A couple days ago my wife received a letter in the mail which did not have a return address. My wife opened it and it was a letter from Manpower (based out of Milwaukee WI) telling her she has been chosen to be a mystery shopper. My wife DID NOT sign up for anything of the sort. Inside was a check for $3,975 and she was to cash it and spend $50 at Wal-Mart and money gram $3,665 dollars back to them and she got to keep $200, or at least if we went through with it that was what she would keep. So we took the check to the bank and they put a 11 day hold on the check. Well i decided to do research this company and found several people who have been scammed by this company and how the check they received went through and they got the money but a couple weeks later the bank found out the check was not real and held the people who have the account responsible ! So me and my wife went to the bank the next day (before the check could go through) and told them the situation and got everything resolved , but if not for other people reporting this i would have never have know and had to pay the bank $3,975! So i thought i would add one more story to that list that the company Manpower is a fraud !!!!! i hope this story helps someone else !!!!
This post was submitted by Tim .
June 10th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Thank you so much for this article!! You saved me from getting in a lot of trouble! I too just received a check for 3975.00 from Manpower, wanting me to make a $50 purchase from Walmart and then send a moneygram back to them – I was to keep $300 for my time. I was on the phone with them for about 2 hours asking questions which they answered and I was convinced it was for real. I went to the bank and they too wanted to put a 11 day hold on it. I contacted “Manpower” in WI and once again they reassured me it was not fraudulent. I decided to do some research and came upon your article and I just want to say thank you because I was headed back to the bank today!
June 12th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
My husband received this same letter and check today. I saw a show about this on Dateline a couple weeks ago and how it was a scam.
The check sure looks real. Wow!
It’s a shame that people actually do stuff like this.
June 16th, 2009 at 6:25 am
Hello. I work for Manpower and wanted to share this statement. Sorry it’s so “corporate-speak”, but because of our ongoing work with law enforcement, we have to stick to the party line:
Manpower is aware of a mystery shopper scam that is using Manpower’s logo. Manpower is not involved in any way with this scam. The individuals running this scam are not affiliated with Manpower and are using our name, logo and reputation without our permission. The proper authorities have been engaged.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Once again, I too, just received an envelope, plain white, no return address with a letter, survey and check for 3985.00 from Manpower in WI. Same thing, make $50 purchase, keep $200 and do a moneygram for the remainder. The check was from TVN Entertainment in Sherman Oaks, CA and was from Bank of America. These people should be jailed.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I also recieved a plain white envelope with no return address on the envelope. Inside there was a check and a letter with the paper to fax back to them when I was finished with the mystery shopper. This also was from:
TVN ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
15301 Ventura BLVD. Building E SUITE 3000
Sherman Oaks, Ca. 91403
Phone # 1-647-209-6502
Fax # 1-810-483-6838
I am pretty sure it is a couple operating this scam one man maybe two and one woman. All the voices I talked to sounded the same.
I talked to the man two times and the woman two times. I tried to get them to discuss with me concerning this job and they were very evasive.
I recieved the check on Saturday 6-20-09 and waited til Monday to try to cash the check. By Monday I knew it was a scam after looking into all of this. I called them back Monday Morning 6-22-09 and told them I was going to go to the Bank of America which the Check for $3985.00 was written. I told the lady that I was not going to put it in my checking account but I was just going to take it to the Bank of America and cash it. She almost blew a gasket, “NO….You have to put it in your checking account or we will not honor the check…” I was not about to put that check in my account anyway, that would of just been stupid of me. If you have a checking account, your bank will not cash the check unless you have matching funds.
I spent 45 minutes at my bank trying to verify the check and the account to no avail. I went over to the Bank of America and told the teller what the check was and she also spent right around 40 minutes trying to verify the check and come to find out as I already knew it was a fraudulent check.
June 29th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Thank you for this website, I too received a envelope in the mail with no return address and a postage stamp from Canada. It had a check for the same amount, and to go to Walmart. I also called them and they seemed real, but my husband said to check them out first thank god for your statements or I would have been scamed. And right now I can not afford to pay out money I don’t have.
Thank you again
June 29th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Thank you, your a life saver for having this website.
God bless you.
The same thing happened to me.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
got the same envelope my bank thank god checked for available funds and found out the account is not good
July 14th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
i got the same envelope and everything.. thank you guys for posting this. before i researched about the company i called them and asked them what am i suppose to do after that.. and they just keep saying call back after you cash and they’ll lead me step by step.. and that just was not a good enough answer. so anyway thank you guys!!
July 15th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Does anyone know how or why they are able to use the logos from corporations like BestBuy, Macy’s and WalMart? Are they prosecuting them? My husband got a letter, and as an Executive Director of a Chamber of Commerce, I immediately saw the fraud probability in the likely nee dto wait for the check to clear. Is there any action being taken by the companies who are supposed “clients” of Manpower?
July 15th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I recieved the same letter and check today (3975.00) I knew I never subscribed to anything like this, so I thought it was fishy and decided to check it out online. I was happy to find this site.
On the check it says….absence of pink U.S. Patent Numbers under signature indicates check is frauduent. Patenet numbers are printed with heat sensitive ink & will disappear when blowing or rubbing…..also on the back it indicates that there should be a pink knight and fingerprint ……..guess what NO PINK ANYTHING on the check at all so I knew it was a scam. I checked the phone number turns out to be a cell phone from Toronto, On, ON. I checked the address that didnt exist. So here is the info I have to add……..
Agent ID P20656
Manpower
P.O. Box 2053
Milwaukee WI 53201-2053
On the check it says…..
Bank of America NT&SA
Atlanta, Dekalb County
Warner B.P,
A Division of WB S Enterprises Inc.
4000 Warner Boulevard
Burbank, California 91522
July 16th, 2009 at 10:41 am
BEWARE COMPANY POSING AS MANPOWER IS MAILING OUT CHECKS FOR DEPOSIT INTO YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT THEN TO FOWARD BACK TO SO CALLED MANPOWER…. ITS ALL A SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY ALMOST GOT ME……. TOO BAD FOR THEM I’M ALWAYS ON MY TOES….SO SHOULD YOU…
July 18th, 2009 at 5:28 am
My wife also received a $3,875 check today from “Manpower P.O. Box 2053, Milwaukee, WI 53201, Tel: 647-830-1693.” Same instructions as above to shop at Walmart for $50 and return by moneygram $3,465. These folks are the scum of the earth to be trying to take advantage of people when they are most financially vulnerable.
July 19th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Thank you, I received the letter yesterday. It was very tempting to deposit that check when you are facing hard times. But, it looked to good to be true. So, I torn up the check and throw it away in the trash. Thank you for reporting this. The check never reached my bank account.
July 19th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I received an envelope and I breifly opened it an sat it aside. A week later, I actually opened the letter again, and discovered, a check, written from B of A, out of Burbank Ca, a letter re: ” that I was chosen to be a mystery shopper”, I never signed up for anything like that on Manpower letterhead with a P.O. Box address from Milwaukee , Wisconsin, and a return telephone number Area code 289, which by the way is in Ontario Canada, the postage stamp also was from Canada, wanting me to spend 50 dollars at walmart, get a money gram for 3665.00 and keep 200 dollars.
I am a 911 dispatcher for a local Sheriff dept and was at work when I read this mail, I decided to call the number, and there was no answer and no recording, giving the office hours, strange.
I decided to look up this Manpower company and see if they were reputable, hence in searching the key phrases of Manpower, Mystery, Shopper, Money Gram, I found tons of evidence that other people of late had received the same infomation and that this in fact was a scam.
I first discovered in searching that reputable mystery shopping programs NEVER ask you to get a money gram. BEWARE! and if it seems to good to be true, it most likely is…..
July 20th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Checked with Bank of America and was told the account was active and good. Still something didn’t appear right. I won’t be cashing the check. Thanks for this information.
Cheryl in NJ
July 21st, 2009 at 3:03 am
I received a check just like the one you mentioned yesterday. Thank you for reporting the scam as I was thinking of possibly calling that company today.
July 21st, 2009 at 10:46 am
I am glad I took the time to research this Manpower mystrey shopper before I cashed the check.I had signed up for mystrey shopping,so I thought iit was ok.Thank god I didn’t because I sure don’t need the headache of a scam.
July 21st, 2009 at 12:32 pm
we got the same letter from man power that everyone elce is getting and i told my husband it had to be a scam we took it to our bank..
cant them people go to jail for this it’s cruel and i feel so bad for all the people who dont no and fall for this and who are loseing there money with things like it is right now people cant afort to be ripped off it’s so sad.
July 24th, 2009 at 11:09 am
my mother received the strange letter today with no return address and when i tried to call the number was no good so i went online and found this website and thank yall because we really couldn’t have handled a 3975.00 blow to the bank thanks again
July 24th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Today, I received the check that everyone above is describing. I am in tough financial shape right now, so I thought, wow, I can get things for free from Walmart and then keep some money for myself, too. The check is incredibly realistic – at least the one that I got. It has a signatre and a co-signature and all of the things on the back of the check that you would expect.
I called the number and spoke to someone for about fifteen minutes. I asked specific questions about the money gram part of the deal and the person, who sounded almost Middle Eastern and was a male, As I probed more deeply, his voice suddenly started breaking up and we were disconnected. So, I called back. The same person answered – that was weird because if you call a large legitimate company twice, how often do you get the exact same person in a customer service position? Now I was suspicious. I told him I would look him up on the internet to see if the company and the service was Legitimate. The Better Business Bureau at this point does not seem to have anything on them.
On the internet, I found out that this is a scam. How can these people get away with this? I hope two things: that everyone who gets this check looks ino it carefully to found out what a scam this is, and that the terrible people who are doing this to vulnerable and cash strapped people are arrested, required to pay restitution, and are jailed for a long long time.
July 25th, 2009 at 9:40 am
This is definitely a scam. The number is a metro PCS phone number and would not work without a METRO CARD. Looking at both the check and letter should make you glad you at least know how to use a period and how proper nouns (initials) should look. Chances are if someone wants to give you something (NO RETURN ADDRESS) for nothing and you didn’t ask for it, chances are its too good to be true. Any check even from a friend take it to their bank to cash it NOT YOUR OWN.
July 26th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I to received a check today in the amount of $3,985.00 with the same instructions. I am a former bank VP and I have always said, “while honest people sleep at night, crooks lay awake working on the next way to steal.” I will be happy to use my documents as evidence for prosecution…
July 27th, 2009 at 10:11 am
thankyou so much for this website I just received the same letter with check, I called the bank check it was made out to and she told me it sounds like a scam , there was no account # for what was on check like that so i went online to investigate for my self and came up with your website, thankyou so much
July 27th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I too received this “cheque” (as they spell it) on 07.27.2009. This “cheque” is incredibly realistic and has all of the makings of a real “cheque”. Anyone that receives this “cheque” that is financially strapped will try to cash it and pay the consequences. I see that this company whoever they may be had this scam going back in april earlier this year and they’re back at it again. Thank you to all who have posted bulletins. I will continue to investigate this company and all affiliates and associates with and including Warner B.P,, WB S Enterprises Inc., Stephen Greene, Manpower, Macy’s Circuit City(although filed bankruptcy about 6 months ago and are no longer in operation), Walmart, Best Buy, JCPenney, and T-J-Maxx.
PLEASE INVESTIGATE ANYTHING MONETARY THAT COMES TO YOU IN THE MAIL FROM EITHER AN UNKNOWN SENDER, WITH NO RETRN ADDRESS, OR CONTAINS LOGOS OR IMAGES FROM A COMPANY THAT IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS!!!!!
July 29th, 2009 at 6:13 am
I too Received a letter from Manpower out of Milwaukee, however the envelope has no return address, and came from Canada. Inside with the letter is a check for 3985.00, and the name on the check is Warner B. P, a division of WB S Enterprises in Burbanck, CA. Same type of thing they want me to call an 800 # for further instructions, but it requires that I make a purchase at Wal-Mart, a wire transfer, and keep 200.00 for this “Mystery Shopping” purchase. I have not called them back with in there 48 hour time frame either, as I assumed it was a SCAM, however today I wanted to look up some info. to see if someone else has experienced this, and who we can report it to.
July 29th, 2009 at 8:15 am
You need to add a link to your blog so that this can be forwarded to people we know and want to avoid the possablilty of being suckerede.
Thanks
July 29th, 2009 at 8:23 am
Beware of anything American that spells check as Cheque. This is a foreign fuc..er. Also beware of any communication the has mispelling. In the communication I received it said “reciepts of this check” anyone educated past the 2nd grade in the US knows that “I before E except after C”
July 29th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I can’t believe they actually sent to me…this BULL@!%$ letter and fake ass check. THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO SEND A TRUE NEW YORKER A SCAM GAME LIKE THIS….WE’RE ALWAYS ON POINT…YA DIG.
I SAY WE PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER AND GET BACK AT THESE BASTARD CANADIANS!!!
SEEMS TO ME 90% OF THEM ARE CROOKS AND WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THEIR CRAP!!
LET’S GET THE LAST LAUGH!!!!!!
July 29th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
I just got this same letter and check in the mail today…how sad that people will stoop this low.
letterhead has:
Manpower
po bod 2053
Milwaukee, WI 53201-2053
telephone: 1-647-268-5059
rep id# as96523-
agent id# p20656
and the enevlope was plain white no return address with a canada post mark on it…and of course a canada stamp…and then the check has an addy of:
Warner B.P., a division of WB S Enterprises Inc. 4000 Warner Boulevard Burbank California 91522
bank of america NT&SA atlanta, Dekalb county
the amount of said check $3975.00 (spend 50.oo at wally world, keep 200.00 for payment and money gram the rest…)
im keeping it to show to the human resource people at where i work so they can issue a warning to employees if they want…i dont want anyone falling for this crap.
August 1st, 2009 at 8:20 am
Well, it’s been said a number of times already, but in case there is any doubt, these checks are a scam. I have received 2 within the space of 5 days, both approximately $3975 each and both completely different. One was from ManPower, with a mystery shopper content, and the other one was from a sweepstakes I supposedly had entered concerning major retail stores (Walmart, Target, Food Lion, Kohl’s, etc.) However, both wanted me to cash these checks and deposit into a bank account and wire x-amount of money through a MoneyGram at my local grocery store. Unbelieveable that these checks could look so real. I almost fell for the sweepstakes one because I had just entered a Food Lion drawing for a $2000 shopping spree about 2 weeks before. BUT IT IS A SCAM!
August 1st, 2009 at 11:31 am
I am from DeKalb County, Georgia, and also got the above check and letter. (Different rep & ID#) I looked up “Manpower” on my computer, and the company (of course) looked legitimate. But the rest of the information on the check was not!!! My daughter told me to check on GOOGLE – “Manpower scam”, and I found your website.
Thank you for your good information. I thought the thing was good until then.
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:42 pm
My daughter got the check for $3,985.00. We called Bank of America and found out this was a fake account number. It haD us going for a while–we were making plans to go cash it at Money Gram and catch up on some bills. We read the letter over and over again and did not find any flaws. It seemed so real. Thank God we had thought of calling the bank and searching the internet and found this web page. How can these idiots go through so much trouble to put a letterhead on it? I hope they are reading these comments. It is just a waste of time to go through all that work to get NOTHING.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I too just received the same letter in the mail. The check looks like the real deal. My check {cheque} was for $3,985.00, spending $50.00 at Wal-Mart, returning $3,666.00 by MG and keeping 200.00 for myself. Times are too hard to be playin’ with people’s emotions. That extra $200 bucks sounded nice though. Thank GOD for Google:)
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I too got the same letter and circumstances. At first I thought it was too good to be true and it is. I googled the name on the check and found the website. Thank you all for posting this info.
August 4th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
My husband received the same letter/envelope,same speil, but he also received TWO checks – one made out to him, and one to a lady in Peoria, AZ. Bet she was surprised not to have her check! ha. The checks were exactly alike down to the check number (763575). Thank you Bustathief for posting our comments. You certainly have been added to my “favorites” list.
August 5th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
thanks for posting this!! when i opened the letter i pretty much knew it was scam.i am very much aware of the scammers out there cuz they try to send me things like this all the time.i had a wedding dress for sale on craigslist and they wanted to send me a check like this,and when u cash it the bank holds it and it doesnt go through,then you have to pay for it.thank god i am smarter then they think.so the sheriff is picking up the check and info i got with it today.go with your instincts im sure they had bad news all over it but your head was saying MONEY!!!!
August 6th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I to received a check in the mail for 3,985.00. Blank envelope and a stamp from Canada, No instructions but a moneygram questionnaire sheet for Walmart. The check looks real. Warner B.P, a division of WB S Enterprises Inc., 400 Warner Blvd, Burbank, Ca 91522. When I received this, I had no idea what it was and why I received it. So Immediately went to the computer did a search and found this website. I knew it was to good to be true.
Thanks for the heads up guys..
August 6th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Wow–Same thing here! Same check amount, same instructions (spend $50, send a Money Gram for $3,666, keep $200). These guys get around! Who do I call: law enforcement, BBB, anybody else? Thanks everyone for posting your info. You confirmed my suspicions.
August 11th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Now this is strange, I received the same thing in the mail today and I just got off the phone with Bank of America and they told me that the check is a real check that Warner B.P. a division of WB S Enterprises,Inc. does indeed have an active open legitimate account with them. I had them run the account number and they did indeed authenticate the account.
Now, I’m no fool. I am going to take the check to my local Bank of America branch tomorrow and have them RE_CHECK the information. If it turns out to be a real check I am going to call this company and tell them that I will CASH this check and NOT deposit it into my account and do the transaction they request that way, if they give me the run around, then I will know it is a scam and go to my local post office and see about filing charges for postal fraud against them. That should put a damper in their flue. I don’t like being taken in by scam artists. I will keep you all posted on my progress….
August 11th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Yup – just received the same thing — Check for $3985 – wal-mart purchase for $50; salary for $200 and moneygram purchase for $3660. Too good to be true — researched and found you guys. Another scam avoided. Thank you
August 11th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I would like to let any and all I just received the same thing and prior to this, I had received something from a lottery in Canada. So, if you receive any mail from Canada, without a return address then you know it’s garbage.
August 17th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Just today I got a letter in the mail along with a questionnaire sheet also included was a check for $3975.00 dollars and the detail were Much similar to the others post here, cash the check, spend $50.00 Dollars, keep $200.00 Dollars to myself, and send 3,665.00 Dollar in a Money Gram Transaction/transfer. I Thought to myself “you have to be kidding me, they think I was just born yesterday?” I marched May happy A$$ down to my local Bank of America to verify the check and just as I suspected, it was fake. People use common since. Like my granny said if it to good to be true, well guess what your right. It isn’t true.
August 17th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
The Company Manpower is legit the problem is that this people in Canada is using the name of Manpower to scam people if you recieve it contact Manpower immediately so they can take care of it with the FBI
August 21st, 2009 at 11:21 pm
August 21, 2009 Thank you so much for the info. I received the same check today and was to keep 200. and purchase 50. at Walmart and send the 3,665. to Manpower in a Money gram transaction. I have been on the internet all eveing trying to find out if this is fraud. I appreciate honest people. Because there aren’t very many left out there. Thank you so much for printing this article. There needs to be a stop put to these scammers.
August 24th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
BEWARE OF 620 Mendelssohn Ave N Suite 190
MINNEAPOLIS,MN 55427-431 Tele 1-888-271-3718
I also believe that this is also an scam amount 3975.00, my information was pull from JOB Solutions Website.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:39 am
If something sounds too good to be true….you best check it out!!!
I also got the check and letter from Manpower. Not only did I not fall for it, but I too checked out the company, complete with attempting to contact the company (which, by the way, can only be done by email from their website). Then I googled the name on the check Warner B.P. and it led me to this blog!
I will be taking this to our local authorities and to the local television station to hopefully prevent someone from falling prey to this scam!
Thanks again for posting!!
September 5th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Thanks for this website. My husband (retired law enforcement) and I (lawyer) received this same check and offer to be a mystery shopper at Wal-Mart, even though neither one of us signed up or are even the slightest bit interested — even if it had been legitimate! The fact that a banking/money order transaction with a stranger was involved made us instantly suspicious. An internet search provided this website and confirmed our suspicions. We, too, had a Canadian stamp, and a micky-moused label.
These guys are still alive and well, and I’m sure there’s tons of people who are biting on this quackery. Don’t be one of them.
September 9th, 2009 at 11:51 am
I just recieved this same letter in the mail today. I am wondering, should I report it to the police???
September 17th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I just got the same check today and looked it up on the web. This is nuts, I hope not to many people has falling for this.(9-17-09)
October 13th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I received a check today with the same instructions as everyone else, but thank god I did the research first. I have been scammed before by some people in Nigeria over a dog on puppyfind.com If it wasn’t for loosing $600.00 then and the reply’s from everyone on here I would have gone to the bank too. Thanks!
November 5th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Just got check–4700.00 What threw me off is that it is cut from McCarthy Blue Springs Nissan Inc. . .now, what would they have to do with mystery shopping?????
November 16th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Just got a check today for 4,700.00. Same thing, a mystery shopper assignment for 100 dollars and western union or moneygram for 3,850.00. It says ManPower on the letter, but the check is from American Seafood Partners in Wichita, Kansas. And it is postmarked out of Canada. Thanks for this website. I wish there was a way to inform more people.