The desire to work at home and make money from going about your everyday activities can get many people into trouble. A lot of people end up joining a so called mystery shopping company only to find out later that they have just participated in a fraudulent act. Don’t get caught with your proverbial pants down – rather take this advice about secret shopping scams, and learn how to join the legitimate mystery shopping companies to make money.
Beware Mystery Shopping Scams
Mystery shopping usually involves going to a store to make a purchase, or taking part in some kind of shopping, whether it is internet based, or over the phone. Usually companies will hire mystery shopping companies to help assess their branches performance and staff and give them real life look into the day to day running of the store.
With most secret shoppers you will get an assignment and spending money. You have to complete this and return it to the mystery shopping company and you will get paid. Now, when you are looking at the scams, these work a little differently, so be aware.
The mystery shopper scams usually involve a check. This is mailed to you as part of your “assignment package.” You are requested to cash this check at a specified bank or financial company. Then you are asked to wire this money into another bank account and in return you will receive a large payment. You can then caught out, because the check is actually a fake, and you have just participated in creating fraudulent money that has been sent to the culprit.
This is the most popular of secret shopping scams, but there are some others. You have to be very careful when joining up with a mystery shopping company, and probably the best way to avoid being scammed is to check out the company through the Mystery Shoppers Association. They should be a member and if not, you should probably give them a miss.
Whilst most mystery shopping assignments just ask you to buy a certain product from a certain store, you will also get assignments that involve eating a meal at a coffee shop or restaurant. These can be paid for in advance, but sometimes you will be asked to pay out of your own money and then you will be reimbursed. This is quite legitimate as long as you are with a trusted company. If you think about it from their point of view, you could just keep the money and not complete the assignment. Another way to do this would be that you are sent vouchers instead of cash.
Whatever kind of mystery shopping jobs you come across, always be wary. Your gut instinct is always the best, and as usual, if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.
You can find out more about other mystery shopping scams by visiting Mystery Shopping Job Finder and you will also get all the details about reputable mystery shopping firms that you can join.
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