This is direct text from the IC3 2007 (FBI) Report.
Secret Shopper and Funds Transfer Scams
Another kind of scam involving the use of bad checks is the secret shopper scam. In this scam, victims are led to believe that they have been hired to shop or dine out and to submit evaluations of their consumer experiences. A sequence of financial transactions, similar to the one characterizing seller-targeted pet scams, then follows: Victims receive bad checks, are instructed to deposit them, and then are asked to wire a percentage of the money to a third party, while using the rest of the money to complete their assignments. As in the seller-targeted pet scams, this scam is successful when the fraudster is able to convert the victim’s wire transfer into cash before the bank realizes that the initial payment is counterfeit.In order to give the secret shopper scam the appearance of a legitimate employment opportunity, many fraudsters commit another crime: they misappropriate brand logos and place them on letters or in e-mails containing instructions for “new hires,” thus violating U.S. copyright law. For instance, the logos of Wal-Mart, FedEx, Target, McDonalds, Gap, Pepsi, Kmart, and Money Gram all have appeared on such letters. The use of these logos gives the document an official appearance and often is effective in deceiving recipients.Several variations of this overpayment scam have surfaced in the past year, including one in which people advertise rental properties—particularly apartments and other kinds of residential units In these scams, the fraudster sends the renter an amount of money that exceeds the amount of rent due and instructs the renter to wire the difference to a third party. In a slightly different version of this scam, victims are led to believe that they have been hired by a company to receive payments on the company’s behalf and to redistribute funds via wire transfers to other people affiliated with the company (e.g., employees, clients, contact persons, etc.). Here, the same sequence of financial transactions is present, only the hook is not an overpayment; it is the job description itself that requires victims to receive and redistribute money.
Pet Scams
Pet scams can target either buyers or sellers. In pet scams targeting buyers, fraudsters advertise pets for sale in online (or hard copy) publications and agree to sell to buyers. Buyers, in turn, send payment to the fraudsters, often covering delivery costs as well. Then, having parted with their money, the buyers wait for their pets to be delivered; but the pets never arrive.When pet scams target sellers, the fraudster agrees to buy the pet and sends the seller a bad check (or some other illicit payment instrument) for an amount that exceeds the asking price. When asked about the overpayment, the fraudster explains that the extra money is intended for another person who will be receiving and temporarily caring for the pet. The fraudster then instructs the seller to deposit the check and wire the difference immediately to this other person. If the scam is successful, the seller wires money to the fraudster, and the fraudster makes off with the cash before the bank returns the initial payment as invalid, at which point the seller absorbs the financial loss.
Secret Shopper and Funds Transfer Scams
Another kind of scam involving the use of bad checks is the secret shopper scam. In this scam, victims are led to believe that they have been hired to shop or dine out and to submit evaluations of their consumer experiences. A sequence of financial transactions, similar to the one characterizing seller-targeted pet scams, then follows: Victims receive bad checks, are instructed to deposit them, and then are asked to wire a percentage of the money to a third party, while using the rest of the money to complete their assignments. As in the seller-targeted pet scams, this scam is successful when the fraudster is able to convert the victim’s wire transfer into cash before the bank realizes that the initial payment is counterfeit.In order to give the secret shopper scam the appearance of a legitimate employment opportunity, many fraudsters commit another crime: they misappropriate brand logos and place them on letters or in e-mails containing instructions for “new hires,” thus violating U.S. copyright law. For instance, the logos of Wal-Mart, FedEx, Target, McDonalds, Gap, Pepsi, Kmart, and Money Gram all have appeared on such letters. The use of these logos gives the document an official appearance and often is effective in deceiving recipients.Several variations of this overpayment scam have surfaced in the past year, including one in which people advertise rental properties—particularly apartments and other kinds of residential units In these scams, the fraudster sends the renter an amount of money that exceeds the amount of rent due and instructs the renter to wire the difference to a third party. In a slightly different version of this scam, victims are led to believe that they have been hired by a company to receive payments on the company’s behalf and to redistribute funds via wire transfers to other people affiliated with the company (e.g., employees, clients, contact persons, etc.). Here, the same sequence of financial transactions is present, only the hook is not an overpayment; it is the job description itself that requires victims to receive and redistribute money.
Pet Scams
Pet scams can target either buyers or sellers. In pet scams targeting buyers, fraudsters advertise pets for sale in online (or hard copy) publications and agree to sell to buyers. Buyers, in turn, send payment to the fraudsters, often covering delivery costs as well. Then, having parted with their money, the buyers wait for their pets to be delivered; but the pets never arrive.When pet scams target sellers, the fraudster agrees to buy the pet and sends the seller a bad check (or some other illicit payment instrument) for an amount that exceeds the asking price. When asked about the overpayment, the fraudster explains that the extra money is intended for another person who will be receiving and temporarily caring for the pet. The fraudster then instructs the seller to deposit the check and wire the difference immediately to this other person. If the scam is successful, the seller wires money to the fraudster, and the fraudster makes off with the cash before the bank returns the initial payment as invalid, at which point the seller absorbs the financial loss.
Link to entire report...http://www.ic3.gov/media/annualreports.aspx
please be careful.
Steven
Steven
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