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Mystery shopping is a legitimate way to make money; however, if you received a large check and were told to wire money somewhere, don't do anything until you read about mystery shopping scams.

Mystery Shopping Industry Working to Save Jobs

Posted on April 30th, 2009 in Secret Shopping and the Law by Cathy Stucker

Nearly 20 mystery shopping industry representatives went to Washington to meet with lawmakers Wednesday on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million independent contractors who are mystery shoppers.

Congress proposed legislation last year on worker classification – whether individual workers are treated as independent contractors or as employees by the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor.

The goal of the legislation is to address the “tax gap” caused by the improper classification of workers for tax reporting purposes. The Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act stalled in 2008 due to presidential opposition but is expected to be re-introduced in 2009.

MSPA is closely monitoring this proposal and cites multiple concerns:

  • It hinders a person’s ability to earn extra money at a time when so many people need it
  • It will impose new compliance costs on small businesses and others who rely upon independent contractors
  • It will increase the cost for companies to utilize mystery shopping providers to objectively evaluate a customer’s experience and train/reward their employees …continue reading Mystery Shopping Industry Working to Save Jobs

How to Spot a Mystery Shopper Scam Web Site

Posted on April 17th, 2009 in Mystery Shopper Scam by Cathy Stucker

mystery-shopper-scamThe people running mystery shopper scams are getting more sophisticated. Because more people are becoming aware of the scams, some of the scammers are making an attempt to look more like legitimate mystery shopping companies, and that can include putting up a web site with a professional appearance.

I was recently contacted by a shopper who got a mystery shopper job offer that just didn’t look right. I looked at the web site of the company that wanted to hire scam him, and I saw several things right away that made me think this was not legitimate.

Of course, when a company sends you a large check before you have done anything with them, it is a scam. Always. Read more about the mystery shopper check scam elsewhere on this site. But that was not the case in this situation. This company had a nice looking web site and were acting in some ways like they were a real mystery shopping company.

Here is what you can do to check out a mystery shopping company’s web site. Although seeing one bad sign doesn’t mean that you are dealing with a mystery shopping scam, it could. Several red flags should send you running in the other direction, as fast as you can. …continue reading How to Spot a Mystery Shopper Scam Web Site

Mystery Shopper Spring Cleaning

Posted on April 17th, 2009 in Mystery Shopping Recordkeeping by Cathy Stucker

spring-cleaningSpring is here, and that means you may be thinking about cleaning and organizing. The freshness of spring seems to bring out a desire to get rid of the old and bring in the new. Here are some tips on spring cleaning for mystery shoppers.

Get rid of old paperwork. Shop guidelines and report forms, receipts, and other paper accumulates quickly. This is a good time to discard old papers. Most companies ask that you keep shop notes and other records for at least 90 days after the shop date. To be safe, you may keep them six months. …continue reading Mystery Shopper Spring Cleaning

How Many Mystery Shopper Applications are Enough?

Posted on April 3rd, 2009 in Applying to Mystery Shopping Companies by Cathy Stucker

mystery-shopper-applying-onlineThere are hundreds of legitimate mystery shopping companies—do you need to apply to all of them? Half of them? A few of them? How many companies do you need to work with?

First of all, only apply to legitimate mystery shopping companies. That means you should not apply to companies that charge you a fee or require you to sign up for “offers.” Refer to this list of nearly 200 legitimate mystery shopping companies: http://MysteryShoppersManual.com/mystery-shopping-companies

I recommend that secret shoppers sign up with as many companies as they can. You never know which company will come through with the most assignments for you, or even that dream assignment to mystery shop a resort or spa.

But your time is limited, right? So when do you stop applying and start mystery shopping? …continue reading How Many Mystery Shopper Applications are Enough?