SASKATOON – A man looking for work posted an ad online so he could provide for his family but he became the target of a “mystery shopper” scam.
Aaron Semchyshen recently moved to Saskatoon from Ituna, Sask. for employment and was contacted by a company after posting an ad looking for full-time work on Kijiji.
A supposed mystery shopping company mailed him a list of instructions along with a cheque for $1,996 and told him to transfer $700 back from Western Union.
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The peculiar request prompted Semchyshen to contact police.
“Just the fact that the cheque is $1,996, why couldn’t they just send me a cheque where the amount I’m going to be spending and then my percentage and the pay I’m supposed to get,” said Semchyshen.
“What job person pays you more than what you’re going to be doing or agree too as a job, nobody,” said Staff Sergeant Keith Briant, with the Saskatoon Police Service Economic Crimes Unit.
Police have seen many cases like Semchyshen’s but where people have lost money to scammers.
A list of scams can be found at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
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