Westlake Police Report ‘Secret Shopper’ Scam

click on image to enlarge SCAM letter

Westlake Police received a call from a resident reporting he had received a scam letter falsely informing that he was a ‘Secret Shopper’ and was entitled to benefits in return for eBay gift cards he was asked to purchase.

Here is the police report: “On 6/9/18 at 6:55PM officers spoke with a citizen about a scam letter he had received.  The letter, which was postmarked from Puerto Rico, indicated that the recipient had been selected as a secret shopper.  It included a fake cashier’s check made out to the citizen and instructed him to go to a store to buy eBay gift cards. He was then to send the codes from the gift cards to an email account.  Of course all of this was fake and the citizen realized it and did not attempt to participate.”

Legitimate companies or government agencies will not ask you to buy gift cards for payment or compensation, report Police.  Resist the temptation to accept offers that are too good to be true and speak to your elderly neighbors and/or loved ones to do the same.