FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Attorney General Greg Stumbo has warned that Kentucky consumers are being targeted by a company called “Shopping Group, Incorporated” in the city of Kitchener in Ontario, Canada. It’s a scam to get your money.

Shopping Group sends a letter to consumers that says they’ve been chosen as a mystery shopper and a check for approximately five-thousand dollars is enclosed.

The recipient is instructed to immediately wire $2,500 and send another $1,200 by money gram to an individual in Kitchener. The letter explains that the balance is to pay for expenses, time and the purchase of items from stores assigned to the “shopper.”

Stumbo says it’s a new twist on the old counterfeit check scam.  He says scam artists are sending counterfeit checks and requesting that a portion be forwarded to a foreign address immediately.

Stumbo says consumers who fall prey to the scam not only lose money by sending the funds, but they are pursued by banks to return the funds or be prosecuted.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Editor's note: On Monday, November 6, 2006, WHAS11.com received a note from Shoppers Confidential which states the following: "Shoppers Confidential, located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada has never heard of, and has absolutely NO affiliation with The Shopping Group, Inc. They are a legally registered business providing legitimate Mystery Shopping services. For further information, please visit www.shoppersconfidential.com."