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How to Spot Mystery Shopper Scams

Sure, secret shopping is a work-at-home opportunity that will never pay an inordinate amount of money, but the idea is to make money so you should never lose money to a mystery shopper scam!

People do secret shopping because it’s can be fun, and they can make extra money and maybe get some free products and services. Plus, work-at-home moms like that they can often bring the kids along. But this lure of free stuff and relatively easy money is exactly what con artists use to find victims for their fraudulent schemes.

So if you’re interested in trying it, educate yourself about the difference between a legit secret shopping job and a mystery shopping scam. Unfortunately, there are many ways that scammers use mystery shopping to find victims.

smart woman thinking about mystery shopping

The Check-Cashing Mystery Shopper Scam

This is the potentially most costly of all of these kinds of scams, costing victims thousands of dollars. In fact, it is a form of online fraud that pops up in all sorts of places. Beware of any “opportunity” that involves check-cashing.

How This Scam Works
The mystery shopper, who has likely just signed up with a new company, is given the assignment to evaluate a money transfer service or other financial institution. He or she is sent a check to cash and instructed to wire some of the money back to the mystery shopping company (the part the sender keeps is supposed to be the payment for the job). The problem is, the check is bogus and will eventually bounce—but only after the money is sent, leaving the sender on the hook for that money. Banks make the funds available in accounts after three days, and won’t discover that the check was phony until much later.
How to Avoid This Scam
Do not cash checks or send money for anyone. Period. Even if this isn’t your first assignment for a company or it sounds really reasonable, don’t do it.

Mystery Shopper Fees

How This Scam Works

These mystery shopping companies attempt to convince you that their opportunity is worth paying for and that you should show that “you’re serious” about this opportunity.
Remember, companies pay you to work for them, not the other way around. Certifications, classes, etc. are not necessary for mystery shoppers. Plenty of resources on mystery shopping are available for free on the Internet, so there is no reason to pay for lists or directories. Any company that attempts to charge you a fee is likely a scam. Even if they do provide a list or directory, it isn’t anything worth paying for.
How to Avoid This Scam
Do not pay for mystery shopping. Even if it isn’t a scam (though it probably is), mystery shopping doesn’t pay enough to make a fee of any kind reasonable.
Tips for Spotting Mystery Shopping Scams
  • If it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is. Not all mystery shops pay top dollar. Anyone who promises big money could be a scammer.
  • Don’t respond to email pitches or newspaper classifieds for mystery shopping. You can’t know who is behind them, and these are the typical places scammers look for marks.
  • Don’t pay for anything. This includes classes, directories, guaranteed placements, background checks, certifications, or products.
  • Check the MSPA list of verified members to see if a certain company is vetted.

This article originally appeared at thebalancecareers.com by Laureen Miles Brunelli on August 05, 2018