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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Fred Mba" (may be fake)
Reply-To: <fred.mba001@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2011 10:19:13 -0500
Subject: SECRET SHOPPER($600 WEEKLY)

Hello,

We are a company that conduct surveys and evaluate other companies. 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.

We all shop, and many of us enjoy shopping. But very rarely does opportunity
present itself to do what we enjoy doing and getting paid for doing it. Imagine
earning extra income just for going shopping and filling out a questionnaire!

Mystery shopping is basically a form of market research. You are asked to gather
information, from a customer's perspective. Often times, this is done without
the knowledge of the personnel where the shop is taking place. As a mystery
shopper, you may therefore be asked to do some acting. This is not to deceive
anyone but rather to assure that the information being gathered is
representative.

The first thing to remember is that we are on the side of the client. You are
not hired to catch anyone "in the act" or trap the employee. Rather, it is your
job to answer specific questions in an unbiased and constructive way.

Confidentiality is also very important. In most cases, the establishment is not
to know that a mystery shop is taking place. Additionally, the questionnaires
may be protected by copyrights. Often, the employee evaluated will be informed
of the results of your evaluation later and may even be allowed to read your
comments. But this is for management to determine.

The information most often requested by management concerns employee to customer
relations, employee performance, product quality or presentation of the
establishment including cleanliness and convenience. This information helps
management to identify areas of strength and weakness so they can take steps to
correct the problem or potential problems before business is lost. The
information can also allow management to monitor the success of a program
designed to improve certain areas of concern. This can be a very advantageous
tool to management in the extremely competitive business environment of today.
Some companies will even inform employees that mystery shoppers will be visiting
them but the employees will not know who or when the shop will take place. It
may be considered a kind of report card and, as you can imagine, this can be a
very effective motivational tool.

As a mystery shopper, you may receive assignments in a variety of establishments
in your area. Most of them will be customer oriented retail establishments,
which include chain stores, specialty stores and restaurants. Normally, it is
the larger companies with many outlets and a central management office that use
mystery shoppers. Statistics show that by far, the most important factor in
competitiveness is customer service. Therefore, most of the information you will
be asked to gather will concern customer service.

Obviously, mystery shoppers should appear to be a typical customer to the
establishment. The mystery shoppers that consistently get new assignments,
however, are those who are punctual and reliable. Mystery shopping companies
want shoppers who also pay attention to detail and work well with others and
have an appreciation of good service. You will be given specific questions to
ask and perhaps specific products to shop for and/or purchase. You will be
expected to promptly complete the questionnaire, neatly and concisely, and
return it based on the instructions provided to you. Your job is not to be a
problem shopper for the establishment but to gather specific and representative
information.

Most of the time, the compensation for the assignment is established in advance
and paid after the questionnaire is returned. As a mystery shopper, you are not
an employee of the company that provides you an assignment--but rather an
independent contractor. As such, there is no employee benefits and no taxes will
be withheld from your pay. You are responsible for reporting your own income.
However, you may want to consult your tax advisor as some tax breaks may apply.

EARNINGS
Pay can range from $200 to $300 per job assignment, with an average of $100 per
assignment. Additionally there is a stipend for purchases. The number of
assignments per day vary but if you are assertive in seeking work-and work for
several mystery shopping companies-you could garner up to 20 assignments per
month. While most mystery shoppers consider this a part time or "hobby" job, if
you approach the work as a full-time job, you can earn $4,000 to $5,000 per
month.


Your job will be to evaluate and comment on customer service in a wide variety
of shops, stores, restaurant and services in your area.
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:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
MOBILE NUMBER:
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 need for your payments.
Great Pay** Fun Work** Flexible Schedules**No experience required.If you can
shop-you are qualified!
No start off fees is required
Must be above 18years old
Must be computer literate
Must be very honest and committed
pls note that this is a part time job


Fred Mba
Thanks
Recruitment officer
Mystery Shoppers World

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