A 25-year-old Brampton woman is in custody and facing 47 charges in connection with a “secret shopper” scam that has preyed on people across Canada — and possibly here in Windsor.
Toronto police arrested the woman on Wednesday following several months of investigation.
Det.-Const. James Turnbull said the suspect was identified after employees at a Purolator location noticed her regularly sending out large quantities of cheques.
The “secret shopper” scam involves convincing victims that they have been recruited as graders of customer service.
The victims are mailed cheques and instructed to use the funds to send wire transfers or money orders.
The cheques are bogus and the unsuspecting victims are left liable for the money that was sent.
Turnbull said the cheques in this case were drawn on the account of “Oakwood Canada.”
“(Purolator) let us know those same types of cheques were being dropped off by this woman,” Turnbull said.
Shannon Green of Brampton faces an array of charges including 19 counts of counseling to commit an indictable offence, 22 counts of uttering forged documents, three counts of fraudulent use of credit card data, two counts of fraud over $5,000, and attempted fraud under $5,000.
Investigators are certain more people were involved in the scheme.
Turnbull said the scam operated under many business names, including Secret Shopper, Global Business Modifications, GBM Inc. and Stellar Business Solutions.
The scam found victims across the country. “We’re talking hundreds,” Turnbull said. “They’re coast-to-coast.”
Turnbull said one recruitment method involved contacting people who had posted online resumes and were obviously looking for work.
Asked if this particular scam found victims in Windsor — such as 53-year-old Bernadette Carr, who lost $3,200 in a “secret shopper” scam last month — Turnbull said it’s possible.
“It seems like (the scam artists) switch up the business names every couple months,” he noted.
Arrests in these types of scams are “extremely rare,” Turnbull said.
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