, Rite Aid, Kmart, Publix, Best Buy, The Home Depot, Walmart. Kindly walk in to any of the stores mentioned above and pick up iTunes Gift cards. You can also purchase the iTunes gift cards from any stores that is close to you if not mentioned above.
NOTE: You must not disclose for any reason that you are a customer service, or let them know you are evaluating their store. While purchasing the cards, you should make the below listed:
Observations:
Store Name
Name of the Cashier (If visible) Neatness & smartness of the Cashier Professionalism
Provide iTunes gift card PIN Numbers (Usually 16 Digits) D What is the limit you can purchase from each stores D How long did it take you to purchase the cards?
Compare the Efficiency and Duration it took before you were attended to at visited locations? Which of the visited stores will you love to visit again?
You are to take pictures and provide the scratch page of each of the iTunes gift card with your phone
Please understand importance of promptness in returning the complete evaluation.
Evaluation survey report should be sent to us via email at the following: James.connelly02@aol.com and Evaluation. hoppers@net-shopping.com
Thank you for your cooperation and assistance in performing this job in a timely manner. All assignments are time sensitive. Your prompt response is greatly appreciated. We look forward to read from you soon.
Best Regards, James Connelly
2408 Highway 11 NW
Monroe GA, 30656