KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jose Ramirez applied for a mystery shopper job online and a few weeks later, he got a text saying that he was selected.
Then, Ramirez said he got a letter from a company representing itself as TrendSource and a check for, "$2300. I was taken aback by the amount, but it said federal credit union, Navy Federal. They're a reliable source so I went to my back, put it in my savings account and let it sit."
The instructions said to deduct $320 for his fee and get $1980 worth of iTunes gift cards at Walmart.
"My card didn't go through with the purchase so I texted him back. He says that's okay, try getting a Green Dot gift card in increments of $500," Ramirez said.
That didn't go through either, so he stopped.
Almost a week later, the check was returned. Ramirez told 41 Action News he thought the check was legitimate because it was branded with Navy Federal Credit Union and his bank didn't question him when he made the deposit. He also said, "I looked them up on the Better Business Bureau. They received an A-plus rating."
We reached out to the Better Business Bureau which said, a company needs to be accredited to prove that it adheres to the BBB standards. TrendSource does show an A-plus rating, but they are not accredited.
TrendSource told 41 Action News that they are also fraud victims in this scam. Just this month, the company posted this blog about the problem.
Ramirez just wants to warn others that, "Even though you're applying on Indeed or those types of websites, just be cautious and be aware of who contacts you and what you receive in the mail."
