"We had a deal!"
The Mystery Shopper saga continues, with the walls closing in. Sure, the whole thing seemed like a scam, what with ol’ Ginger Prior instructing me to take a $4800 cashier’s check and deposit in my bank and then — after keeping $400 for myself (so generous) — I was to take the remaining $4400 to a MoneyGram store (any MoneyGram store, incidentally, whichever one was closest, thereby seemingly negating the focused critique of the Mystery Shopping evaluation [unless, of course, MoneyGram is investigating problems with *every single location in their franchise*]) and send the $4400 to a certain “Retta Hutchins” in Gallopolis, Ohio.
from sea to shining sea
Well, this seemed to have SCAM written all over it, especially with the check arriving in an envelope with a chicken-scratched return address of a company that seems to no longer exist (and also one that is not called anything even close to “Mystery Shoppers”). The envelope was apparently sent from Michigan, the check was from Texas, the money was to go to someone in Ohio. So very scammy. I laughed at the audacity of the scam and went on with my life.
Then my phone rang. From a blocked number.
Can you hear me now?
Well, I’m curious by nature and have also been applying to a shitload of jobs and chasing down some freelance stories, so I answered. That’s when a man with heavy accent explained that he was none other than Bill Johns, the man whose chicken-scratched name adorns the Mystery Shoppers/General Dynamic Systems/University Federal Credit Union cashier’s check. Now the creepiness of the scammer(s) writing out my name and address is compounded by the fact I’m actually talking to the motherfucker.
"so... what are you wearing?"
He wants to know why I haven’t cashed the check yet (not why I haven’t sent in my report). I want to know who General Dynamic Systems is. He’s evasive. I insist. He asks, “Oh, is that the name on the check?” I explain, no, that’s the name on the envelope; there’s a different name on the check. So who is General Dynamic Systems? He asks me to take out my earpiece (for some reason; I am not wearing an earpiece). I thought maybe I had accidentally pressed the speaker phone button, so I take the phone away from my ear and glance at it, but everything seems to be in place. When I return the phone to my ear, the line is dead. Oh, well, I guess I called his bluff, I figure.
But then shortly after, I receive this email:
Subject: Re: Mystery Shopper Evaluation
From: Ginger Prior (Add as Preferred Sender) ?
Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2009 4:35 pm
To: perry@perrycrowe.com
Hello Perry Crowe,
The payment issued out to was to be delivered via ups with the tracking number (j2291781876),amount $4800 and i have sent you the information and details on how to go about the task , so do get back to me with the report as requested i will be waiting to read from you soonest.
Regards
Ginger Prior
Which is almost immediately followed by this email:
Subject: Instructions Mail Once Again
From: Ginger Prior (Add as Preferred Sender) ?
Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2009 4:35 pm
To: perry@perrycrowe.com
Perry Crowe,
payment for the evaluation of Money Gram services has been mailed out and will be delivered via UPS today. You are to cash the Check of $4,800 at your bank and head to any MoneyGram location in your area. You are expected to Evaluate any MoneyGram Location in your
area and send your report immediately.
HOW TO CARRY OUT THE TASK
After cashing the payment you will deduct your $400 commission, after which you will be left with $4,400 , You are now expected to head to
your location with $4,400. MoneyGram will charge you about $150 for the transfer. We expect you to bargain with the operator concerning
the charges to see if it can be reduced or not . After all deductions you are expected to transfer about $4,250. The funds should be sent to
Gallopolis, OH. the name of our Receiving agent in Ohio is below
Name : RETTA HUTCHINS
Address : 815 3rd ave
City : Gallopolis
State : Ohio
Zipcode : 45631
"come on... take it!"
I figure the email is just sort of a last resort, like, well, explaining things over the phone isn’t working, so we’ll pretend there were some technical difficulties and then just re-send the emails and hope he goes for it. Naturally I just ignored the emails.
Then, holy shit, my phone rings today, this time from Georgia, from 678-932-8667 no less. I pick it up and, right off the bat, this guy — again with a thick as molasses accent (Latino? Arabic?) — is on a first name basis with me: Perry? Yes. This is Ginger Prior from Mystery Shoppers.
Ginger?!?!
Ginger is man? Yes, Ginger Prior is a man. Can “Ginger” be a man’s name? Maybe in Tenochtitlan, or Abu Dhabi. I start to feel bad, thinking of the incessant teasing he must’ve gotten in the school system. I also feel bad because, well, this scam is coming apart at the seams but this guy is holding fast.
The connection is really bad and the accent is really thick, so I literally can’t understand a lot of what Ginger is saying, but the gist, as expected, is why I haven’t cashed the check yet. I again inquire about General Dynamic Systems. His answer is a little evasive, but he manages to say something about GDS being a “client” in Michigan (which still doesn’t explain why the check is from Texas [and it also doesn't explain why GDS is listed as "closed" in a google search]). I begin to lecture the guy about how asking someone to deposit a large check into their bank account and then use that money to wire funds to an unknown party is, frankly, asking a lot, especially when none of the received documentation contains anything bearing the name of the company you were supposedly doing business with in the first place. Still, Ginger insists that all these concerns are nullified by the fact that the emails explained how this was all going to go down, the part about the fat check and the bank deposit and the money transfer. Using similar logic to a certain writing contest, Ginger seems to think that if you explain how you are going to fuck someone over, the fuckee has no recourse. All in all, if someone insists on thoroughly explaining something to you, and money is involved, they are almost certainly preparing to do you dirt.
Well, the connection was really bad, and Ginger was unyielding (even while being almost impossible to understand), so I offered to send the check back and when Ginger didn’t seem interested in that, I dropped a few hints about how suspicious this whole thing was and how maybe I should report it to someone and then insisted that “it wasn’t going to happen” and hung up.
Will that be the end of it? I would say yes, but Ginger has already surprised me on a few occasions.
"Why haven't you cashed the check yet?"
Tags: 678-932-8667, bill johns, desperation, general dynamic systems, ginger prior, internet scam, mystery shoppers, scam, unyielding
OMG Perry! This is some fucked up shit! I’m nervous for you yet enjoying the saga immensely. Is that wrong? I’m sorry if it is. I hope you stay safe!
I don’t think it’s wrong. I’m a little nervous for me too. I feel like there could be some kind of identity theft reprisal from Ginger, but at the same time, I’m not sure s/he’s technologically savvy to pull it off. And I take some comfort in having physical evidence (check, envelope, phone number). Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.
I wish s/he would just accept you mailing the check back but that would probably hinder the laundering plan. But they can always claim it was lost and it shouldn’t cost them too much money. And it’s pretty cheap now to get credit report monitoring just to keep an eye out. Hopefully the story ends here (although I really did enjoy the storytelling!)
this is amazing! i hope you don’t get chased down by four blonde brothers.
Hi Perry,
Thanks for blogging about this. I just received an email from “Walmart” which looked legit and I shop there all the time so I figured they had my info for being a long time customer. Well I received the below email from them and did a web search for the phone no. (since they weren’t in Better Business Bureau) and came on your site! Definitely not going to reply! Thanks!!!
From: WAL MART [mailto:rebrandingmanager@walmart.com]
Sent: Wed 12/9/2009 10:13 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: ******* WALMART NEEDS SECRET SHOPPERS ******
Hello,
One of America’s largest, discount department outlet is re-branding.The Retail Industry is a competitive world, with each retailer vying for the attention of consumers in an increasingly cluttered market. We do not want to rely on proprietary data collection processes and technology alone, we need appraisers to collect specific data about their experience and opinion when they visit this retail outlet, in a time efficient and cost effective manner.
Closed Book Consumer is a tool used by market research companies to measure quality of retail service or gather specific information about products and services. Your ability to pose as normal customers perform specific tasks—such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or behaving in a certain way – and then provide precise feedback about your exploit .
The purpose of Mystery Shoppers is to help businesses increase sales and improve employee customer service awareness. We provide businesses with more information than other mystery shopping companies through the use of questionnaires and detailed narratives. Once we have a contract to do so, you will be directed to the company or outlet and you will be given funds to either purchase things or require services, after which you would write a comment on the staffs activities and give a detailed report of your experience.Some of the common details and information points shoppers:
* the date and time of the visit
* the name of the store
* number of employees in the store on entering
* how long it takes before the mystery shopper is greeted
* the name of the employee(s)
* whether or not the greeting is friendly
* the questions asked by the shopper to find a suitable product
* the questions asked by the employee(s)
* the types of products shown
* whether the employee invited the shopper to come back to the store
* cleanliness of store and store associates
* speed of service
* compliance with company standards relating to service, store appearance, and grooming/presentation
After this, we turn the information over to the company executives and they would carry out their own duties in improving there services.
Recruitment: Initially, we will add you to our database of Mystery Shoppers. Then, when we need someone in your area who matches your profile, we’ll give you a call and describe the project to see if you are interested.Sometimes we will arrange for a mini-interview on phone
Send your application and attach your resume. Include the Details below, so we can add you to our database.(Payment will be sent to your address)
Full Names :
Address : (NO PO BOX )
City :
State :
Zip Code :
Phone number :
Present Occupation :
Immediately this is done we will give a phone call or send an email to let you know your placement with our company.
Warren Robinson
rebrandingmanager7@walmartrecruiting.com
678-932-8667
Hey! So I just did something like that from walmart. How did it work out with you? They didnt put the apartment number i was supposed to send it to. I dont know what to do.
Hi, Stephanie. These things are total scams. I had another post about the thing here and here. Basically they are trying to screw you, make you deposit a bogus check in your account then send them money from that check, which basically means you’ll bounce the check as well as being out the money you had sent to these people. So just ignore them. Don’t give them any personal info, specifically your social security number or bank accounts or anything. I gave them my address, which seems sorta questionable, but my identity does not seem to have been stolen yet (knock wood). They harassed me for a bit but then I got sorta firm with them and more specifically ignored them and now I haven’t heard from them for six months or something. Just don’t give in to them!
Thanks! Luckily I am only out like 300 bucks or so but in the long run I spent it. I got money orders though. But they keep calling me. They put the wrong apt. number so the money orders are coming back to me and want me to send cash out and I am not doing that I am using it for the counterfeit money orders. So if you just ignore them they go away? I also filed a report with the police and gave them everything. I am kinda scared about all of this. Ya they have my address too. I hope it all works out.
Stephanie, I’m sorry to hear you’re out 300 bucks. Is there any way you can cash in the money order yourself? But if you’ve contacted the police, that’s a good move. There’s really not much these scammers can do, I don’t think. They best they can hope for is to trick people into sending them money. If you don’t send them anything, they can’t really do anything to you (it doesn’t seem). I mean, these are not the sharpest con-men around. They gave you the wrong apartment number to send the money order to? I mean, that is just sloppy. They’re giving scammers a bad name.