Mystery Shopper's Manual

8 Lies Mystery Shop Scammers Love to Tell

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scammers-lieScammers lie. It’s what they do. Anyone who is willing to steal thousands of dollars from you has no problem telling a couple of lies.

Honest people tend to take what scammers say at face value. They believe them, because as honest people their first instinct isn’t to lie and cheat people. To protect yourself from scammers, you have to understand that everyone doesn’t think and act as you do, and you cannot assume that random strangers on the Internet are honest and have your best interests at heart.

Here are eight lies that mystery shop scammers tell:

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Mystery Shoppers Aren’t the Only Ones Getting Scammed

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So by now everyone reading this has heard about the check scam that lures victims by telling them they can earn hundreds of dollars for an hour or so of work. All they have to do is cash a check for a couple thousand dollars (generously provided by the scammer), keep a few hundred for their time, and wire the rest to another person (often in Canada, but they could be anywhere).

The scam? Sometime after the money has been sent off by the victim and claimed by the scammer, the check is discovered to the a forgery. The victim’s bank demands that they pay back all of the money, plus fees for the returned check and any checks the victim has now bounced because their account was debited for the amount of the bogus check.

We refer to mystery shopper scams, but in fact this is a check/wire transfer scam. Continue Reading

Are Mystery Shopper Scams Getting Sneakier?

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mystery-shopper-scam-checkI 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

MoneyGram to Repay $18 Million to Victims of Mystery Shopper Scam and Other Scams

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ftc-moneygramA statement released by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission says,

MoneyGram International, Inc., the second-largest money transfer service in the United States, will pay $18 million in consumer redress to settle FTC charges that the company allowed its money transfer system to be used by fraudulent telemarketers to bilk U.S. consumers out of tens of millions of dollars. MoneyGram also will be required to implement a comprehensive anti-fraud and agent-monitoring program.

While this is only a fraction of the money stolen by fraudsters using MoneyGram and Western Union transfers, it is a start. (You can read more about the mystery shopper scam here.)Continue Reading

Mystery Shopper Scams – Could You Be a Victim?

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online-fraudScams appear to be on the rise. The most common mystery shopper scam is the cashiers check scam. The victim receives a large check and they are instructed to cash it and wire most of the money to someone, usually in Canada. Although this is a common scam, mystery shopper scams represent a small percentage of the fraud perpetrated. Other types of scams include lottery and sweepstakes scams, financial investment scams and other versions of the cashiers check scam.

Recently, the psychology department at Exeter University, working on behalf of the UK’s Office of Fair Trading, released a study detailing how and why people fall victim to scams. They found that several persuasive techniques were commonly used by scammers, including:

  • Appeals to Trust and Authority – In the secret shopper scam, this is done by using the names of trusted mystery shopping companies, and well-known businesses such as Wal-Mart, Western Union, McDonald’s and others.
  • Visceral Triggers – Scammers prey on basic human desires and needs to get an emotional response from their targeted victim. Many scams, including the secret shopper scam, convince the recipients that large sums of money await them.
  • Scarcity – Many mail and e-mail scams appear to be personally directed to the recipient. They make it sound as though you were “chosen” out of many other people for this opportunity. There is also a stated or implied sense of urgency—you must respond now or miss out.
  • Behavioral Commitment – Scammers may begin by asking for a small commitment. For example, they may ask you to respond to the e-mail with some basic information. Once the victim has taken an initial step, no matter how small, it becomes easier for them to take the next step and the next.
  • The Promise of a Big Reward for a Small Cost – The mystery shopper check scam promises hundreds of dollars in return for work that they claim will take more no more than a couple of hours.

Although many of the findings of the study were as to be expected, there were some surprises too. Continue Reading

Mystery Shopper Email Scam

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woman-laptopThe mystery shopper email scam is still going strong. The most recent version forwarded to me by a secret shopper uses the name of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association in an attempt to make the email scam seem credible.

Here is the email the mystery shopper received:

Subj: Vacant Post for Mystery Shoppers
From: xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com
Reply-to: xxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com

Mystery Shopping Providers Association is giving you a chance to get paid for shopping and dinning out. Mystery shoppers are Needed Throughout America . You’ll be paid to shop and dine out-plus,you can also get free meals,Free merchandise, Free services, Free Entertainment, Free travel and lots more, Great Pay, Fun Work, Flexible Schedules,No experience required.If you can shop-you are qualified! But you must be 18yrs and above.

This is a new Year, you can start earning free cash as our Shopper. We can assure you that is going to be fun and you will love it
kindly send us a reply to inquiry about the Job offer to the email below

xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com

We care and We share. We will be expecting to read from you

[Alleged Name of Slimy Scammer]
Admin Agent
www.mysteryshop.org
© MSPA, 2009

There are a few clues that this is a scam.Continue Reading

How to Spot a Mystery Shopper Scam Web Site

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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

“Mystery Shopper Scam” Catches the Bad Guys

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arrestingMost mystery shopper scams involve the bad guys taking money from innocent victims. This is one with a satisfying twist, though: The bad guys were the ones who got scammed—by the good guys! The Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Department, to be specific.

Investigators sent letters to 6300 fugitives with outstanding warrants. The letters were from the fictitious company “Shoptastic Solutions,” and said that they had been selected to participate in a survey that would help retail stores figure out shoppers’ needs during the holiday season. Just for showing up and taking the survey, the “invited guests” would earn $500.

Well, when the fugitives showed up to collect their $500, they got a trip to jail instead. Sixty-one of the targeted fugitives were arrested, and the sting resulted in a total of 230 arrests. (I guess some of the bad guys brought their bad guy friends along.)

“We tried to tap into people’s Christmas spirit,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said, “then threw a big Grinch on top of it.”

What do we always say about mystery shopper scams? “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” A group of former fugitives in Cook County would probably agree.

Are Banks Helping Mystery Shopper Scammers?

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cancelled_checkBy now I hope you have heard about the check-cashing, money-wiring scam that has taken thousands of dollars from each of an untold number of victims. In this mystery shopper scam, the scammers send a check with instructions to cash it and wire part of the money to someone, usually in Canada.

The victim is told that they are evaluating the service of the wire service, or that they are to make some purchases to evaluate a retailer. A few weeks later, the victim learns that the check was a forgery, and they are responsible for repaying all of the money to their bank.

In the Hartford Courant, columnist George Gombossy asks if banks are actually aiding the mystery shopper scammers by omission. He has a good point. Although he is addressing the situation at one particular bank, the problem is not exclusive to that bank.Continue Reading

Mystery Shop Link Settles with the FTC

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MysteryShopLink.com will pay $850,000 to settle charges of deceptive advertising and contempt brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, according to a press release

In March, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission shut down MysteryShopLink.com and charged them with deceptive advertising. Mystery Shop Link advertised on television and radio, online and in newspapers, claiming that they had many mystery shopping jobs available and that, in exchange for a $99 fee, consumers would be given enough jobs to make a part-time or full-time income as mystery shoppers.

What consumers got for their $99 was a worthless certification and job postings that they could have received for free from the mystery shopping companies who were actually offering the mystery shopper jobs.Continue Reading