Calgary police warn of 'silent shopper' scam

Police have issued a warning about a fake job advertisement that left a Calgary man holding a counterfeit credit card.

The man went to police after responding to a classified advertisement in a newspaper for a "market research analyst/customer service representative."

He called the number, submitted a job application via e-mail and was hired as a "silent shopper," police said Wednesday.

The man was mailed a package that included a credit card in his name, which he thought suspicious.

"Duties of the job were to go to two department stores, use the credit card and rate his purchase experience. Another task was to withdraw $2,500 from the credit card and wire it to a name that was provided to him," police said in a statement.

The man went to police, who discovered the credit card was counterfeit. The number on the card was legitimate, but belonged to someone else.

"Police remind people that once money is wired somewhere, it can be picked up anywhere if a culprit has fraudulent identification. Calgarians are encouraged to scrutinize any transaction requiring the transfer of funds and to contact police if they suspect any fraudulent activity," police said. 

Calgary police are investigating this and a second similar report. The Ontario Provincial Police have also had reports of the same "mode of operation," according to Calgary police.