LEE COUNTY, Fla.- A Southwest Florida man with a warning for you tonight to avoid a scam that almost got him. Jason Klein saw a Facebook post offering extra cash to do some undercover shopping as a so called "mystery shopper". He responded giving his name, phone number, and address.
Then he got something in the mail delivered with priority.
"when I saw the $1,978 check it made no sense because they told me to take out $166.22 for myself and another $28 for my dining experience."
Klein was told to use $28 to dine at McDonald's, Subway, or Starbucks as a mystery shopper.
"I thought you know it's a few extra bucks, Klein said. "I always thought it would be fun - my grandma did it."
Klein received a letter sent from someone called Wiley Betker, representing "The Shop World" claiming they're the number one employer of mystery diners and shoppers.
The claim was quickly questioned after he read a few of the instructions.
"They told me to have the remainder sent back to two different people through money grams," Klein said. "it just doesn't make a lot of sense."
The text message he got from Betker didn't make a lot of sense either with additional instructions.
"the text message read 'Give an estimated time of completion, Wiley Betker, reply stop to opt out.' Why would you send someone a two thousand dollar check if you're going to let them opt out."
At this point Klein did opt out and stopped responding.
Fraud expert with the Lee County Sheriff's Office says was the right thing to do when she saw the letter and suspicious check.
"Ten times out of ten, if you get something in the mail like that and someone's asking you to wire transfer money it's a scam," Schell said.
To verify if a business is legitimate click here.
Click herefor tips for finding legitimate mystery shopping jobs.
