COEUR d'ALENE - Imagine getting a letter with a fat check included, saying you will be paid to simply deposit a check, send a wire transfer and shop.

If it sounds too good to be true, that's because it is.

A Coeur d'Alene resident received a letter from Garant Research, saying she had been selected to participate in a paid, undercover consumer research program at selected retail stores in the area.

The first evaluation was supposed to take place at Western Union. Prior to the evaluation, the resident was supposed to deposit the enclosed check into her bank account and, after six to 12 hours passed, withdraw a portion of the check to be used at Western Union.

"You will pose as a potential customer evaluating their local transfer facilities by sending the said amount to our receiving undercover agent," the letter reads.

After the first evaluation was completed, the participant would keep a portion of the remainder and use the rest to conduct an evaluation at a retail location.

Fortunately for the resident, she did not attempt to participate in the program, which would have meant depositing a counterfeit check from Prudential into her bank account. However, area banks like Wells Fargo have seen situations such as this play out many times.

"Anytime someone asks you to take money and deposit it into your account before wiring money to someone else it should be a big red flag," a manager at Wells Fargo told The Press Wednesday. The manager asked not to be identified.

The manager went on to state that there were a variety of indicators that the check was forged, including the use of multiple fonts and font sizes as well as a variety of uneven spaces in the text and numbers on the check.

According to Sgt. Christie Wood, the Coeur d'Alene Police Department "constantly" receives calls regarding this type of fraud. Wood encouraged residents to call the department if they get a letter similar to this one.

"We also recommend doing your own research and getting educated," Wood said. "You can just go online and type in 'popular scams' in a search engine to do so."

No information was available through the Better Business Bureau regarding Garant Research. However, a search in the BBB's database of the St. Louis address provided in the letter found Galaxy Distributions - a secret shopper company at the same location.

Galaxy Distribution was given an "F" rating by the nonprofit organization due to a lack of information on the business and their failure to respond to multiple complaints.

Other companies such as Gardfield Research, Gardson Research, and Garfield Research have all been flagged for fraud and list the same St. Louis address.

The Press attempted to contact Garant Research at the Montreal-area phone number provided on the letter. Before the phone rang once, an automated response played stating the number is currently "unavailable."