Has anyone ever heard of the mystery shopper?

Simple….

Don’t cash it.

That’s all.

Mystery shopper is a commonly used approach to measure customer satisfaction, efficiency, etc. by having people go through the customer experience and rate it.
Tell your friend to verify who these people are, get a business card and look them up. There’s a good chance its legit.

If it is Mystery Shopper, they do not pay you in advance! You sign a contract with them, go and shop at their target stores, pay with your own money, and then submit receipts for reimbursement. The often do not cover the entire cost of purchase, only up to a pre-arranged amount.

look on the paperwork that came with the check…sometimes the act of cashing it is actually your acceptance of a loan (in this case of 4K) with some crazy high interest rate. I am not sure how legally binding it is. Call the BBB and ask them?

It’s a scam…there are usually some terms, fees, or other details in the fine print there; in worst case scenarios, the check looks legit, you cash it, pay the “fees” to the “company” out of your account (wire, draft, etc.), then the check comes back in ten or so days as a fraudulent check.

Or else what the other poster said-that it will be tied to some unbelievably high credit line/loan. Nothing in this world is free!!!

Here is a Web site called Too Good to Be True that may be able to help: http://www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com/

@Marina- Wow: that dude pushing the wheelbarrow looks really creepy!

Thanks for the link!