Capstone Research Fred Perry, Human Resource Manager Western Union Secret Shopper Scam - Counterfeit Money Orders Internet

Fred Perry, "Human Resource Director" with Capstone Research contacted me via e-mail regarding my resume, which I had posted on Careerbuilder.com.  He stated that they offered opportunities with great pay, enjoyable work, and flexible schedules with no experience required.  The email stated "At Capstone Research Inc, you will never pay to shop! We pay you! You will be paid $250.00 on every assignment you take. Kindly fill out the application form below to proceed."

I emailed my information back, even though I did think it was strange that he was asking me for information that was clearly available on my resume.  I received an email response stating that my first assignment would be to secretly shop Western Union for customer service purposes.  The email stated:

"Payment will be sent out to you (money order), which will cover your payment of $250 for the duty. As soon as you receive the payment (money order) you should cash it at your bank, and deduct your $250, and the rest of the money should be transferred back to our branch office via western union where another service evaluator officer will be picking the funds up from."

I discussed this with my wife, and even though we both thought there was something off about the situation, we agreed that there was no risk.  I received the cashier's check via FedEx with NO return address (strange, I know) in the amount of $3200.00, signed by Joseph Cappucciana.  I immediately took it to our banking institution.  I asked the teller to review the check and tell me if she thought it was valid, and she immediately showed me a number of telltale signs that it was counterfeit (i.e. the dollar amount smudged when you wet your finger and ran it across the check). 

By this time I'd already received an e-mail from Fred Perry asking if I had completed my assignment, and I told him that I was unable to cash the check he sent me.  He replied with, "Ok, maybe payment was stopped on the check then. Do you want our paying agents to send money orders out to you for your assignment ???"

The bottom line; they expect you to take the cashier's check to your bank, and they hope that your bank teller is dumb enough to deposit it into your account.  You'll take your $250, and ship the remaining $2950.00 back to whatever address they ask you to.  Shortly thereafter, your bank would most likely contact you and tell you that the check was counterfeit and the money you received must be returned.  I still wonder if you could be arrested for this - who knows??