Rip Off Scam Alert: Walmart Secret Shopper

Earlier today, my husband opened the front door and there was a U.P.S. envelope in it. Hmm, what could this be?? I thought it was odd, but figured it was a sample or something free that I signed up for. I look at the return address and it doesn’t look familiar at all....

Still thinking it was a freebie or something, I open the envelope and find this:

Wowzers $1,467. Where did this come from??? That’s all that’s in the envelope, just this check, nothing else. I don’t get too excited because I know I’m not expecting something like this. I also notice that the name and address on the check is different from the return address on the envelope. I begin to search the return address on the envelope and it is some sort of fabricating factory. Hmmm..... My husband called them and they had no idea what it was and said a few weeks earlier they had a problem with people hacking into their U.P.S. account or something like that. I then research the return name and address on the check. A bar association? Isn’t that for like.. lawyers?? I find a website for them and my husband calls them and gets the run around because no one knows what is going on or what the check is for.

Then a light bulb went off in my head. I remembered that a few weeks ago, I responded to something somewhere regarding doing secret shopper walmart surveys, where you take a survey about your trip to various walmarts. I filled out the application but then got a very odd email back. The email was full of grammatical errors and sounded extremely unprofessional, saying that I will receive a check in the mail soon and to contact them as soon as I receive it. I immediately deleted it because I knew it sounded way too odd. Luckily, it was still in my trash folder so I pulled it back up and emailed the guy back telling him that I received this check and was it from him? I look in my spam folder and see another email that was sent yesterday, telling me that I should receive my check soon and what I need to do. It stated this was my first “task”, and my directions were to cash the check immediately at my local walmart or bank, then spend $60 at Walmart, keep $40 for gas, $400 for my task “payment”, then send the remaining almost $1,000 via Western Union to:
Cedric Roy
Address:109 Hair St
New Orleans , La 70012

..and when I’m done shopping at Walmart, I’m supposed to answer questions such as: "Smartness of the attendant" ..seriously? Smartness??? … and the end of the assignment went like this: 

You should please make sure you Execute all the

Assignment today immediately you receive the paycheck and get back at us with a details as requested above.

  Happy Shopping.

Warm Regards!

The Hiring Manager

Soo.. you MIGHT be able to cash the check somewhere immediately, but most Walmarts won’t cash out of state checks and most banks will make you wait a few days for the check to clear. IF you somehow find a way to cash it, you get to keep $500 and send the rest to this Cedric guy. In the meantime, the check will end up bouncing and you may be stuck with charges from your bank, and Mr. Cedric gets all of this money.

Yes, I am putting this guy’s information out here for everyone to see. This is obviously a big fat SCAM. I don’t want anyone to fall for this type of thing and get screwed. This just goes to show you, that you DO have to be careful when it comes to trying to earn money via the internet. I also emailed the guy who sent me all of the information back and told him that if he wants to be successful at scamming people, he should try sounding at least a little bit professional. I also let him know that I will be “outing” him and reporting him to the proper authorities. … Don’t fall for this crap!

Citi Kitty Tuna Treats Review and **Giveaway**

A few weeks ago, my 4 kitties received a wonderful gift in the mail; Citi Kitty Tuna Treat flakes.

At first glance, I have to admit they looked a bit odd because they are flakes of Tuna. I wasn't sure how my cats would react to the flakes, but they love them! My oldest cat is 15 and deaf, and she woke out of a deep sleep just from the smell of the flakes. This container I received is going to last quite awhile because it is packed full. You can add the flakes to your cat's food or give it to them as a special treat. What I really like about the Citi Kitty Tuna Treat Flakes is that they are healthy for cats as well as being delicious to them. They are high in protein and have no artificial fillers or additives, and they give your kitty a nice silky coat. They come in a 2 oz, 6 oz, or 1 lb.  plastic container (which I'm sure I will reuse after these are gone), and the treats don't require any kind of refrigeration; you can store them with your other kitty treats. You can find the treats at www.citikitty.com.

GIVEAWAY

Do you have a special kitty that you would like to treat with these Tuna Treat Flakes? Citi Kitty is offering to give away a 2 oz container to one of our readers!

RULES:

1. Follow this blog.
2. Leave a comment telling us about your special cat or cats, along with your email address. If you don't leave your email address, you will not be eligible to win!

Deadline: January 24, 2011

*I was given a free sample of Citi Kitty Tuna Treats for review on this blog. 

An Update

Just a heads up, I have a few reviews to get caught up with so those will be coming soon. I had hoped to get caught up over my holiday break from school but I ended up being sick most of the time! Why does that always happen??

I thought I would start out the year with an update on how I am doing with some of the writing places I posted about in 2010.

Demand Studios: Was doing great with them for awhile, had writing assignments to work on every day. Despite the sometimes annoying editor attitudes, I was making money on a regular basis. A few months ago, all of the good titles suddenly disappeared. I was sorting through hundreds and hundreds of mundane titles that I had no interest or knowledge in. The titles are categorized by computers and the computer has not been doing a good job. I search through "health" articles and am flooded with titles about how to fix a car, or fix a plumbing problem. Now, come on, how many auto mechanics do you know that work as freelance writers? Hmmm? I search through animal health and come across topics regarding cat tow motors.. not cats as in felines. I was having a very difficult time finding any article to write about. I would look through the list throughout the day and it was always the same. I couldn't go without making money, so I would end up turning to textbroker or suite 101 to make up for it. I have written only a few articles for Demand over the past few months. I've been very disappointed with them. I suppose I could pick random articles, but I just don't feel comfortable writing about a topic that I don't know a thing about.

Text Broker: Like I mentioned in the above paragraph, I go back to writing for textbroker when I am desperate. Their articles are very low paying, however most of them are 200-300 words and are very easy to write. They don't always have a wide range of articles to choose from, unfortunately and only pay +a month, but they are great for someone just dabbling in freelance writing.

Suite 101: I have 24 articles on Suite 101 so far. I focused most of my time on Demand Studios because I was making immediate money with them, however I think I will start dedicating more time to Suite. I have made payout with them 4 times so far, and each time, the payout has been a little bigger. I know with time to add more articles, this could be a great money earner for me.

Hubpages: I really haven't put a lot of time into hubpages. You really have to find a niche to make money with this website just because it is all based on adsense and amazon earnings. I think people do better with this site if they write articles around a specific item and then link to specific items on amazon. I see a slow increase in my adsense account, but I'm still a long way from payout.

I do have a few new writing places to post about soon, so keep your eyes open and don't forget to subscribe so that you are notified every time I post something new!

Here's to wishing everyone a prosperous 2011!