Scott County authorities warning about fake secret shopper mai - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

Scott County authorities warning about fake secret shopper mailing

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SIKESTON, MO (KFVS) -

Investigators are warning the public about a phony secret shopper mailing. It's one a Scott County woman was smart enough to spot.

Kimberly Hubbard realized the fraud was too good to be true. One investigators and the post master admit looks incredibly close to the real deal.

Hubbard says she applied on a secret shopping site she knows to be legitimate and later ended up getting a letter and the phony money order in the mail for $970.

According to the letter her assignment involved depositing the money order and taking $150 for herself.

After that she's told to send the rest of the money on to the next shopper via Western Union. And then rate the experience as a secret customer.

Hubbard says she knew it was all meant to trick her out of money, but still couldn't get over how real the phony money order looked.

"It was real to me at first," said Kimberly Hubbard.

Hubbard says she's gotten other bogus offers recently and believes she may have been hacked.

Meanwhile, investigators are working to trace the mailing.

"The post master is involved in this we are going to trace it backwards so to speak to try to figure it out," said Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter.

Walter expects the trail will lead outside the country as they often do in cases like this one.

If you receive something like this in the mail contact the Scott County Sheriff's Department.

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