LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Lancaster County officials are warning people of a customer service evaluation scam.
Victims are sent a letter (which can be found lower on this page) and asked to purchase several items from stores like Walmart and rate their customer service experiences. The scammers tell victims they’ll be paid $300 for their services and are given a fake check to reimburse them for the merchandise purchases they make out of their own pocket.
The victims are asked to reimburse the scammers for the money they didn’t use from the check. However, when the check is cashed, it will not go through because it’s fake.
The mailing claims to come from Market Force, a company that completes mystery shops and customer experience surveys, among other things.
Market Force provides, on its website, clues to identify a scam.
Some include: Shoppers are never paid in advance, so the “cashier’s check” is a sure scam; the sender email address does not end in @marketforce.com; Market Force will never ask for money from the shopper.
