I recently received a letter in the mail informing me that I have been selected to participate in a Mystery Shopper program from Godiva Monitoring and Research Group. The letter claimed that if I completed two specific shopping assignments as described, I would be potentially offered a permanent position with the company as a Mystery Shopper at a weekly pay of $400. Enclosed with the letter was a check in the amount of $3762 that was issued in my name through Wachovia back.
The first assignment involves spending $100 to shop for any products you like at any of the major stores like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Western Union, Sears, etc. You are instructed to complete a Customer Service Evaluation Tool about your experience at the store.
The second assignment instructs you to use Western Union or Moneygram to wire out $3022 to a specific person and complete a similar evaluation form about the service.
As a reward for your completed assignments, you get to keep $400. Wow, what a nice offer, especially with that $3762 check starring at you and telling you DEPOSIT ME there is nothing to worry about.
So what’s the catch? It is totally a scam. The check is a fake and so is the letter. This is nothing more but an elaborate fraud scheme to get you to wire out money from your bank while the fake check is processed. This can usually take a week or more. Once the check is rejected, you will find yourself $3022 short.
Please be careful when you get these kinds of letters. The first thing that made me suspicious was the envelope. It looked so unprofessional and had a post stamp from Canada. The second thing was the $3762 check ! No company will send you money to participate in anything without an established relationship.
For more information please see
http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm
This is an image of the check 
An image of the letter sent