GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Officials from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said Clay residents should be on the lookout for a Secret Shopper scam.

Such types of fraud involve scammers who send out official looking USPS Priority Mail or FedEx packages containing a check and instructions. The instructions tell the victim to cash the check and use the money to buy various gift cards. The unknowing victim is then directed to “evaluate” the customer service at such stores as Walmart, CVS and Walgreens as they purchase the gift cards.

Victims are then asked to email or text their “evaluation of the stores customer service,” along with the gift cards activation code and a picture of the card so they can “confirm” the cards were activated. The victim is told that their reward is getting to keep a portion of the check for helping with the “survey,” but they cannot inform anyone. The scammer then uses the gift card information to retrieve the money stored on the cards.

Sheriff Darryl Daniels urges residents that these checks are fraudulent and if anyone is asked to do this, to report it immediately to police. He said the checks are fake and will bounce. In the meantime, the victim is left with a felony fraud charge and the scammer has gift cards they will use to shop online.

Daniels recommends not responding to any of the contact information and to check the tracking numbers on the package as tracking does not reflect a return address and to report the incident to the Postal Inspector.