Mystery/Secret Shopper Schemes

The IC3 has been alerted to an increase in employment schemes pertaining to mystery/secret shopper positions. Many retail and service corporations hire evaluators to perform secret or random checks on themselves or their competitors, and fraudsters are capitalizing on this employment opportunity.

Victims have reported to the IC3 they were contacted via e-mail and U.S. mail to apply to be a mystery shopper. Applicants are asked to send a resume and are purportedly subject to an extensive background check before being accepted as a mystery shopper. The employees are sent a check with instructions to shop at a specified retailer for a specific length of time and spend a specific amount on merchandise from the store. The employees receive instructions to take note of the store's environment, color, payment procedures, gift items, and shopping/carrier bags and report back to the employer. The second evaluation is the ease and accuracy of wiring money from the retail location. The money to be wired is also included in the check sent to the employee. The remaining balance is the employee's payment for the completion of the assignment. After merchandise is purchased and money is wired, the employees are advised by the bank the check cashed was counterfeit, and they are responsible for the money lost in addition to bank fees incurred.

In other versions of the scheme, applicants are requested to provide bank account information to have money directly deposited into their accounts. The fraudster then has acquired access to these victims' accounts and can withdraw money, which makes the applicant a victim of identity theft.

Tips

Here are some tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of employment schemes associated with mystery/secret shopping:

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Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
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Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
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Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders. Virus scan all attachments, if possible.
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Avoid filling out forms contained in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
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Always compare the link in the e-mail to the link you are actually directed to and determine if they match and will lead you to a legitimate site.
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There are legitimate mystery/secret shopper programs available. Research the legitimacy on companies hiring mystery shoppers. Legitimate companies will not charge an application fee and will accept applications online.
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No legitimate mystery/secret shopper program will send payment in advance and ask the employee to send a portion of it back.

Individuals who believe they have information pertaining to mystery/secret shopper schemes are encouraged to file a complaint at www.IC3.gov.

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We Need Your Help to Find Civil Rights Victims’ Next of Kin

After two-and-a-half years of exhaustive investigation into more than 100 civil rights-era cold cases, the FBI has announced the next phase of our Cold Case Initiative: we’re looking for the next-of-kin in 33 cases to let families know what happened to their loved ones and to possibly obtain additional investigative information.

So please look over this list, and if you’re a family member of one of the victims or think you may know the whereabouts of a family member, contact your local FBI office.

These cases—announced today in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by FBI Civil Rights Unit Chief Cynthia Deitle, along with cold case documentary filmmaker Keith Beauchamp—represent the last remaining investigations from our original list of 108 cold cases released in February 2007.

Special Agent Cynthia Dietle

We’ve done a tremendous amount of work since February 2007, locating victims’ families in 75 cases, enabling us to investigate and assess each one. “Our agents have worked tirelessly, reaching out to victims’ families and interviewing witnesses, along with police officers, prosecutors, and judges,” says Deitle. “They’ve combed through old police records, grand jury transcripts, and court transcripts to piece together a story that may have happened decades ago.

Because of our previous publicity efforts, Deitle adds, “We’ve also received tips and other help from the public, the media, academia, and our partners at organizations like the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the National Urban League.”

To date, three of our 108 cases have been referred for state prosecution. In other cases, there may be no charges filed because many involve:

* deceased suspects (47 percent of cases);
* individuals who were already tried in state court and can’t be prosecuted again in federal court because of double jeopardy;
* deceased witnesses and old evidence that’s been destroyed; or
Civil Rights-era funeral
The FBI will continue to probe civil rights-era cases.
Photo courtesy of Keith Beauchamp.
* deaths that weren’t racially-motivated homicides (19 percent).

However, several additional cold cases have been prosecuted federally in recent years, including the 1964 murders of Henry Dee and Charles Moore. And we’re pursuing leads in other cases, including the 1964 murder of Frank Morris.

Among the 36 victims whose families we’re currently looking for:

* Arthur James Hill: shot and killed in August 1965 in Villa Rica, Georgia during an altercation with a group of white men.
* Clarence Horatious Pickett: beaten to death by a police officer in December 1957 in a jail in Columbus, Georgia.
* Ann Thomas: sexually assaulted and shot four times in the head in April 1969 in San Antonio, Texas.
* William Lewis Moore: a postal worker and former U.S. Marine shot and killed in April 1963 near Attalla, Alabama while marching to deliver a letter to the governor of Mississippi urging the integration of the University of Mississippi.
* Ernest Jells: shot to death in October 1963 in Clarksville, Mississippi, by police after he allegedly pointed a rifle at officers attempting to arrest him for stealing a banana.

Once we officially close all 108 cases, we’ll continue to look into racially-motivated homicides from the civil rights era that come to our attention. Protecting the rights of all Americans—whether in 1959 or 2009—remains one of our top criminal investigative priorities.

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My Identity Has Been Stolen - What Should I Do?

/PRNewswire/ -- It could be as simple as an unexplained charge on your credit card statement or a debit from your checking account that you don't recall making or have a receipt for. Many victims of identity theft don't recognize small transactions as symptoms of a larger problem. In fact, many victims do not realize their identity has been stolen until months, or even years after the theft. The average victim of identity theft will spend close to 200 hours and $1,200 repairing damage done by an identity thief.

"Even one unexplained transaction on your account could be a sign of identity theft," said Suzanne Boas, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta (CCCS). "Quick action can minimize the impact and reduce the amount of time and money spent repairing the damage."

If you are the victim of identity theft, take the following steps:

Notify the Credit Bureaus

Contact the fraud departments of any of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file.

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Equifax: 1-888-766-0008; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

Once you call one credit bureau, they are required to notify the other two. Once you place the fraud alert on your file, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each. Request that only the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number appear on the report. Review the reports carefully, looking for inquiries from companies you haven't contacted, accounts you didn't open, and debts on your accounts that you can't explain.

Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently

If you suspect that your accounts have been tampered with or see new accounts that may have been opened fraudulently, close them immediately. Call and speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each company. Be sure to document each conversation, including dates, times and who you talked to. Keep copies of all supporting documents and if you send correspondence, do so by certified mail, return receipt requested.

When you open new accounts, use new passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs). Avoid easy to crack codes such as birth dates, phone numbers, your mother's maiden name or your house number.

Once you clear up your credit report, check them periodically to make sure no new activity has occurred.

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

By sharing your identity theft complaint with the FTC, you will provide important information that can help law enforcement officials across the nation track down identity thieves and stop them.

File a complaint with the FTC using the online complaint form (https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/); or through their toll free Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338). Be sure to call the Hotline to update your complaint if you have any additional information or problems.

File a Police Report

File a report with your local police department and get a copy. You may need to submit this report to creditors and others to prove the theft.

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