It’s a common mail scam in Kansas and across the country, and the Kansas Attorney General’s Office is warning consumers after at least one Lawrence resident recently reported the scam.

Myra Strother of Lawrence recently received a $3,500 check in the mail, accompanied with a letter saying she had been selected to be a mystery shopper. The letter instructed Strother to wire money through Western Union. After evaluating the service at the business, she’d be able to keep the $3,500 check.

Strother called the scam into the Attorney General’s Office, hoping to warn consumers. Gavin Young, communications director for the Attorney General’s Office, said some consumers aren’t as savvy as Strother and actually go through with the scam, losing hundreds and sometimes thousands in the process.

“It’s one of the most common scams,” he said, as his office receives frequent calls about situations with slightly varying details. “It’s a running theme.”

Young said consumers should be wary of any instances where they’re asked to put up their own money, or in cases where money is wired through Western Union.

“There is no bigger red flag,” he said.

To report scams, call the Kansas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 785-296-3751.