Résumé Adventure #17: Secret Shopper Scam!

For Résumé Adventure #17, I am responding to a clearly fraudulent email from a recruiter claiming that he works for a secret shopping service called Customer Perspectives. You can read the email below...I have excerpted the whole thing in its entirety, including tons of dead-give-away grammatical and structural errors that just scream not-too-bright scam artist. Between you and me...I know this job is a total fake and I am not going to get involved with this recruiter beyond sending in my sarcastic cover letter, which you can ch-ch-ch-check out below. I hope it teaches that scam-tard a lesson. I seem to get these sort of fake employment emails frequently, but this one is a little different because the sender seems to be impersonating a legitimate business. So after I send out my cover letter to this fake recruiter, I am going to call the real Customer Perspectives company up and let them know what is going on. Being unemployed gives me lots of time to fight crime and evil doers! You should read what the Better Business Bureau wrote about this scam.

You forget what shopping looks like when you have been unemployed for as long as I have. 

I think it looks like this (photo by epSos.de via Flickr). 

The Recruitment Email

"Hello,

Our company conducts surveys and evaluate other companies. We get hired to go to other peoples companies and act like customers in order to know how the staffs and personnel there handle company services in relation to their customers. Once we have a contract to do you would be directed to the company or outlet and you would be given the funds you need to do the job (either purchase things or require services) after which you would write a comment on the staffs activities and give a detailed record of your experience. Examples of details you would forward to us are;

1) How long it took you to get services.
2) Smartness of the attendant.
3) Customer service professionalism.
4) Sometimes you might be required to upset the attendant to see how they react to clients when they get tensed (under pressure).

'When performance is measured and reported, service improves. When performance is measured, reported and shared with employees, service accelerates.company representatives play in driving purchase intent. Most companies employ our assistance when people give complaints about their services or when they feel there is need for them to improve their service.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS?
1. Receive payment from a mystery shopper in form of certified check/money order
2. Cash and Deduct $250 which will be your salary.
3. Forward balance after deduction salary to a mystery shopper whose information will be provided in subsequents emails via an outlet you will be evaluating

DO YOU NEED TO PAY FOR THE TRANSFER FEE FROM YOUR PERCENTAGE?

No you do not have to; all necessary transfer fees should be deducted from the balance after you must have cashed and deduct your $250 from the total money Received after cashing.

ADVANTAGES

You do not have to go out as you will work as an independent
contractor right from your home / office.
Your job is absolutely legitimate.
You can earn up To 3000- 4000USD monthly depending on time you will
spend for this job.
You do not need any capital to start.
You can do the work easily without leaving or affecting your present
Job.The employees who make efforts and work hard have a strong possibility to become managers.Anyway our employees never leave us.

MAIN REQUIREMENTS,
18 years or older, Legally capable, Responsible, Ready to work 3-4 hours per week. With PC knowledge, E-mail and Internet experience (minimal)

Your identity would be kept confidential as the job states (secret shopper) you would be pain $250 for every survey you carry out bonus
on
Your transportation allowance and funds would be given to you if you have to dine as part of the duty.

Your job will be to evaluate and comment on customer service in a wide
variety of shops, stores, restaurant and services in your area. No
commitment is made on this job and you would have the flexible hours as it
suits you.

If you are interested do send in your:

(I)Your Full Name:
(II)Your Residential address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
(III)Present work address:
(IV)Home and mobile Phone numbers:
(V)Email address:
(VI)Your age and Current Occupation:
(VII) Your Gender:

So we can look at your distance from the locations which you have to put your service into, and your address would also be needed for your payments. We also implore you to send a scanned copy of any form of identification for the processing of your application form and also for record purpose but if you cannot provide it presently then you can provide it later..

Are you a U.S. citizen or otherwise authorized to work in the U.S._______

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY INTERESTED APPLICANTS SHOULD RESPOND. AND CHECK YOUR EMAIL BACK FOR RESPONSE WITHINT 24  HOURS............

Regards,
Thanks.
Hiring Manager.
Thomaks tura
Customer Perspectives"

My Cover Letter

Dear Thomaks tura,

Thank you for sending me an email about your secret shopper job opportunity. Actually, scratch that. No thank-you. I wish you never sent me this job opportunity because it is clearly a BIG STUPID WTF SCAM. You really suck at putting together a believable recruitment email. Really, you do. Let me tell you how I knew your recruitment email was a scam-tard fake:

First of all, your spelling sucks, you don't structure anything consistently, you don't punctuate properly, and you don't use words or symbols that a fluent English speaker would use. You didn't even capitalize your own last name! You are clearly living somewhere over-seas and you obviously have a very poor concept of American vernacular. Or worse yet, you just think that all Americans are hopelessly dumb. Well, I certainly am not dumb and I find your lack of attention to detail annoying and insulting. For god's sake man, the website of the company that you are impersonating doesn't have the same sort of flawed language as your email. No legitimate company would ever let an email that was brimming with so many errors go out into the world as a representation of their work. I know ninja kittens who write better letters than you. 

Second, your email address name doesn't match the name that you sign-off with. Nor does your email address match that of the Customer Perspectives contacts. Company employees generally do not use gmail addresses for official business and if they do, they do not use the phrase "handsome1" as you have done. I would be a whole week's ration of Flaming Cheetos that you are not even handsome. Why do you have to turn me into a player hater like that? You make me player hate you.

Third, um, dude, seriously, anything involving the LAUNDERING OF CERTIFIED CHECKS is BLATANTLY CRIMINAL. WTF ARE YOU THINKING?

Fourth, in the United States, it is ILLEGAL to ask for the candidate's age in a job post or employment application. No legitimate company or recruiter would ever do that.

Fifth, the fact that you have to stress the legitimacy of your job opportunity and how wonderful it is means that you are over-compensating for the fact that it is indeed fake and total bullshit.

But, um, despite all of that, I am going to answer your ridiculous little survey anyway:

(I)Your Full Name: MOONBOW ROLLINGS
(II)Your Residential address: ROT IN A CHEETO-LESS HELL!
City: TAKE A LONG WALK OFF OF A SHORT PIER!
State: YOU SUCK COCKROACH BALLS!
Zip Code: I WILL NEVER HIGH FIVE YOU! NEVER!
(III)Present work address: WTF?!!!
(IV)Home and mobile Phone numbers: 555-GO-SCREW-YOURSELF
(V)Email address: UNICORNS HATE YOU!
(VI)Your age and Current Occupation: ADORABLE KITTENS HATE YOU!
(VII) Your Gender: MOONBOW HATES YOU!

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Yours in Cockroach Balls,
Moonbow Rollings