eBay Secret Shoppers I received an email from eBay Secret Shopper LLC on May 13th. This sounded pretty good as I always wanted to be a secret shopper. I fllled out the application with all my info, no bank info, and emailed Santa Clara, California

Edgemans reply is 100% correct. However (you know with me there is always an "however"), Myself and others also feel the BANK is doing a little "exploitation" here as well...allow me to reason you through this...

It is true that check 21 has made it more difficult for banks not to clear checks expeditiously, this I know, and I am not trying to hold the banks responsible for this scam or start a lawsuit..but I have to ask myself a few things since I smell a rat...

1) Are the banks aware of these types of scams? If not, then the following can be deleted...BUT, if so..

2) Why are there no safeguards?

3) Would it be that difficult or against any "regulation" for the bank to inform the customer NOT to spend against this check even when the funds are available, until it is verified and/or clears?

4) Would it be that difficult, or against any regulations for the bank itself as a "courtesy" (the banks seem to enjoy "exploiting" that term when it earns them a fee), or a safeguard ,to try to verify a check like this? Or, the bank warn the customer to have this check verified (look for any "voids" or call the bank it is issued from etc) before excepting deposit.

5) Does the bank stand to make any money if they told the customer not to deposit this check?

6) Does the bank stand to make any money in fees if the customer was spending against it and it was discovered a fraud days, weeks or even months later? (something to ponder)

7) Would this scam be possible without the BANKS participation?

Not trying to start a big debate or conspiracy theory here..these are just questions that are eating at me. I am also not trying to say that the banks should be "required" do what a customer should do before depositing any check..which is to make sure it is good. However, it is a reasonable assumption, though possibly misleading, that the banks are the "professionals" in the field of checks, and perhaps many would assume the banks should be some kind of line of defense against check fraud.

On a side note I did a little investigation myself, I can not verify this as fact since it was testimony from a law officer who wished to remain anonymous, but supposedly in the UK they have DRASTICALLY cut down on this type of fraud using a very simple policy...a customer walks in to deposit a check like this, and the teller tosses it in the garbage. Jus sayin.

I do not think I am too out of bounds by implying that the banks are "exploiting" check 21 AND the customers ignorance. But this would be nothing new really, not a big shock to me at least.

Obviously anyone who reports here can use the internet. A 3 second search of "email from eBay Secret Shopper LLC" listed 109,000 results complaining of fraud..and stating that ebay has no such "secret shopper" program going on.

The scammers simply use the ebay name and logo to give it a feeling of legitimacy since everyone knows the name. A 2 year old could copy and paste a companies logo and make an email look real.

You are not the only victim of this scam, we read about it all the time. I understand times are hard so people are more apt to fall for anything in hopes of landing a good job..and the scammers thrive off taking advantage of this fact,, much like some financial institutions have been doing...and financially hurt a person who is probably already hurting...Not to mention this type of scam can tarnish Ebays good name, who in a sense is a victim of this as well.

I also doubt that your contact's name is actually Patrick John. You've become involved in a variation of the 419 scam, also known as the Nigerian scam. This scam works by exploiting the fact that banks have to make funds available before the money orders actually clear (or don't clear).

The scam also exploits the fact that virtually anybody can pick up money sent by Western Union or Moneygram and then virtually disappear. I am afraid that there isn't anything RipOffReport will do for you other than letting you make this thread.

You might try contacting the Financial Crimes unit at the Secret Service. they won't recover your money but they do collect all of the information about your case.