RegentResearch Customer Service Evaluator -Scam?

I applied for a job last week because my job coach encouraged me to when the job site said it was approved by the Better Business Bureau. I tend to be more suspicious than my job coach because I deal with only spam on forums on the side while I was unemployed.

So I had applied last week. I got a real job yesterday but today I finally got the letter in the mail from Regent Research with a money order for $1500 CDN and a letter explaining my job.

This is what the letter said (with my name taken out and replaced by *** for my own privacy sake):

CONGRATULATIONS! With reference to your application as a mystery shopper, I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to become one of our representatives in your region.

Please be informed that there is one probationer training assignment that you are required to complete within 48 hrs. This training assignment takes about 30mins to complete and is a PAID training. Training pay rate remains $150 per day. The aim of this training assignment is for you to familiarize yourself with the practical feel of what investigative shopping entails. Please note that enclosed is a MONEY ORDER in the amount of CDN$1500.

This assignment has been put together to be completed at any Canada Post Outlet. The objective of this assignment will be to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of a payment system called "MoneyGram" which is available at any Canada Post Store or Outlet.

You are required to cash the enclosed MONEY ORDER at your local bank or financial institution, take the cash, minus your fee(s) and do the following:

You will post as a potential customer sending a MoneyGram payment to *** (made up first name with my last name), a "supposed" relative of yours in Bow, London, U.K. The funds needed to complete this assignment has been arranged and enclosed with this letter.For our verification of assignment completion, please call the number above and also e-mail our office at [email protected] to provide the MoneyGram Reference Code immediately after completion.

Below is the breakdown of the attached fund"

Amount Sent --------------------------------------$1500.00
1 day Evaluation training pay ---------------- -$ 150.00
Service Charge by Money Gram ----------------$ 50.00
Required fund to be sent ----------------------$1300.00

In the precess of this evaluation assignment, please take note of the quality of service in order to be able to fill out the fair and unbiased opinion on the Customer Service Evaluation Took (CSET) form enclosed with this letter. The CSET form should be faxed back to our office after the completion of your assignment.

Also attached is a copy of the weekly time schedule request which will need to be filled out and faxed back to our office so that we may know your available hours for the upcoming week.

HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!!

Sincerely,

Andrew Jackson
Programme Coordinator
Office Hours: 9.00am to 7.00 pm (Monday to Friday), Saturday: 10.00am to 4.00pm. (EST)

P.S: Due to the nature of this assignment, the Receiver's Name, City, Province/State and Country is all the information needed to have the assignment completed.

I got this in the mail after applying for the job online so I don't have an IP.

So, do you know if this is a scam or not?

Pure, unadulterated scam. The check is fake. Your bank is required to make the funds available quickly, but when it eventually bounces you'll be liable for the full amount.

Here is a link that explains these Mystery Shopper Scams in detail.

Pure, unadulterated scam. The check is fake. Your bank is required to make the funds available quickly, but when it eventually bounces you'll be liable for the full amount.

Here is a link that explains these Mystery Shopper Scams in detail.

Thank you I scanned that post earlier but didn't read it in its entirety as I didn't think it had to deal with the job scam (Mystery Shopper) but I read it now and I see what you mean. I am realizing more and more that it is definitely a scam .. but what do I do about it now? I have the letter in front of me (no sender on the envelop but since the envelop stuck to the letter the envelop was ripped when I opened it so I threw it out. So all I have to go on is the address on the letter itself and the name and company on it and the money order in my name for $1500.

Should I ask to speak to a manager at my bank about this and let them deal with it?

What are the proper steps as this job was advertised in my city where there has been a LOT of job losses over the last 6 months. I feel that potentially others could also be falling for this scam in my city. I didn't (after seeing the letter and money order) but I want to make sure that my city knows to look out for this fraud.

Thank you.

The most important and obvious thing to do is to not attempt to cash the check.... Beyond that, mark the check in bold letters with the word "FAKE" so that it's clear you have no intention of passing a counterfeit.

You can take it to your local police but I'm sorry to say there's not much they can do. These fake check gangs are very organized, very wily, and also very anonymous. Actually building a case against them is a major challenge. It has been done on occasion but those arrests barely skim the surface.

What you can do is spread the word. Tell your friends about it. Show them the fake check and warn them about these scams. If you are involved in any groups see if you can give a public presentation. Pass copies of the letter and check along to your local newspaper.

Education is ultimately the only defense. The more people are aware of these scams the harder it will be for thieves to steal from people with these insidious scams.

Thank you for all the great advice! I watched on YouTube last night 5 or 6 USA news videos and realized that in 2009 this was a huge thing and the money was always asked to be sent to another country (for Americans it was to send to Canada). Since I am in Canada mine says to send to the UK.

I will be making a YouTube video, calling my local news paper, as well as my local TV station (I live right on the American border so there is only one local Canadian TV station for my city but it will have to do). I also have a Facebook that I hardly use but that should reach a few people (even though not sure locally with that one).

I guess I could also email a bunch of people but I do not want to spam anyone. I also am a member on many forums, 2 I admin on and 4 I moderate, so I could also spread the word that way.

Also since it was me first clicking on a job alert that said about this job, I started watching reports on scams with job searches and realized that some of my resumes posted on job boards could lead to identity theft so I did a search for my name seeing if any where visible but I guess I will have to log into each of the job searches and check one by one. How often does that happen (even though not quite related to this scam)?

Since I am in Canada mine says to send to the UK.

That doesn't mean much. Western Union and Moneygram payments can be and are picked up anywhere in the world (such as West Africa) without the need to show any ID. Security is lax, and the WU agent may even get a cut for looking the other way.

It was in my city's paper and turned out that 2 people fell for the scam while 30 others reported it. I ended up getting a SECOND LETTER since I never followed through with the first or contacting them as the letter says to. So they assumed (I guess) that I never got the first and sent a 2nd. This time instead of a Money Order they sent a Cheque. I found it funny, did the YouTube video and started showing and telling people about it like you said to. I also wrote FAKE on my name on the MO and the Chq incase I lost it by bringing it out of my home and showing it to people. The Sargent's name in the newspaper,.. I was thinking of bringing these to him. Just so he can see there are more out there. Even though I know it won't do any good (but I didn't lose any money anyway).

I did some research and after reported on it as well as many others, their site was finally shut down March 5th 2010. According to the local paper there was also another one as well going at the same time with the same type of scam. I forget the name off hand but it was written in the article.

I hope that your job coach now knows it's a scam.

I hope that your job coach now knows it's a scam.

Yeah now she does now but when she first found out she didn't even contact me to tell me not to do what the letter says even though she knew I applied as she told me to! Some job coach .. I expected more of a reaction or at least an apology as she had this attitude when I said I didn't want to apply as if I was just making excuses and didn't want to work.