Category: Consumer Alerts

As discussed in earlier posts, we have received requests from would-be mystery shoppers asking that we validate the employment of Robert Preston, Micheal Thomforde, James Clayton, Paula Moore, Carlos Burnett, Chris Jordan and now Alexander Hopkins. None of these persons work for Confero. These are made-up names used in official-looking email messages from people trying to scam unsuspecting consumers. Sometimes, the scam emails have been spoofed to look like the message is from Confero and to hide the true origin of the email. Other times, the sender simply pastes the Confero name or website into his or her email message. Either way, these scammers are attempting to fool consumers into thinking they are dealing with Confero.

Persons interested in legitimate mystery shopping may visit the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) website for information about ethical, legitimate mystery shopping companies. Confero is a member of the MSPA. To register your interest to mystery shop for Confero,please visit the Shoppers’ Center tab above for complete details.

If you have fallen victim to this scam, or if you have been contacted by any of these scammers, please file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).. The FTC also offers information about mystery shopping and the Mystery Shopping Providers Association at
this link.

What can consumers do to steer clear of this?

1. Only sign up to mystery shop with reputable firms. All members of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association have agreed to honor a code of ethics.
2. Reputable firms are not likely to ask for your name, address and other contact info via email. Sign up with firms that offer a secure website for sign ups.

1. Never pay to be accepted as a shopper. Reputable firms pay YOU to mystery shop and charge you NOTHING to sign up.

As a reputable company with 24 years in business, we are always concerned about scams involving mystery shopping. An NBC Today Show segment discussed the mystery shopping scam that typically plays out like this: the consumer receives an unsolicited email from what looks to be a mystery shopping company. The consumer replies with personal information and accepts a “mystery shop” assignment from the bogus company. This consumer soon receives a certified check from the bogus mystery shopping company, along with an “assignment” to deposit the check and then send funds via Western Union or Moneygram to a person designated on the assignment. The idea is that Western Union or Moneygram are being “mystery shopped” and the mystery shopper can keep a portion of the check amount. Usually, the certified check amounts are $900-2000 with shoppers enticed into performing the shop by being allowed to keep anwhere from $300 to $900. Eventually, what happens is that the consumer is notified by his or her bank that the certified check was not good. The full amount of the check is then charged back to the consumer’s checking account.

If you have fallen victim to this scam, or if you have been contacted by any of these scammers, please file a complaint with the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

We have recently received requests asking that we validate the employment of Robert Preston, Micheal Thomforde, James Clayton, Paula Moore, Carlos Burnett and now Chris Jordan.

None of these persons work for Confero. This is a scam.

They are offering the chance to perform Western Union shops where shoppers receive money orders in excess of $800. The shopper is then asked to try to send the check to someone, while retaining $200 for their time involved in conducting the shop and answering a survey. The money orders prove to be forged and the shopper is personally responsible for covering the amount of the checks. Previously, they had sent emails from Gmail or hotmail accounts. More recently, they have begun to send emails that appear to be from Confero using frontdesk@conferoinc.com or info@conferoemployment.us in the From line of the email. When shoppers attempt to reply, a Gmail address appears.

Please do not give any personal information to anyone via email. You may register through a secure server on our website if you wish to become a shopper with Confero. Please forward any correspondence you receive from anyone claiming to be a recruiter with Confero to us at info@conferoinc.com. Thank you for assisting us as we try to identify and stop these people. This scam is being run using the good names of multiple mystery shopping companies. Almost all of the emails share a similar format.

Confero is a Charter member of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), which urges consumers who receive these offers to file a report by contacting the following:

Cary, NC — October 20, 2008 — We have recently received requests from people asking that we validate the employment of Robert Preston, Micheal Thomforde, James Clayton, and Paula Moore with Confero. None of these persons work for Confero. They are offering the chance to perform Western Union shops where shoppers receive money orders in excess of $800.

Cary, NC — September 30. 2008 — The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA), the largest professional trade association dedicated to improving service quality using anonymous resources, wants to warn consumers of a new version of a check cashing scam. In the past, the scam used a fake cashier’s check to take thousands of dollars from consumers. Recently, consumers have received what appears to be a regular check from a legitimate mystery shopping company, but the check is actually forged. The name of a real company usually appears on the check as well as real account information. The forgery of the check is discovered a few days after it is deposited, and the consumer is held responsible for the entire amount of the check. For more information, please MSPA website.