The "MSPA Network Solution System Mystery Shopper" unsolicited email message below, which claims the recipients can earn extra money by becoming an online mystery shopper, is just one of the many phishing email messages sent by cybercriminals or online scammers to trick their potential victims into sending them their personal information. Therefore, recipients of unsolicited email messages like the one below, which ask for personal information, are asked to delete them and not follow the instructions in them.
Sample of the "MSPA Network Solution System Mystery Shopper" Scam
From: 17890MS27@mcgill.ca
Date: January 12, 2018 at 9:55:04 AM CST
Subject: - JOB 2018 - MSPA NETWORK SOLUTION SYSTEM -
Reply-To: albaqarah@Caramail.fr
JOB-DESCRIPTIONS:
You will be assigned to visit a shop.
You need to pretend to be a normal potential (customer) who is looking for a particular service or product.
You will then finish an on-line questionnaire to share with us your customer experience.
REQUIREMENTS:
17 Years old or above.
Can read and write english.
No experience needed Like Shopping
JOBS_PAY :
You will get $500 / each assignment.
Most of the time you will only need to spend 22 minutes on the visit.
Please Provide me with The Following ;
1. Name :
2 Your Address"
3. Citys / State / Countrys :
4. Zip Code :
5. Phone :
6. Age : .
7. Gender :
8. E-Mail :
Thanks for the attention. We will soon provide more information to your email.
Best Regards,
Mrs.Anna Best
Official Recruitment
Copyright (c) 2018.
Scammers steal personal information from potential victims using bogus emails like the one above. Once they are in possession of their potential victims' personal information, the scammers will contact them and attempt to scam them or sell their information to other scammers.
Victims of these scams usually blame their banks, utility companies, ISPs or even the government, claiming they sold their information to the highest bidder, when in fact they were the ones who unknowingly gave the scammers their information when they fell for their phishing scams.
This is why online users are asked to be careful of messages which ask for personal information, especially the ones that promise quick money with little or no work. Scammers use the promise of quick money and get rich schemes to help lure potential victims into their traps.
Many of the mystery shopping scams that we have come across usually send potential victims fraudulent checks (cheque) and ask them to deposit them. The scammers will then ask the potential victims to take their share of the money from the fraudulent checks and send the balance to them. But, the checks will bounce and the potential victims will be responsible for paying the cost for processing the checks and paying back the money they have sent to the scammers; they may even get arrested.
Persons who have received the same checks are asked not to deposit them and report them to the police, and those who have already done so are asked to contact their banks immediately and let them know that they may have been a victim of the online mystery shopper scam.
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