Scam Using Wal-Mart Money Gram

Similar situation happens to me when, I needed money the most. My
local corner store appears to affiliated with MoneyGram, so I cashed
the $2,480 check received.

I ran to Wal-mart, and executed what was requested in the letter
accompanied the check. I bought a $50 electronic item, spied on the
store employee's so I can documented on my fax reply. Thank you my
Lord, I didn't find anything to commented about these employees. My
forwarding transfer of $1,999 to Canada and the purchased of $50,
minus trasfer fees left me around with $360.
Only five days later, the store owner called me in a hurry; that
MoneyGram couldn't cashed the check. My "Mysterious Shopper's" dream
of good luck jump right at the window. I had no explanation of the
company nor how I am going to reimburse the money already sent.
I ran to the store where the owner, myself and the MoneyGram people
spent tremendous hours tracking the transfer. The money was recovered
at last and, I still have to reimbursed $650 to the store. Remember I
only came out with "$360".
I believe this SCAM has alot affiliation to do with Walmart, yes I
said it.

I just wanted to make everyone aware that I was scamed by Walmart
MoneyGram Money Orders. I received a package via UPS this morning. I
signed for it as usual. I quickly looked at the return address to find
out who the sender was because I had not ordered anything so I wasn't
expecting a package. The sender information said Alachua County
Sheriff's Office in Gainesville, FL. I opened the package & there were
two Walmart MoneyGram Money Orders each for the amount of $820. The
money order was signed by a David Best or David Bush. The writing was
sloppy so I am not sure which last name he has (best or bush). The
address & city filled out by David were Brent, AL 35304. I do not know
a David Best or Bush nor did I recognize the address. I first called
the Alachua County Sherrif's Office (which was the address on the
front of the ups package). They had no record of package and had no
member of their department with the name David Best or David Bush.
They informed me to destroy all the information because it was a scam
or that I could turn the information over to the local police dept.
Well I chose to do some more investigating myself. I then called
MoneyGram and they told me to rub the circle on the front of the money
order with my thumb. The MoneyGram employee told me the circle should
turn white. The circle on the front of my money orders were pink. So
they declared them unable to cash and a scam. Lastly, I called UPS and
made them aware of all the information I had gathered and that a
package they picked up and delivered was that of a scam. Luckily I did
not cash the checks because I knew there had to be a catch. NObody
will just give you money.

Please, I have JUST been scammed. I beg of anyone to help me right
now. This is my financial aid money, and I CANNOT afford to lose this
money. Please, contact me asap.

This is what I received in an e-mail.





This is inform you that your contact details was reviewed by our team
and will like to Welcome you as a member of our working team.You will
be evaluating Wal-Mart Stores and Money Gram Location in your
neighborhood. You will need to locate the Nearest Wal-Mart and
Money Gram store as soon as you get this email today. Email us the
STORE NAME AND STORE ADDRESS in your next email.That is where you
will
be doing your Secret shopping.

As an independent contractor with no employment relationship with
Sights on Service. Any payments to me are conditional on submitting
an appropriate, complete, on-time report, and complying with all of
the guidelines of Mystery Shopper®

You will be shopping at Wal-Mart / Money Gram stores close by, after
which you will write a report and send back to us via Email using the
following pointers:

1) How long it took you to get services.
2) Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet
3) Smartness of the attendant
4) Customer service professionalism
5) Reaction of personnel under pressure
6) Information that you think would be helpful
7) Your comments and impressions.

Payments will be mailed out to you as soon as we get a reply from you
, the payment will cover your pay of $300 and the balance payment for
the
Evaluation program, you will be given a break down on how to used the
funds for evaluation when you receive payment in your mail.

All Other Instructions will be sent out to you via email as soon as
Evaluation commences. Make sure you check your email daily to get any
update on
when to start your mystery Shopping.

Your prompt response to any email sent to you shows the ability of a
good mystery shopper.


Yours Sincerely,
John Clark,
Supervisor
Douglas Stafford®

so i just got a check this afternnoon for 3950$ and it seems to crazy
to be true so i figured id research this and is it really a scam cause
i think this is rediculous and i dont even remember filling out a
survey so if you can get back to me bout this thatd be great

What If all of us that have beebn Scammed by WalMart
and MoneyGram got together and sued the living day lights out of
them.....I know that there are plenty of vicitims out there that have
been through many different types of scam from student loans, to debt
consilidation, secret shopper, vacation loans,etc
you nameit it,s happend. Common thread mostly seems to be WalMart,
MoneyGram, Canada and or other foreign countries.

So victims lets do something about this and SUE WALMART and MONEYGRAM.

There was an ad for a mystery shopper in the NJ Star Ledger. I
responded to a and it was the same asking for my name, address and
phone number and I would be contacted. It seemed strange that Walmart
was using this kind of method for internal problems with Money Gram. I
haven't received any money to transfer and no further instructions. I
just reported this to Walmart Fraud on line. Isn't it funny how no one
responds to people like us. Hope someone steps up to the plate.

I will never use Moneygram again. It's bad enough that there fees are
so high, but the fact that they can't protect the customer is
unacceptable. I started paying my mortgage thru chargesmart.com You
can also pay lots of other type of bills too. You just can't transfer
money to an individual.

I sent a money to a friend in need via money gram. They went through
the whole do you know who you are sending this too thing which is
great. The problem that I have is that when he went to his local
moneygram to get the money it was gone. It somehow got picked up in NY
when on my paper it clearly stated the city and state where it shoudl
of been picked up., Walmart entered the wrong information in their
computer! I have been in touch with walmart and they are no help. I
have since contacted my local law enforcement, BBB and court syslems!

Everyone complaints about Wal-Mart and Moneygram not doing enough to
prevent fraud but people should take responsibility for their own
actions. People get into the habit of signing forms without reading
them. If you read the send forms at the customer service desk you
will see the warnings.

I work at the Customer Service desk at WalMart. In just the past two
weeks I have prevented one customer from being scammed by the Grandma
Scam, and another from being scammed by the Secret Shopper scam. I
have been talking to my coworkers about the "Red Flags" to watch out
for. People are afraid to ask questions about what seems to be
customers "personal business", but I will always ask. We need to be
pro-active.
Teresa
California

I work at the Customer Service desk in WalMart. In just the past two
weeks, i have prevented one customer from being scammed by the Grandma
Scam, and another from being scammed by the Secret Shopper Scam. I
have been talking to my coworkers about what to watch out for. People
are afraid to question customers about what seems to be their personal
business, but we need to be pro-active.
Teresa
California

Shame on Wal-Mart and Shame on MoneyGram!

My parents received the "Grandson Injury / Jail" call and fell for it.
These people are good and really believed it was my son calling them.
Luckily, my parents transposed some number in the confirmation code
and the scam artist did not receive the money. After several hours of
work and lot's of help we were able to get the money back in my
parents account.

Wal-Mart was useless and asked us to call back between 7 am and 4 pm
to speak with a fraud representative. It is my belief that insiders
are in on this scam for both Wal-Mart and MoneyGram as my parents were
instructed to use a particular Wal-Mart!

I am hard pressed to find any evidence of how Wal-Mart tries to
protect consumers against this scam, especially as rampant as it is.
If MoneyGram is using Wal-Mart as a 3rd Party Vendor, I would expect
them to be more proactive on keeping them informed of recent scams and
posting such on the counter in their customer service department.

How easy would it be to inform the consumer and say "I notice this is
going to Canada, we have noticed many fraudulent scams recently and
they involve The Granny Scam, The Secret Shopper, Scam, etc. would you
like to call your Grandson or someone to make sure this is a
legitimate situation?" I'd call that Customer Service. Isn't
Wal-Mart all about giving back to the Community? I THINK NOT!

I just recieved a letter just like yours and it said the same thing.
So I called the number that they enclosed and asked them some general
questions. They just informed me to cash the check tomorrow and send
a money order not sounding professional AT ALL. They sounded scared
actually. I asked if it was a scam and they said to never call again.
Then I said I was going to call the cops on them and they said go and
hung up the phone. Dont give in to this scam it's real!!!

I was sent a letter in the mail from AT&T research center. They sent
me a check from Sun Bank worth $4260 and stated that I needed to
complete 3 assignments and they would pay me $400! seemed to good to
be real. I called Sun Bank they verified that it was a real check and
that the account had avail.funds. This check is now sitting in my bank
account and i am waitting till it clears. I was not willing to send
the Money Grams untill i was sure that the check would clear. Thank
you guys for saving my family from financial troubles. i am glad i
didnt pull the money out.

MY MOTHER JUST GOT SCAMMED FOR $5,000.00 FROM A MONEYGRAM IN WALMART.
SOMEONE CALLED HER AND SAID IT WAS HER GRANDSON AND HE WAS IN JAIL IN
CANADA AND COULD SHE SEND MONEY. LESS THAN 12 HOURS LATER SHE TRIED TO
GET HER MONEY BACK AND WAS TOLD BY MONEYGRAM THERE WAS NOTHING THEY
COULD DO. THIS PERSON PICKED UP THE MONEY WITH A FAKE ID AND THERE IS
NO RECOURSE. WHEN I POINTED THAT OUT TO THE MONEYGRAM EMPLOYEE I WAS
TOLD TOO BAD, GET A COURT INJUNCTION. SHAME ON MONEYGRAM AND DOUBLE
SHAME ON WALMART FOR ALLOWING THEM IN THEIR STORES.

I just recieved 3 Wal-Mart/Money Gram Money orders in the mail today.
I thought Wow, just what I needed in the nick of time.
Although in the back of my head, these can't be real.
I wasn't sure where to take them to; as I usually never get money
orders and never had to cash one.

There was no return address on the letter and no signature on the
money order.

I went to Wal-mart; as I figured they would know something.
Our Wal-Mart had no clue, but they did call money gram to see if the
money orders were legitimate.
THEY WERE NOT!! The money orders had actual numbers on them of
previous money orders that had already been cashed.

Needless to say I was so disappointed they weren't real.
But I was also glad that I had not taken them to my bank.
I would have been taken for close to $3000.
Just beware and Be SMART about these.
I do not know who sent these, have not recieved any e-mails, and wish
who ever is getting away with this is Caught and thrown in jail for
it.

Does anyone out there have any idea what I need to do next?? Do I need
to contact my local police Department, Postal Service, or just throw
them away??

I am waiting to see if I get an e-mail. I would love to be able to
catch this person by telling them, Yes, I cashed them, and if you want
your money you will have to send someone here to get it. Just to see
if they would show up.

I hope everyone out there gets the word out to as many as they can.
Don't let them steal from you!!!

Thanks
Lisa
Trenton, GA

This scam is a damn shame, I received three Wal-Mart Money Gram for
$950. The person had the nervous to send me the fake money grams
through FED EX. I know they had to be fake cause I don't know the
person who sent them. So I took them to walmart, guess what its a
fake. Went home check my email, they had the nervous to email me, with
instruction about what to do when I cash them. This scam is not funny
and someone need to try to put a stop to this. To everyone that this
happen to be careful, cause if you take it to a bank they might let
you get the money. You will end up have to pay your bank. Please stay
safe.

Amanda

im in tampa florida and i recieved a check in the mail on 8/20/08 for
3,775 and just like someone else i thought it was god answering my
prayers but now as i read these other complaints i see that i need to
pray a little harder because i feel so stupid now im 19 and on the
21st i deposited the check into my bank account and the next day my
account's availibility was 100.00 so now i guess i owe my bank that
100.00 that i took out because before i deposited the check my
availibility was 0.00 but unlike other people who have recieved a
check i spoke with the man several times who sent me the check from a
company called global something in canada and he has a website he told
me to wait until the check clear's and then at first he told me to
keep 300.00 and i told him that i did not have a ride to wal-mart so
he then told me to keep 350.00 so i can catch a cab to do the survey
at wal-mart with the money gram thing i just wish that someone could
tell me what do i do from here because i have already deposited the
check into my account but it is still pending how can i stop this from
messing up my account and i thank all of you for posting your comments
because if it was not for you my bank would be more messed up by next
week. but if you have any suggestions please e-mail me at thanks and
may god continue to bless.

My grandparents sent $5,400 to Montreal, Canada via Moneygram at a
Wal-Mart, as instructed by the man on the phone who claimed to be me.
They were ripped off. Moneygram is stone cold silent about the details
of the transaction despite the fact that the police are making inquiry
into their transactions. I'm seeking a class action law suit against
the company with the help of anyone who has had a similarly awful
experience with Monegram, or Moneyscam as they are apparently widely
known. If you or someone you know has been ripped off by Moneygram or
through Moneygram, odds are it was someone within the company, please
contact me at jeromyoc@yahoo.com to help in the fight against this
corrupt corporation. Thank you,
Sincerely,
Jeromy

My mom's boyfriend just fell for this scam! The odd thing is that he
was suspicious about the ordeal so he went to his bank, Washington
Mutual, and described the specifics of the purpose of the check so
they ran it to see if it was a real check. They stated to him that it
was and deposited it. They then let him take out the large amount and
off he went. He felt it was legitimate because the banks teller told
him it was!

What they did not state is the fact that it would take them up to 2
weeks to process the check and it could still be denied and he would
be liable for the money!!!

HELLO! What kind of service is this to the consumer???

Then he went to WalMart to purchase the money order and the 1st
employee at the counter once he described what he needed states to him
that he is not experienced in that large of a transaction and has
another employee take over. Then she states she needs to get her
manager to help him. The manager then proceeds to help him.

WHAT!!! You mean to tell me that with a known history on the part of
WalMart and Moneygram locations that a MANAGER/employee is not
obligated to state, 'Sir, before we proceed with this transaction it
is a requirement on behalf of Walmart and Moneygram to be certain all
patrons purchasing in large dollar amounts are informed that there is
a mystery shopper scam know to use WalMart and Moneygram offices to
scam money from individuals. This is a measure we have taken not meant
to invade on your privacy, however, to protect unknowing individuals.
WalMart and Moneygrams feel obligated to do our part to protect those
whom trust our service and to show we value that trust.'

WHY are there NO SIGNS posted that state this scam if they are
uncomfortable with making such a statement!!!

I understand that those that are scammed have a responsibility...
HOWEVER, with all that my mom's boyfriend did and asked there NEEDS to
be responsibility placed on the organizations that are being used to
facilitate these scams.

WHAT do they have to loose? NOTHING. It makes you question why? WHY
the lack of diligence from WalMart or Moneygrams? Why does our U.S.
Atty. General not demand it for the protection of the consumers???

'Money is the root of all evil'...

Consumers need to band together and demand change!

ALS

Today I received a letter in the mail from Staffing and Litigation
Support Services. Enclosed was a check from Walmart for $3900.00. The
letter said to deposit the money in my bank account and wait for the
check to clear. When it's cleared they want me to take a certain
amount to a Walmart money gram and send the money to some woman in
Canada. Then fax them the receipts and copies. Then they want me to
take the remaining amount to a money gram that isnt in Walmart and
send the money to a different women in Canada. They then want me to
complete a survey about each of the money grams and then they will
send me $400.00 for doing this. The check looks so real. I tried
calling the number the letter has and I get an answering machine. Im
pretty sure this has to be a scam.

I recently ALMOST became a victim of a granny-scam. I received a phone
call from a young man claiming to be my favorite grandson who needed
$5400 before he would be allowed to go back home to Texas after having
been in a rental car accident. He begged me not to tell his parents,
and that he'd explsin everything as soon as he got home. The money
trsnser was to be made in cash at my local Walmart MoneyGram Center
and sent to one in Vancouver B.C.

I received an email from a Mr. Peter Handson in Beijing, China. He
told me that I was being solicited to a Payment Collector for his
firm. He sells flight tickets, accomodations and so on for those that
want to visit mainland China. He said I would be paid by the client
directly. I was to take the WalMart MoneyGrams to my bank, cash then,
remove 10% processing fee for myself and send him the remainder, minus
Western Union charges. I currently have 2 WalMart Money Orders
(legitimate ones, not fake) that I will have authenticated again and
cashed.

I received a letter and the 2 WalMart MoneyGrams for $950 each ($1900
total) from a Toni Kay in Willits, CA. Toni Kay explained that I was
to cash them, remove my fee of $190 and forward the remainder to a
Tourist Consultant Mr. William Thompson in Beijing. I was also told
that she had $4800 more to send, once the Consultant sent her flight
travel details. This all sounds legitimate.

I have letter instructions from the Client and email instructions from
the Travel Consultant, explaning the process.

Anyone want to comment on legalities here and my chances of getting
stuck between a client and business owner, if I follow all
instructions to the letter? If I follow client and consultant
instructions to the letter, am I liable for the balance, if the
Consultant decides to scam the Client?

I recieved the letter and the check for 3554.00 yesterday in the mail,
I immediatley knew it was a scam because it came from another Country.
I found it humorous when they asked for my banking info. I took the
check to my bank to find out who I report it to we all had a good
laugh and was told to take it to the Police, I live in a small town of
under 5000 people, and it is a small dept, but the Officer and I also
had a good laugh. The problem though is a lot of people out there
especially at this time of year, get greedy and fall for it.
the Officer who took the whole thing was going to look into it and
try to see if the FBI cant get involved he wasn't suire if they would
as there are a lot of scams some more convincing then this one and
they are taking up a lot of their man power

I recieved a letter also from Shadow Shoppers and a check for 4985.00.
instructed to deposit in my account and go to Walmart and send a
portion to canada. I called the contact number and spoke to a lady
who ensured me it was legit and the cheque looked so real-i thought
god had answered my prayers. Well now i must contact the police atty
general and FBI. I am so embarrassed.

my name is going to be disclosed but i was just involved in a walmart
money gram scam to in the amount of $4500.00 from a T.Cox This scam
has hit new york state so all wal-marts be on the look out for
fraudelent money grams as this has cost me $750.00 To stop this scam
go directly to the bank and let them put a hold on them for as long as
needed do not attempt to cash them because with a week or so your bank
will be notifying you and you will have to pay it back as i was just
instructed to do because i was scammed by some scam artist from
california .

concerned usa citizen

Dear Ginger,

I receievd almost the same letter in the mail. I called an ad in the
paper for a secret shopper job. I was so close to cashing it and
actually going through with it. Thank GOD I did some research. Thank
you

sincerly Lauren

my email is larekels1102@yahoo.com

I was selling an item online and was paid by a Walmart money gram.
The sender sent me $2000 more than the asking price. I took them down
to my local Walmart to have them looked at. They confirmed them to be
fake. I am a former Homeland Security officer and found out the
Secret Service has an ongoing investigation into these scams. They
encourage you to contact them if you are a victim. the website is
secretservice.gov

I work for their(wal-mart)competition. Not everyone who sends money,
even have a clue who they are sending money to. On the front of the
western union paper, it clearly states the warnings of scams. We do
have handbooks, updates, ect. It is the responsibility of both
parties to be on the lookout. If you are lucky enough to warn them in
time, you MIGHT get a refund.

"Show they care and want to help stop this scam, by contacting me to
discuss the problem and taking some action such as informing the
employees or at least posting a notice warning people of the scam"

Contact you to discuss the problem? What kind of input do you think
you'll have?

While I think it's great that you alerted WalMart to the problem, I
think it's pretty funny that you think WalMart should make you a part
of the solution.

I worked at Walmart and what they do is send letters to the service
desks to make them aware in case someone does come in and try to send
it. The service desk associate will then warn customers to let them
know.

Wal-Mart is not responsible for it. It is Money Grams responsibility
to get it out there into public knowledge. Money Gram pays to place
their business with Wal-Mart so they are not a part of Wal-Mart.

Very good letter though and thank you for posting it so someone else
will be able to immediately realize that it is a scam.

THis type of scam has even shown up on the court shows on TV, as
people have ripped off friends and relatives to cash the phony checks.

That sounds just like those Nigerian scams.

you wont believe it, but I actually know someone who fell for this
scam recently. Indeed, they were completely ripped off, and they are
unable to get their money back. The only difference was the way it was
the relative information. He actually spoke to someone on the phone
several times, and even presented the check to the bank asking if it
appeared valid before proceeding.
I am so disappointed to hear this is happening more widespread. This
is a huge financial loss to those affected.
I think if Walmart is aware that people are getting scammed in this
fashion, they should at least put some warning bulletin board or sign,
something, in their locations. I hope Walmart takes some immediate
action to help prevent future frauds using their services.