There is a group of scammers who are fraudulently and without authorization using a real secret shopper company, HireRight,’s name in connection with a secret shopper scam. Here is how the scam works:
- The scammers send unsolicited mail to consumers.
- The mail comes in a US Postal Service priority envelope and includes a letter and check—some of the checks even have TPFCU’s name on them as issuer!
- The letter directs the recipient to deposit the check and afterwards to complete certain transactions (such as purchasing gift cards) with the money from the check.
The checks that are included with these mailers are counterfeit and, within a few days, will be returned as “no sufficient funds” to the account. This means that anyone who deposits these checks and makes any purchases, will eventually have both the cost of the purchase as well the value of the check deducted from their account.
An example of what one of the fraudulent letters looks like is shown:
