by : Ann Marie Calhoun

I am a somewhat like that 'curious cat' when it comes to junk mail. I cannot resist wasting the time to read junk! To me, all junk mail is created equal. I read junk in direct mail and email deliveries. I would like to ask readers, has anyone read those emails claiming that you are a giant lottery winner? How about the one where they want you to pose as an overseas contractor? long-lost heir? American money catcher? Fraud gets very creative as well as very convincing. Fraudulent letters have 'name-dropped' some of the biggest including: MSN, Yahoo, Google, AOL and HP. How they keep getting away with this alone, amazes me. Doesn't someone there READ? Doesn't someone tell them? Does anyone care? Getting someone to care about something, has always been one hell of a mission. In so much, this article is merely to make public a letter that is NOW being received in direct mail boxes across the US. They call themselves Axiom Shoppers Information Co. with offices in New York and Toronto. You are selected to be a paid participant in the Consumer Research Program, going so far as to call the position 'Mystery Shopper'. Name-dropping one of the evaluation (?) locations: GAP, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Macy's, JCPenney, and Target. "Wow! That's great! I have one right down the street, around the corner, at the mall, just 2 minutes away!". There is paperwork enclosed for you to complete stating the results of your ahem!, excuse me! job. A sizeable CHECK is enclosed, it's National City Bank, Ohio 44101, and it's for $3,980.70. "Well, they give you the check!" Yes, it looks pretty good to the naked eye. The job performance needs to be completed within ONE week. The instructions tell you to call the phone number that is listed, then deposit the check into your account, and go to work.

The check will take forever to clear, because it won't! It will take a good TWO weeks before you definitely know that it is a fake. Your monthyly bank statement, will show charges from $10 to $75, depending on your bank of choice. Immediately your financial institution will recover this fee from your account, 'just for the inconvenience' of it all.

Whoever thought it really was a job, followed the directions to a T, and are waiting for Axiom to reply, it's a long wait. If you did the job the way it was supposed to be done, you are missing some money from your bank account, to the tune of $3,980.70. Now, if you 'Mystery Shopped' and kept the receipts-- go immediately and return the stuff! You'll be recovering some of your own money, and getting rid of items that you probably did not want in the first place.

Ok, I do have a painless answer for those of us, who just HAVE to know if 'it's all good'? Bring any questionable bank check to your favorite bank teller, and ask him/her to put it through the check machine. The tellers will gladly perform this service for you in a discrete manner. More than likely you will get a response like: "Sorry, the check cannot be read and is probably not good!" Thank You, "have a good day!".