I was applying to jobs for which I seemed qualified that were part-time and clerical/administratively-oriented, in an attempt to get out of retail hell. My standard application - a response to a craigslist ad - included a brief cover letter explaining that I am a graduate student seeking part-time employment and my attached resume (which, as all resumes do, has my phone number and address). I received a few responses (even 2 interviews) and this very interesting email:
From: assignments@evaluationsservice.com
Sent: January 29
We get hired to go to other peoples companies and act like customers in order to know how the staffs are handling their services in relation to their customers. Once we have a contract to do so, you would be directed to the company or outlet, and you would be given the funds you need to do the job(either purchase products or required services), after which you would write a comment on the staffs activities and give a detailed record of your experience.
Most companies employ our assistance when people give complains about their services, or when they feel there are needs for them to improve their customer service. your Identity would be kept confidential stored in our data as the job state (secret customer) you would be paid $200 for every duty you carry out, and bonus on your transportation allowance, and funds would be given to you as well as compensation when necessary, if you have to dine as part of the duty Your job will be to evaluate and comment on customer service in a wide variety of shops, stores, restaurant and services in your area.
You will write a report about the customer services, you will send your report back to us via Email, you will have to use the following pointers to prepare your report as listed below:
1) How long it took you to get services.
2) Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet
3) Smartness of the attendant
4) Customer service professionalism
5) Reaction of personnel under pressure
6) Information that you think would be helpful
7) Your comments and impressions.
No commitment is made on this job, and you would have flexible hours as it suits you. If you are interested, do send in these information:
FULL NAME:
CONTACT ADDRESS (Not P.O.Box):
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP-CODE:
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
MOBILE NUMBER:
AGE:
OCCUPATION:
EMAIL:
So we can look at your distance from the locations which you have to put your service into, and your address would also be needed for your payments.
Yours Sincerely
Walter Collins
*****
*****
There are no alternations to that email. Besides the fact that there is no greeting, the entire thing sounds sketchy. But... since they weren't asking for any information that wasn't already on my resume, besides my age, I figured I'd bite.
I responded with this sentence opening my email: "I am interested, though I have heard mixed things about "mystery shopper" companies."
I received this in response:
From: assignments@evaluationsservice.com
Sent: February 18
Hello ,
Sorry for the late response, you have been Accepted as one of our Conducting Agent. You will be evaluating MoneyGram which is at Wal-Mart Stores in your neighborhood, kindly check out for one Wal-Mart store you will like to evaluate , make sure the store you will chose is close to your area as much as possible, you will have to send the name and address of the walmart, Please note that you are to act Cool, Calm and Confident through out the period which you will be carrying out your survey at the store, in order not to arouse any suspicion. you will be shopping at Wal-Mart stores and also make a transaction at MoneyGram which is at Wal-Mart as well , you will write a report about the customer services , you will send your report back to us via Email, you will have to use the following pointers to prepare your report :
1) How long it took you to get services.
2)Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet
3) Smartness of the attendant
4)Customer service professionalism
5)Reaction of personnel under pressure
6)Information that you think would be helpful
7)Your comments and impre ssions.
Payments will be mailed out to you, which you will expend in carrying out all that will be required of you including your compensation and Transportation fee. All Other Instructions will be sent out to you as soon as Evaluation commences.
Please reply this Email and give us the name and address of the Wal-mart you will be evaluating so that we can mail out the payment as soon as possible.
Thank you
Walter Collins
*****
*****
An even sketchier-sounding email... and the fact that they wanted me to evaluate a Wal-Mart was sketchiest of all. This blog is mostly devoted to the fact that I live in NYC, and if you follow the Wal-Mart happenings, you know that they have tried to open a location here but never succeeded. So... there's not one here. Since I had to respond with a Wal-Mart location, I did... the Wal-Mart from hometown, a small town in Texas. I didn't write anything in the email beside the address.
I received this response:
From: assignments@evaluationsservice.com
Sent: February 27
Top of the days to you. The Pay check for your first MoneyGram evaluation assignment as been mailed and it will be delivered to you today via Fedex. .. . The Tracking No. for the package is ( 802276620952 ) you can confirm it at www . fedex . com to make sure..
So, once you got the check I want you to go ahead deposit the check at your bank so that the fund can be released to you within 24hrs as the issuer bank instructed, then deduct your payment which is $200 Please remember that you are to act Cool, Calm and Confident throughout the period in which you will be carrying out the survey... You will proceed to any Wal-mart store in your Neighborhood and send Funds to another Secret Customer via MoneyGram In order not to arouse any suspicion. After which you will write a report and send back to us via Email using the following pointers:
1) How long it took you to get services.
2) Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet
3) Smartness of the attendant
4) Customer service professionalism
5) Reaction of personnel under pressure
6) Information that you think would be helpful
7) Your comments and impressions.
8) The address and location of the outlet you evaluate
Here is the information for the new secret customer you are to send
the money to:
Thomas Yrlas
1700 Washington Ave
Port Huron, MI 48060
Once you completed the assignment you need to get back to me with the MoneyGram details such as;
Sender Name and Address
Amount sent (After deducting Transfer Charges)
Reference Number (Money transfer Code)
Detailed Survey Report in English
*Notice : You are to take cash to the MoneyGram
*Notice : You must make sure you complete this first assignment asap, this can be done after 2hr you received the check.
*Notice : You are to deduct any charges for the wiring MoneyGram from the rest money you're sending .
I will be looking forward to read from you soon .
Thanks
*****
*****
How funny that the English gets worse as the emails progress. The tracking number is not a FedEx number, by the way - not enough digits, I believe. And did I mention that the Wal-Mart address I sent him was in Texas? I didn't respond to this email, and I thought that would be the end of the whole thing.
Then, I received a text from (872) 216-6879. This is transcribed verbatim:
Good morning Walter Collins i'm contacting you concerning the wal-mart assignment. The check for your first assignment has been delivered to your address and i have also emailed you with the instruction, kindly check because the assignment need to be carried out today
That's odd. I replied with, "Do not text me. This is spam."
The response? "This not spam"
So I responded (I learned this line from a manager in my past, who used it on callers with non-American accents): "Your number has been blocked. If I received any more attempted texts from this number, I will be reporting it to the authorities to begin an investigation. Do not contact me."
I did not receive any more texts or email.
And, for the record, I had not received anything from FedEx. In case you're not familiar with this particular scam, that's how it works. They say they've FedEx'd you a package and that you MUST carry out the assignment TODAY, even if you haven't received the money. So, if you fall for it, you transfer the $200 and then you never get reimbursed.
I hope this helps any potential scammed people out there. If you're doing a search for (872) 216-6879, Walter Collins, or assignments@evaluationsservice.com, please know that they are associated with the MoneyGram scam.
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