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Cathy Stucker has been a mystery shopper since 1995. She is the author of The Mystery Shopper's Manual.
| 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. |
I ran across a story about a secret shopper scam with a new twist. If true, it means that mystery shopper scammers are trying to get ahead of the curve to continue their schemes as more people get wise to them. However, I suspect that this story may not be exactly as it appears.
Here is the story about a secret shopper scam that appeared on a Wisconsin television station. According to the report, a woman signed up to be a mystery shopper and completed some price audits. She was paid $10 to $20 for each of them. Fairly common, right?
According to the news story, after doing several of these audits over the course of six to eight months, the company for which she had been working sent her a check for $1975, telling her to keep $100 or so for her fee, and to wire most of the money to someone. You know how this ends, right? Of course, the check she received was fraudulent, and she was out the money.
It is possible it happened exactly as stated in the report: A scammer actually made several small payments to a potential victim to convince her that she was working for them as a mystery shopper, so that she would not question it when they sent her a large check and told her to wire money somewhere. However, I doubt that. …continue reading Are Mystery Shopper Scams Getting Sneakier?
Lots of people are looking for work these days. If you are unemployed and looking for a job, or thinking about changing jobs, you need a good resume. Should you include your mystery shopping work on a resume? And if so, how should you list mystery shopper jobs?
There isn’t just one answer, so let’s take a look at a few possible scenarios.
The holidays are just around the corner. Your children have probably presented you with their list of demands…uh, gift ideas, and you are preparing to start buying the gifts, foods, cards and other holiday trappings. You may be wondering how much of your holiday spending you can cover with mystery shopping assignments.
Here are some ideas to help you make your time and money go further this holiday season.
…continue reading Can You Do Your Holiday Shopping on Mystery Shops?
I get emails every day asking about this or that email that someone received, or a company or some specific offer. What concerns me about some of these emails is that people are asking the wrong questions. They ask things such as, “Is XYZ Company a legitimate mystery shopping company?,” overlooking the fact that the email or check they got isn’t really from XYZ Company.
One shopper forwarded some correspondence between a friend of hers and a scammer. Fortunately, the shopper had stopped her friend before she fell for the secret shopper scam. However, I was somewhat shocked to see some of the assumptions her friend had made. It was clear that this woman was bright and educated, but it never occurred to her to question anything the scammer presented about himself. For example, at one point she informed the scammer that she had checked out his company with the Better Business Bureau, and was pleased to find that they had a satisfactory rating. That would not be a bad idea, except that the scammer had no affiliation with the company whose name he was using. You read that right: a criminal was willing to lie. Are you surprised? …continue reading Checking Out Mystery Shopping Scams
Whether you are a brand new or experienced mystery shopper, proper preparation is a critical part of completing your assignments correctly.
Download and review the shop guidelines as soon as you receive the assignment. Even if you have done a particular shop many times, always read the guidelines and report form before doing the shop. Clients make changes from time to time.
Use a highlighter to identify key issues of the shop. If you have questions, this is the time to ask them. Don’t wait until the day the shop is due. Most companies prefer that you contact them by e-mail, but the shop guidelines will tell you the best way to contact them. Give your scheduler time to respond.
In rare situations, you may discover requirements that make it impossible for you to do the shop. If you have to cancel an assignment, do it immediately, but only if you have a good reason. One male shopper told of having to cancel an assignment because he didn’t think he could convince the employees that he was pregnant, a requirement of the shop. Because he immediately read the instructions, discovered he couldn’t do the shop as required, and notified his scheduler, the shop could be reassigned right away. …continue reading Mystery Shop Preparation
This is a guest post from Elaine Viets, author of the popular Josie Marcus mystery shopper mystery novels. Although mystery shoppers seldom get involved in murder investigations, other aspects of Josie’s life and career will be very familiar to mystery shoppers. Here is Elaine’s story of how she came to write a series of books about mystery shopping, and her personal mystery shopping past.
My mother was a mystery shopper in the mid-1960s. The job helped her escape four noisy kids and earn a little extra money for herself. Mystery shopping was the only work she was allowed outside the home.
It’s hard to understand her world now. The Sixties are seen as a wild time, but they weren’t for traditional blue collar wives. My father was a supervisor for Union Electric in St. Louis. My mom cleaned house and took care of three unruly boys and me. No mom in our neighborhood worked outside the home. …continue reading For Mom and Mrs. Minivan
