Findlay, OH - January 7, 2008 - A sophisticated mystery shopping scam continues to spread across the country, conning consumers out of millions of dollars, according to Corporate Research International (CRI), an Ohio-based mystery-shopping and consumer satisfaction firm.

The scam involves letters to consumers offering a mystery shopping job to evaluate one or more leading money wire services. The letter is accompanied by a cashier's check for several thousand dollars with instructions to cash the check at a local bank and then wire the cash to a designated location in Canada. The consumer is directed to keep several hundred dollars as payment for evaluations the service received from the money wire service.

The cashier's check ultimately bounces and the consumer is left liable for the funds.