Action 9: Woman Loses Money In Secret Shopper Scam

None — Aida Alcala is home on maternity leave and said she was looking for easy money to help her pay bills in the bad economy.

She said she considers herself to be a smart consumer, one who is not easily fooled. Still, she said when she got an offer to earn $350 working as a secret shopper, she jumped on it.

"It sounded legit," Alcala said. "It sounded like a real company."

It turned out not to be, but Alcala didn't find that out until it was too late.

She said the company sent her two $1,900 checks and instructed her to deposit one of them into her bank account.

Alcala said she then took out $1,500, as instructed, and wired it to the company in Chicago under the assumption she was "testing" Western Union.

A week later, Alcala said her bank notified her that the check was stolen. That $1,500 came out of her account, and now she said she's that much in the negative, with no way to repay the bank.

"I was the victim of a scam and my bank has not supported me at all," she said.

Better Business Bureau President Tom Bartholomy said scammers who send out secret shopper checks often list addresses in the United States, when they're actually based in Canada, to fool consumers.

Bartholomy said legitimate secret shopper companies don't send out checks and offered advice to consumers who receive a check.

"Throw it away," he said. "Throw it away immediately."

Alcala said her bank has turned her over to a collection agency to get back the money they paid out to cover the check.

She said she wanted to come forward and tell her story in an effort to help others.

"So they don't have to go through what I've been through," she said.

WSOC