I also received he same.  But I was aware of the scam.  I texted him and emailed him telling him that my bank told me it was fraudulent and that he could send me a debit card or certified bank cashiers check.  He then kept texting and emailing telling me that I needed to send my first assignment in.  I told him to send me some real money.  ha ha

James is at it again, new numbers 803-956-9031 or 316-531-0110.  I was sent a check for 2500.00 and was told to cash it and go shopping at Walmart and then to go to western union and be a secret shopper there and to mail the money. I ask James how do I claim my wages to the government he didn't understand. I came out and ask if this was a scam and was told no, yeah right. I ripe up the check!

So Glad I looked this up but sad at the same time. I could use that cash. But anyways I got the same thing. He texted me at first telling me to go to Wal-Mart and do the mystery shopping send him the email with my results and keep the $150. It was for an amount of $970 dollars. I already reported him for phishing with Gmail cause they caught on before I even did. He told me to deposit the rest of the money to Western Union but do not tell the cashier what I was doing automatically my boyfriend said its fake. I was about to jump up and cash that baby at a check cashing place so fast! Anyways everyone beware his email was walshopjames@gmail.com.
Phone number was 15095697495

What caught my attention was the fact that he said god bless at the end. God Bless him and hopefully someone catches him so that no innocence people that do not really have access to the internet on a daily basis are caught up in this business

I revived a letter the other day from a Krystal Curtis address 1810 E 25 th Oakland Ca 94606. Same thing was told to me a Postal Money Order of 975.00 and a letter trlling me to go to any Wal-Mart spend 50 keep 150 and then the rest to a Rudiger Molter Chicago Il 60655. Contacts they gave
James Giles
Gileswalshop@aol.com
Gileshopping@outlook.com
Phones number 510-488-3924
Text number 509-569-7495

These people need to be stoped not right to do this to people who really need the money! Hopeful someone can get them
Thanks and God bless to them cause they are gonna need when then are in JAIL

Just recieved a check sure glad I looked this up. Just seemed to good to be true and it was. Heading to the post office now to turn this in and report it to the feds.  Hopefully they can find the culprits to this scam and take this ring down.

I also recieve the same check n still have the check and the assignment sheet. My problem is although I that its a scam James Giles is still sending e-mails how do i stop that??

Now James Giles has a new number 4087286799 haven't checked my mail but he keeps telling me to so that I can go mystery shop at wal-mart so there is his new number and email is jamesgiles@gmail.com

I received one today fed ex from mystery shopping to I called the bank it was written on and they said it was fraudulent. I'm glad I am smart enough not to cash a check and I received texts from the same phone number too! Check was for $1700 and same thing wal-mart $50 and then keep $250 and western union the rest. Some poor soul is going to be desperate enough to cash these, I wonder if check cashing places know about these or if they cash them? I could use the money.

This is what I took from the FBI's website:

Mystery/Secret Shopper Schemes

01/20/10?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:

   Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
   Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
   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.
   Avoid filling out forms contained in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
   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.
   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.
   No legitimate mystery/secret shopper program will send payment in advance and ask the employee to send a portion of it back.

Go to the FBI's website and click on the link for scams safety then e-scams and then e-scams again. That will get you to a long page of information.

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

The Internet may be a wonderful place for research and keeping in touch with friends and relatives but it has also become a haven for crooks.

Be careful what you post on the internet be it words or photos etc because what you post is there forever even if you delete it. That's why I do not do Facebook anymore. Facebook, Hotmail, Gmail, and AOL appear to be attractive places for hacking.

This is an advice message not a reporting message.

You need to report all of this to the FBI. It is a Federal offense. When I called the police I was told the FBI will do nothing unless you cash the check and furthermore if funds were lost from your account. However, I would report it anyway since you did cash it. In my case I was to deposit it first.

I was sent a check for a $1550. I was to DEPOSIT the check into my checking account and then cash it. It takes form 10-15 days for any check over $1000.00 to actually be deposited into your account. I called the bank the Teller's Check was made out from. That was USAA in San Antonio, Texas. I was told the check had already been cashed for a lesser amount, something like $13??.00. The check was and is a FRAUD.

When you hold the check up to the light but not directly, I could easily read '92 on the back of the check or imprinted like when you hold US currency up to the light. I forgot what denomination. However, I had called the guy and told him my bank was over 200 miles away but we were going there for a visit. So he called me 4 times while there. He has called the house several times, emailed me several times all of which I have kept. He also left a voice mail on my cell phone number. All of this can be printed.

However, the real kicker is I did not cash the check and funds have not been lost from my account. Therefore the police and the FBI will not get involved. That is stupid.

IF the check gets deposited your bank information is then on the back of the check. Then this company can move on to other people some of which will be gullible. They will just keep on doing this.

I was to send the balance of the money after the $50 for spending at Wal-Mart and a $200 bonus to me minus the transaction fee for wiring the money to an address in Minneapolis. That would have left a big chunk of my funds gone since it takes from 10-15 days for a check to clear and actually be deposited into your account. By then they have your money and have moved on to another victim.

Addresses used to be able to be found in Polks directories at the library. But nowadays via Spokeo.com they can get a large number of addresses. Then purchasing further information on those people is a small yearly fee. That is much less than paying $150 per sheet of leads.

I was ignorant enough, more like stupid, to reply to an email regarding surveys. I get surveys from companies we already deal with. It's time to stop doing surveys period. I do reviews on Trip Adviser. But I have to log in there and it isn't like secret shopping and being paid. Sometimes the places I review send me a thank you in the site. I review places with have been to on vacations.

If you have already cashed the check you must turn everything over to the FBI. This is a Federal case  not a local one with your police dept or sheriff dept as is the case for where we live.

Recipient beware. The date of this review is May 24, 2013. I was to spend $50 at Wal-Mart and get the cashier's name plus review my thoughts on how the transaction went. I have done auditing before and know how this should be done. Then I was to go to Western Union and wire the balance of the funds minus the cost of the transaction to an address up north.

His email addresses are:

shopperrwire@gmail.com

Gilesjames77@aol.com

Giles77@outlook.com

The name he goes by is:   James Giles

Now block them in all of your email accounts. Then if you did deposit and/or cash the check report it to the FBI NOW!

I went to Spokeo.com and learned his telephone number 904-310-0064 is a Jacksonville, Florida number. My state was the 28th to join the union.

I also received.info in regards to become mystery shoppy but has not received check to follow through. Whom have yoy reported this scam to?

I new something was up cause they say to cash it at your bank and no where else! I dont have a bank account and said I couldnt open it up! What do you do with the cashiers check? Turn it in?

You cashed the check, then you put the money on a real cashiers check and mailed it?  Honey, the bank will come after you for the money when the check you cashed bounces.

Hey Laurie and Lawrence - I may feel a little stupid here because I did cash the check, but did not send via Western Union.  The front of the document you fill out to send said not to if "mystery shopping" was involved, so I went back to my back and put the funds back on a cashiers check (payable to the person's name who was on it) and sent it back to where it came from (a location in Lubbock, TX).  Then he sent some kind of threatening e-mail titled "FBI".  I kept copies of the memo, check, cashiers check, and the numbers I was getting calls from.

Thank you Laurie! I also received a text from this number by a man named James Giles stating he was a Secret Shopper Instructor Officer M.S.P.A. I was sent a check for $2800 to be a mystery shopper. Which stated I needed to cash the check at my bank and then spend $50 at wal-mart and my commission would be $200 and send the remaining balance via western union to someone in Texas. I'm glad I read your post because I was really close to cashing the check. THANK YOU =)

Got a text from this number stating that they are a Mystery Shopping company.  I received a fraudulent Postal Order from them in the amount of $975.  I brought this to the Post Office today and they said it was fraud.  Idiots trying to scam people!