Fake check scheme victimizes family and business con targets real company to commit fraud

INDIANAPOLIS -- Mystery shoppers are real. There are companies that offer people the opportunity to check on the quality of customer service of businesses around the country.

Joseph Kragowski had worked previously as a mystery shopper,  and he thought nothing of an e-mail offer to do it again. The Fishers man spent the past two weeks talking to his bank after being conned. He deposited a check that was a fake from a person that was using the name of Market Force which is a real company

This kind of scheme is known as spoofing. The hijacking of a real business name to commit an act of fraud.

The real Market Force has been in business for nearly 40 years with an  A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. The person who sent Joseph the letter also stole the identity of Dan Weil and made it appear as if Dan was involved in this situation when that is not the case.

Weil and Market Force have nothing to do with the scheme.

The real Market Force has reached out to Kragowski offering to "fully comply with any law enforcement efforts to identify the scammer and bring him/her to justice." He received a call from his bank's consumer advocate division which will be reviewing his case. Kragowski also expressed his appreciation to Market Force for reaching out twice this week.

The company's website has detailed information warning people about this scam and how not to become a victim.

Here's that information from MarketForce:

WARNING ABOUT MYSTERY SHOPPING SCAMS

What to look out for and how to get help - don't be a victim of a scam

In the last several months we have been seeing increased activity among scammers attempting to take your money and as a trusted mystery shopping provider, Market Force wants you to know that we're here to help. If you believe you have been approached by a fraudulent mystery shop company, we suggest you contact one or all of the following:

• Your local police department. Ask for the Cyber Crimes department or an investigator.
• The FBI. See FBI Complaints
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices. To file a complaint, visit FTC Contact, call 1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to Federal Trade Commission, CRC-240, Washington, DC 20580.
• E-mail service provider of the person contacting you such as AOL, Google, Yahoo, etc., visit their 'Contact Us' page to file a complaint. Remember to provide accurate information about the person or persons perpetuating the fraud so that the authorities can assist you in stopping this activity.

If you're concerned that you've been contacted by a scammer impersonating Market Force you should also email our helpdesk at helpdesk@marketforce.com with as much information as possible, so that we can record each occurrence as well. Attaching scanned images of any checks or letters you receive is also very helpful. We've found that some scammers are:

• Using Market Force Information logo
• Pretending to be a Market Force employee (and using a real Market Force employee name)
• Taking text from our website to present a professional look and feel

These individuals or groups want to take your money and will go to extreme measures to trick you into believing that they are a legitimate business.

Here are some of the clues that will help you identify the contact as a scam:

• You are sent 'money' in the form of a check in advance of your performing a shop. These checks are not good and your bank will then look for you to make good on the deposit. Market Force Information does not pay shoppers in advance of a shop.
• You are asked to pay money to become a shopper. Legitimate mystery shopping firms never ask for money from a shopper. See the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA)
• The email address does not use a legitimate Market Force Information email name, which will always be in the form of  name@marketforce.com. If the person contacting you has an AOL or Gmail or similar non-corporate email address, it is not from a legitimate mystery shopping company. Remember, if the email is from a real person employed by Market Force, our name Market Force will appear after the @, not before.
• The regular mail has a letter with a legitimate return address but the postmark is not from the same area, it is likely a scam. Almost all of our correspondence with shoppers will be by email (our corporate email address;     name@marketforce.com); but in any case, when the postmark does not match with the return address, be suspicious!
• If the caller has a foreign accent but his or her given name does not sound foreign, be suspicious. Many of these scams are undertaken by groups calling from foreign countries, such as India, Jamaica, Russia and the like; they use voice over Internet (VOIP) services like Magic Jack and Skype to look like they are calling from a U.S. area code.  
• Offer includes a high payment amount for a relatively easy assignment. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is! Beware of a large check that you are to deposit into your account, send most of the money to the sender, and you keep the balance as your fee.
• The offer does not require you to enroll as a mystery shopper with Market Force. We require all individuals who wish to mystery shop with us to apply at Apply Market Force and wait for approval before we allow you to select shops for us. If the offer does not require your application, it is not from us.
• You were contacted through text or SMS (other than through our Eyes:On™ app) Market Force Information does not communicate with its shoppers through text or SMS. We do have a mobile phone app through which we communicate, but that app is tightly controlled and Market Force Information does not communicate with its shoppers through text or SMS.